Sasifoodie

BBC BiteSize x The Open University

I have had the honour in representing nutrition & dietetics for BBC BiteSize Careers and The Open University collaboration. I teased filming a few months ago and the video about my journey in my career as a dietitian is now LIVE🎞

What an opportunity! Very pleased with the turn out of the mini documentary - watch it via the link below 💛

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zbdhmfr

BTS🎦🎙️

Feeling very grateful and excited after today's filming - details to come soon 🤞 Shout-out to Nutrition and Dietetics and Mersey Care Communication's team for the support throughout this process!

I can't wait to see the final piece - That's a wrap🎥🎬

🧐Portion size⁉️

The other day I ran into the perfect example of how food companies can trick us with labelling. We buy a standard chocolate bar in order to eat the whole bar right? However the labels state recommended portions to be different 🙄

So a PB snickers label suggests one piece (of 3️⃣) is the recommended serving size. Practicality: none, when the pack is open we cannot reseal?

One piece is a great example of eating an under 💯 kcal snack. Unfortunately I didn't have the will power or want to only have one piece as the serving suggests - and that's okay👌

Because we eat for many reasons other than health: hunger, flavour, emotion, socially, culturally, practicality🙋🏼‍♀️

But another good reason to know your labels🏷️Anyway it was delicious and that's what matters 😋

✨The magic of Lemon Water🍋💦🍵

It's no lie that the benefits of drinking lemon water have been drastically blown out of proportion. With health claims from 'stimulates weight loss' to 'promoting skin health' lets do some myth bustin' baby!🥊💥

Firstly I'd like to start this by saying, personally I love lemon water - hot or cold I do enjoy it at least a few times a week. I don't drink it for its 'nutritional powers' but because I think it's refreshing, hydrating and pleasant to taste. This is the bottom line - all foods or drinks we consume should be enjoyable!

🍓Vitamin C 🍋the vitamin commonly found in citrus fruits but many other fruits and vegetables. Known for it's contribution for immune health but doesn't necessarily protect against infection. Vitamin C is also a bioactive component of collagen production for our skin elasticity. However, in lemon water we do not see much vitamin C for 2️⃣ reasons:
🥇One lemon slice cannot offer a large amount of Vit C
🥈 Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin and is affected by temperature, meaning if you drink hot lemon the vitamin denatures , therefore limited vitamin C intake🌡️

Many people arent affected by vitamin C deficiency anymore in the UK but you can easily get your intake from a cup of strawberries rather than looking to lemon water🍓

There is limited evidence to suggest lemon water is the 'fat-burning, metabolism boosting, detoxifying' drink of the gods - its not, but it's not harmful either👼🏼

BUT lemon water is:
💦 A great way to keep hydrated
✨ A small source if vitamin C
😋A palate cleanser
🌟A source of polyphenols (antioxidative properties)
🍵 An enjoyable drink

So if you're a dietitian...

No we don't drink celery water or do juice cleanses and nor would we recommend you to do so to be your healthiest self💚

1️⃣ When we think 'dietitian' many people instantly think about weight loss and being the thinnest, fittest version of ourselves. This isn't the aim. Yes we want you to be healthy, but the day to day life of a dietitian is actually far from weight - unless you're a weight management dietitian. Dietitians see a range of patients and clients for many different reasons - not just weight loss👩🏼‍⚕️

2️⃣ Dietitians eat everything you do. With the exception of culture, religion, medical, moral + socially acceptable foods - this is down to the individual. We wouldn't recommend you to eat or not eat certain foods unless there was a specific reason behind doing so. Remember, there are no good or bad foods✔️

3️⃣ Why would we judge you? If everyone was 💯 healthy all of the time, we'd have no enjoyment in eating, zero fun in the kitchen and everyone would be bored and sad🤷🏼‍♀️Balance is No.1, so, yes we care about what you eat for your optimal physiological and mental health but no we won't judge you for it😘

🌱Review: Pizza Hut Veggie Pepperphoni

🍋Nutrition
Although I've been unable to find Veggie Pepperphoni as a single product item to analyse, I figured I'd just do the pizza as a whole🍕:

Based on 1 slice: 272kcal with 13.8g protein (PER SLICE!?). It's well known pizza as a meal is no slimline food, but its pizza right? Who wants diet pizza anyway⁉️ I'm quite impressed with the protein content at first glance, however if we compare to other toppings Pizza Hut offers; it's on par with other veggie options and meat alternatives are higher offering 20g per slice.

Pepperphoni is pea and potato protein derived with a number of gums, stablisers & spices to get that pepperoni taste and texture🥔🧂

So, the Veggie Pepperphoni pizza itself is not a vegan option, this is not due to the pepperphoni itself but due to the cheese used on the pizza🌱

👅Texture
You wouldn't know any different from a meaty pepperoni or based on looks either!👀

🙊Taste
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I cannot get enough of this, now I need to find one to buy for home cooking. Although this baby was stunning on its own, I wouldn't be mad if there was a few extras on there: green pepper, sweetcorn, red onion kinda vibe🌽

🔁Again?
105 x YES - this is definitely a new favourite of mine🤗

✨Overall rating: 11/10

Eating is for more than just physical health, but for mental health too🧠

I had a NEED to make breaded chicken yesterday, and so I did. Paired with a creamy potato salad, lemony curly kale & a selection of sauces. The chicken was made baked and deep fried🍗

And it was delicious😋✔️

👋Hi March

We can just say it's spring now right?🌱 I'm very much looking forwards to a longer daytime and the blooms🌺

A selection of my favourites from this weekends adventures 📸🌾

For the last few weekends I've been making a conscious effort to explore for of the local surroundings I have available to me. So this weekend I cycled up to Ness Botanic Gardens for a lovely strolls in the beauty they have there. I can't wait for everything to be in full bloom in the summer! 🌺🌼🌹🌻☀️

I've certainly turned weekends into 'me' time. Self care can look like anything you enjoy doing, whether it is a bath & a book🛀📚 or enjoying time outside🌳

What's the difference?🤔

Research shows it's important to reduce sedentary lifestyles by increasing our general physical activity on a day to day basis, overall this means to reduce our daily sitting time and taking active breaks✔️

Physical exercise is also recommended for a balanced movement routine, this is much more focused on a specific goal you may have (it doesn't have to be an aesthetic goal!). The benefits of structured exercise are endless from mind to body, but nonetheless ENJOYABLE 🧠

Don't be fooled by those pesky labels🏷️ They don't match up to what your body can do💪



Homemade pasta has changed my life!🍝

Who'd have thought, I'm not a newbie to fresh pasta at home but it amazes me every single time👏

Frodsham Hill to Helsby Hill👣

Since I thoroughly enjoyed my last weekends adventures, I hought I'd do the same the weekend just gone. On Saturday I ventured myself to Helsby, finding Frodsham Hill, Woodhouse Hill then to Helsby Hill🏞️

With views from Welsh Mountains, the Wirral, Runcorn and beyond Liverpool, I'm obly mad I didn't do it sooner!

I took a 13.8km route over the tops and back theough the town - my hip flexors were certainly feeling it on Sunday!

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🌱Review: Vegan Coconut Yoghurt by Vemondo in Lidl

🍋Nutrition
This Coconut Yoghurt is made up by coconut milk and thickeners
Based on 100g; 98kcal with small offerings from carbohydrates (5g, 0.3g sugars) and protein (0.8g) you might ask where the calories are coming from? Well, coconut products are high in fat thus providing 8.2g with 7.7g of saturated fats. Yes it is a majority for saturated fats, however there is limited evidence to show whether saturated fats in coconut and coconut products are healthy or not, this is due to the chemical structural fatty acid chain (medium chain triglycerides).

To compare to a dairy coconut yoghurt alternative, I chose the Milbona Greek Style Coconut Yoghurt - which I am obsessed with! Offering 147kcal per 100g, carbohydrates 11g with 10g from sugar, 3.5g protein and 9.8g fat, yes the dairy version is more nutrieny dense but also has more nutritional variety in comparison to its plant based alternative.

🍽️Portion
I trialled the yoghurt at breakfast and paired it with some tropical fruits for a pina colada feel and some added ground seeds. The product to my knowledge is only sold in 400g pot.

👅Texture
Its got a yoghurt consistency and pale in colour, based on looks you wouldn't know any different. It's creamy in a smoothie kind of way but not in a dairy creamy kind of way - which is expected.

🙊Taste
I'm not mad. This was my first time experiencing a plant vased alternative yoghurt, on its own you can definitely get a coconut flavour but it does taste slightly bland - I wouldn't have been mad with a little sugar for some sweetness. Paired with my breakfasty toppings I was quite happy, it was a nice morning meal!

🛍️Packaging
All recyclable which I love, love, love!

🏷️Price
Both products are 75p per pot

🔁Again?
I would, but I would mix and match between dairy and non dairy yoghurts for variety and enjoyment.

✨Overall rating: 6/10

Anyone else feeling a little wind swept this morning?🍃

I had a solo trip this weekend to Llandegla Forest for a windy but stunning hike through the woods🌳

I took the 11km route over the tops and through the forest with ups and downs all the way. All the beautiful tops I can see my home🏞️

Yes, it's not a foodie post but I'm hoping you won't mind💛

February's Favourites💞

When we think sustainable eating, many people will think about restriction of food, I challenge you to think about how to include more food into your diet🥕

Shopping seasonally helps with many things➡️
🌾Nutrient content
💰Cheaper produce
🚛Readily available
🦋Local farming
thus, 🌍Sustainable eating

31st January 2022📅

A whole month down in the new year of 22'

And this is where I want to remind you of all those goals you set only 30 days ago - your New Year's Resolutions!

If you set a goal for this year, now is a great time to check in with yourself. Instead of giving it up as a bad job, this is a chance to re-jig some things. To decide what is important, to see how it can fit into your life now and most of all, if you want it, how you're going to achieve it!

With February on the horizon... Tomorrow! Let this be a chance to rethink - not give up on your goals, dreams, aspirations!✨

Swipe 👉 for some of my aspirations

Reasons why I ditched the smart watch⌚

These amazing little devices have crept up into our lives over the last few years, helping us keep track of our activity, sleep, heart rate and even menstrual cycles, I mean what can't we do with smart watches these days?

I started with a Garmin Vivoactive - which I loved because I could swim with it🏊🏼‍♀️ followed by a Fitbit 2 as a gift🎁 which I actually lost a few months ago🤦🏼‍♀️

So back to the title of the post, in reality it's more like how the smart watch ditched me:

It became a psychological drain, I wouldn't exercise and not track my activities, I couldnt workout and not check to see 'how I did'. I'd become annoyed if I forgot the watch and did do something active. I would use it as a tool to scrutinise exercise I had done. Or get worked up if I hadn't reached my step count.

Its difficulties like these that myself and I know others have also had troubles with.

It's bizarre that we allow ourselves to focus on this little device and the numbers that come with it, more than what our body feels like when we move. Because to create healthy habits and consistency we must enjoy what we do. Constantly judging ourselves on data and ignoring how we feel takes the enjoyment out of the movement and in some cases removes the movement part all together.

I'm glad I lost my Fitbit because it's only now I realised what it was doing to my mental health.

In the future I would have a smart watch again, but I would definitely take breaks, actively not put it on for activities and think before I check the numbers:

Firstly, how do I feel?

- because how we feel is the most important part, regardless of the data the follows.

It's what's on the inside that counts!❤️

It can be so easy to only focus on our visual appearance when it comes to judging our health and honestly, it's actually one of the only things we can go off on face value🎭

👀But just because some may look healthy, fit, skinny, slim, a healthy BMI range it doesn't mean they are healthy. It's a word thats thrown about a bit and can often be misinterpreted to have one defining factor. In actual fact, Health is a very holistic thing:

"𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥, 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲"

1️⃣Being free from injury or illness
2️⃣A person's mental or physical condition
3️⃣ Social wellbing

Weight of course comes into play here, but our body image alone is not a defining factor of healthy🧘🏼‍♀️

Sustainability: It's not about perfection, but a contribution 🌱

Whether you're at 1 or 20 on the list use it as a guide to improve your home and become more environmentally friendly🌍

I'm at 13/20 so far - comment where you are down below ⬇️

🌱Review: Meat Free Beef Steak by Asda's Plant Based range

🍋Nutrition
The steak is made up of a mixture of soya protein, wheat and potato constituents: starch, protein. Therefore is not Gluten Free.
For 1/2 a steak (113g) 204kcal & a whooping 19g protein, 8.5g fat, 2.4g of which saturated, 11g carbohydrates and 3g fibre.
In comparison to a beef steak: PB steak is only 11kcal and 3.6g protein less. The beef steak does not have a carbohydrate or fibre content, but does have 40% more saturated fat (5.6g/100g)

🍽️Portion
On this plate of food it was HUGE and I didn't finish the 'meat', I found it incredibly heavy and quite stodgy, likely due to its carbohydrate and protein content alongside my sides.

👅Texture
Uncooked this steak is mashable, you have to delicately peel out of packaging to avoid breaking it, but there wasn't much of a problem here. Cooked the steak is meaty but does break off the fork unlike a usual steak. I wish before cooking that I patted it down slightly to help reduce the thickness.

👩🏼‍🍳Cooking
PB steak cooks by fry on the hob for 10-12 minutes with flipping between sides, I did find i would have preferred mine slightly longer on a low heat or popped in the oven to finish off the inside.

🙊Taste
The steak does have a meat like taste due to fruit and vegetable flavourings added. However I couldn't help but notice the taste and smells were basically identical to that of the PB bacon also created in the Asda range. The cooking smells do also linger for a while!

🏷️Price
Usally £3 for one steak
I bought reduced for £2.40 each
Compared to the meaty option: Asda £4.20, Morrison's £4, M&S £5 per sirloin beef steak
I would say its relatively priced!

🔁Again?
Although I love some PB bacon, I couldn't say the same fore the steak unfortunately. I won't be buying again

✨Overall rating: 4.5/10

Consistency is lock, enjoyment is the key🔐

Pick exercises you love, enjoyment what you do and become a healthier you because of it. Some of my favourites recently:

1️⃣ Zumba - both at home (YouTube) and classes
2️⃣ Walking / hiking 🏞️
3️⃣ HIIT
4️⃣ Sports: swimming🏊‍♀️, skating⛸️, tennis🎾 dancing💃

Those scales⚖️

The scales are by no means the only way to measure success or progression! Weigings can often make us anxious, nervous and even scared of the result. We often find ourselves in the predicament that despite all the hard work, healthy habits and grind we put into lifestyle changes that the only way to measure progress and success is determined by whether we have lost weight... This is not true. If you had a 'perfect' week of creating healthy habits, consistency and feel great, the scales may not be a reflection of this but how you 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 can be!

Instead of checking the scales try using:
📸 Progress pictures
👗Clothing - how it fits or looks
🧘🏼‍♀️ Consistency in habit creation
💡 Energy levels
🙋🏼‍♀️ Improved mood
❌ Resistance to slip into old habits
🧠 How you are feeling

Measuring your weight can be apart of the process - but is not the sole way to measure health, wellbeing or your self-worth!

There are so many more benefits to plants than just vitamins, minerals and fibre🌱

These tiny phytochemicals have shown to have many qualities for health and physiological needs of the body many linking to protection against oxidative stress from:
🌍Ozone damage
🗑️Pollution
☀️Radiation
🚭Smoking
⚗️Pesticides and cleaners

On a molecular level, these develop 'free radicals' in the body by oxidative stress, when the body doesn't have enough antioxidants to balance the free radicals, disease can develop:
🍬Diabetes
❤️Heart Disease & Atherosclerosis
💊Hypertension
🤒Inflammatory Conditions
♋Cancer
🧠Alzheimer's & Parkinson's Disease

Having a range of colour and variety of plant based foods in your diet can help towards preventing disease and counterbalance oxidative stress on the body🧘🏼‍♀️

Seasonal produce: January🌱

Shopping seasonally for our fresh produce can be a great 1️⃣st step to making our households more sustainable in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣. Foods bought in-season are often fresher, more nutritious, grown more naturally and likely hasn't had be shipped as far as foods bought out of season - which is better for local farmers, carbon footprints & us🌍

💚So, what does January have to bring to the table? (UK seasonal produce)
🍎 Apples🍏
🍐 Pears
🍄Mushroom
💚Cabbage
🥕Carrots, parsnip, swede, turnips
🌱Brussel Sprouts, Kale
🌰Onions, Spring onions
☘️Leek, spring greens, celeriac, celery
🎃Squash,beetroot, artichoke

Colourful and sustainable are in this January 🙋🏼‍♀️
What is your favourite Vegetable?🍠

As 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣1️⃣ comes to an end, here is my little list of accomplishments from the past year:

⚽Success at SVFC U18s squad
🍋Making the move to Freelance Dietetics
🧿Learnt about boundaries, value of self-care & down time
🐶Enjoyed family time
🏘️Dreaming & visualising the future
☪️Completed Ramadan
⛸️Started rollerskating, gymnastics, women's football
🏃🏼‍♀️10k, half & metric marathon
🏞️Climbed Scafell
💪Tough Mudder 5k
👷🏼‍♀️Project running: development of 3G facilities in Rossendale
🏅Became a member of the Sports Council
🚐Finished my rusty van ready for camping
📰Interviewed for my 2nd & 3rd magazine article pieces
🕵🏼‍♀️Interviewed undergraduate Dietetics Students
🎙️Appeared on LIVE radio
👣 Got a promotion
💼Preparation for my 3rd business
📈Started investing
📚 Refound my love of reading

2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣ I'm coming for you...

2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣ here we come baby!

Although not for all, many do set resolution's for the New Year ahead, and some of these may relate to your health, fitness, appearance and energy levels💛

Knowing what we want snd setting the goals are often the easy part. Completing and achieving often found a bit harder. This doesn't mean quit, but re-jig and try, try again.

If you find you're struggling try my 5️⃣ step rule:
1️⃣ Create a smaller, short term goal & build from this
2️⃣ Focus on one thing at a time
3️⃣ Remain positive, affirm & believe in yourself
4️⃣ There's no failure or judgement from anyone but youself - be kind
5️⃣ Draw attention to the feelings these changes create - this will create a long lasting affect to want to continue to achieve want you set out to