A few weeks ago as I rummaged through the fridge once again trying to come up with a quick, healthy after school snack, I found some leftover chicken soup. The girls devoured it! The perfect nourishing, yummy snack on a cold winters day. Why haven’t I thought of this sooner? 

I’ve made many variations of this soup over the years, but here is our current favourite.

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 whole chicken (or equivalent thighs, wings or legs)

4 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

4 large potatoes, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

12 cups chicken stock

90g udon noodles*

1. Place the whole chicken into a large pot and pour in the stock. 
2. Add the vegetables, garlic and ginger. Stir to combine then bring to the boil.
3. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through and falling off the bone).
4. Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
5. Break the noodles into smaller pieces (around 5cm) and add to the pot. Bring the pot back to the boil then reduce to a simmer.
6. Meanwhile, carefully remove the flesh from the chicken carcass an add the flesh back to the pot.
7. Continue to cook over a low heat until the noodles are cooked through.

*You can use any of your favourite vegetables.

*I like the Hakubaku Organic Udon noodles which can be found in most supermarkets.

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1. Lamb roast with lots of roast veggies.
2. Lamb curry
3. Lamb pie
4. Lamb ragu with wholemeal pasta
5. And, my personal favourite – Lamb & Quinoa Salad

This Lamb & Quinoa Salad recipe is absolutely delish and so quick and easy to prepare. It’s the perfect recipe for using up your lamb roast leftovers. You can also make it with any number of vegetables you have in your fridge. Enjoy!

Lamb & Quinoa Salad

2 cups of leftover lamb roast, sliced

1 cup quinoa

1/4 broccoli, roughly chopped

1 cup kale leaves

1/2 red capsicum, finely diced

1 cup frozen peas

1 bunch fresh herbs (coriander, basil or mint)

200g feta

Greek yoghurt to serve

Juice of 1 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Place the lamb into an oven proof dish and cover with foil. Cook for 30 minutes or until heated through.
3. Cook the quinoa as per packet instructions and set aside.
4. Place the peas into a pot and cover with boiling water. Simmer for 5 minutes then drain.
5. Place the broccoli, kale and herbs into the food processor and process until fine.
6. Tip the cooked quinoa into a large bowl and add the broccoli mixture, peas and capsicum. Stir to combine.
7. Place the quinoa mixture onto a large platter and crumble over the feta.
8. Top with slices of warm lamb.
9. Place the yoghurt into a bowl and add the lemon juice.
10. Serve the lamb & quinoa salad with lemon yoghurt dressing.

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I’d be lying if I said I looked forward to grocery shopping each week. First theres the packing of enough snacks to get my 2 year old through the event, then theres the deciding which meals to have for the week (making sure they’re healthy and the kids will eat them), and my favourite part – unpacking the shopping and wishing I’d cleaned the fridge last week (and the week before that).

While I can’t take your grocery shopping pain away, I can take some of that stress away by helping you to make healthier choices in what has become a sea of confusing, clever packaging (why is everything ‘fortified’ and why does sugar filled cereal have a 4 star health rating?). Each month I am going to share with you some some simple ways to get more nutrition and less packaging into your trolleys with as little stress as possible – making small change for big impact.

Being the beginning of the school year, I thought I’d start with Yoghurt, generally loved by all children and a great addition to any lunchbox. The question I get a lot when it comes to yoghurt is how to get children eating the natural, unflavoured stuff when they’re use to the sweet, flavoured kind. Obviously, it is best to start them out on the natural yoghurt so that this is all they know. However, if you’re making the transition from sweet to natural, here’s what I suggest:

1. If you’re child is particularly fussy when it comes to food, start slow. Buy a small tub of natural and a small tub of flavoured and mix them together. Over the next few weeks, slowly reduce the sweet yoghurt until you don’t need it anymore.
2. Make your own flavour combinations. Buy a natural, unflavoured yoghurt and add your own fruit puree or fresh fruit. Or add a little cinnamon or natural vanilla extract.

Not only is natural yoghurt a healthier choice, it is also much cheaper to buy large tubs rather than those small sweet sachets. Natural yoghurt brands I recommend are Jalna and Mundella.

Another common question is ‘what is the difference between greek yoghurt and natural yoghurt?’

The making of greek and natural yoghurt starts off the same – milk is heated, then cooled before beneficial bacteria are added. It is then left to ferment until the bacteria grows, produces lactic acid and gels the milk proteins to produce regular yoghurt. To make greek yoghurt, it is then strained to remove the liquid, whey and lactose, leaving a thicker textured yoghurt.

Greek yoghurt has:

• More fat than natural yoghurt (around 3x more)
• Double the protein of natural yoghurt
• Contains half the sodium of natural yoghurt
• Half the carbohydrate of natural yoghurt

I LOVE greek yoghurt and use it a lot (I also love Jamie Oliver and he uses a lot of yoghurt is his recipes). Greek yoghurt is smooth and creamy and is a healthier alternative to cream and mayonnaise (I add it to pasta sauces, coleslaws, potato salad and smoothies).

So next time you’re in the supermarket, grab that large tub of greek or natural yoghurt and make your own delicious creations!

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Spiced Pear Teacake

3 cups white spelt flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup golden caster sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp natural vanilla extract

175g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1/2 cup natural yoghurt

1 cup milk

4 pears, diced (skin on)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Line a 30cm x 10cm x 3cm deep tray with baking paper.
3. Place the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar into a bowl and stir to combine.
4. Place the butter, milk, yoghurt, eggs and vanilla into a jug and whisk to combine.
5. Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and mix.
6. Fold through the pears.
7. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and sprinkle with a little extra golden caster sugar.
8. Place into the oven for approximately 45 – 5o minutes or until golden and cooked through.

I like to serve it warm with a dollop of natural greek yoghurt for some extra creamy decadence.

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According to the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, “food allergy affects 10% of children up to 1 year of age [and] between 4-8% of children aged up to 5 years of age”. In Australia, hospital admissions for anaphylaxis due to food allergy in children aged 0 to 4 have increased fivefold in the last decade. It’s no wonder ‘everything-free’ parties are now the norm.

But are we seeing an increase in food allergies or intolerances, and what differentiates the two?

Food Allergy Or Intolerance?

The key factors differentiating a food intolerance from a food allergy are:

• severity and complexity of symptoms; and
• whether or not the immune system is involved

Someone suffering from a food intolerance may experience non-life-threatening symptoms such as gastric upset (e.g. stomach pain, bloating, constipation. diarrhoea) and skin rashes. This is due to a chemical reaction and the symptoms are generally limited to the digestive system. Food intolerance sufferers may also be able to eat small amounts of the offending food without serious repercussions. A vast number of foods can cause these symptoms including nuts, dairy, wheat, sugar, salicylates, preservatives and additives.

A food allergy on the other hand causes an immune reaction with the very real risk of anaphylaxis. Symptoms of food allergy include swelling of the lips, face and eyes, wheezing, tightness in the throat, dizziness and difficulty breathing. The most common food allergies include tree nuts, peanuts, cow’s milk, egg, sesame, soy, fish, shellfish and wheat. According to the Australaisian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, these foods make up 90% of all food allergic reactions.

How Are Food Allergies And Intolerances Diagnosed?

There are a number of different tests that can be used to diagnose a food allergy or intolerance. These tests vary in accuracy and invasiveness. Whilst these tests alone do not always provide clear-cut answers, they are usually combined with a child’s family and personal history of symptoms and a physical examination to provide a diagnosis.

Elimination Diet

Many orthodox and complementary practitioners will recommend keeping a food journal to identify a direct link between a particular food being consumed and symptoms being presented. Once one or two suspect foods have been identified, a child may be placed on an elimination diet. By eliminating the suspect foods for a week or two and then re-introducing them into the diet, it may be possible to pinpoint the foods causing the most problems. After avoiding the suspect foods for a few months, the offending foods can be gradually reintroduced into the diet to determine whether the intolerance or allergy has cleared on its own.

Skin Prick Testing

A skin prick test involves placing a drop of solution containing the suspect food on the back of the forearm or back. The skin is then pricked with a needle to allow small amounts of the substance to enter below the skin surface. A positive result will present, usually within 30 minutes, as a raised, red swelling (called a wheal).

Unfortunately however positive results are not always accurate. According to Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) “about 50-60 percent of all skin prick tests yield “false positive” results, meaning that the test shows positive even though [the patient is] not really allergic to the food being tested.”

Skin prick tests are generally not recommended for children under 12 months. This is due to increased risk and greater complexity of interpretation of results.

Blood Tests For Allergen Specific IgE

Blood tests may be used to measure a child’s immune response to particular foods (by checking the amount of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies in the bloodstream). These tests are often performed when:

• skin testing is not easily available
• when skin conditions such as severe eczema preclude skin prick testing, or
• when a person is taking medications (such as antihistamines) that interfere with accurate skin prick testing.

If you would like some more information on allergies relating to your child, please email me to discuss a private 1:1 paediatric nutrition consultation.

*This article was first published by Katie Harding @ Nourished Beginnings on www.mumlifeaustralia.com

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