Banana bread, hearty beef pie, crumbed fish and wedges, choc nut bar - they don't exactly sound like foods you should be eating if you're trying to get slim, but when Jenny makes them, they form part of our healthy diet eating plan!
Our brilliant team of nutritionists know exactly what your body needs to function at its best. We have over 70 meals and snacks included in our healthy diet menu that will make your body and your tastebuds happy.
The old style of dieting is a thing of the past. With Jenny you can forget about counting calories, weighing food and measuring portions - we've done all the hard work for you.
Just relax and enjoy a mouth-watering selection of delicious home style meals.
To get a taste of what we’re talking about, have a look at the sample menu our dietitians have put together.
Myths about your diet
Expand All- Myth: I can just cut all fat from my diet.
Fact: Fat serves many important functions, such as storing energy, transporting certain vitamins and providing flavour and texture to foods.
When it comes to weight loss, kilojoules are the bottom line. Reduced-fat foods often have reduced kilojoules compared to their full-fat counterparts. But, be sure to check the label, as some reduced-fat or fat-free foods have added sugar to maintain their flavour, which increases the kilojoules.
When it comes to health, the best type of fat to include in our diets are polyunsaturated ones such as omega-3 and omega-6 or monounsaturated fat such as the omega-9. This includes oily fish, nuts and seeds, and healthy oils like olive and canola.
- Myth: Certain foods can help burn fat.
Fact: There are no foods with magic fat-burning ingredients.
Some foods with caffeine temporarily speed up your metabolism, but probably not enough to lead to weight loss. The same can be said for spicy foods like the capsaicin in chilli. However, there is some exciting emerging research looking at components in green tea assisting with fat loss.
- Myth: I can't eat chocolate and lose weight.
Fact: You can enjoy chocolate occasionally as part of a well balanced diet and regular physical activity.
Much has been said about the possible health benefits of chocolate. Chocolate does contain antioxidants, which come from the cocoa beans (the main ingredient in chocolate). Antioxidants may help to prevent heart disease, cancer and other degenerative illnesses.
The higher the percentage of cocoa, the more antioxidants. Dark chocolate contains more cocoa than milk chocolate and white chocolate contains no cocoa. The additional benefit of dark chocolate is its rich bitter taste, which means you may be inclined to eat less. Regardless of what type of chocolate you choose it's still significantly high in fat, particularly saturated fat, and sugar – and therefore high in kilojoules.
So can you love chocolate and still lose weight? The answer is yes!
The keys are portion control and moderation. Although high in sugar and fat, enjoying a small amount occasionally as part of a well balanced diet and regular physical activity is okay. A couple of squares of dark chocolate every now and then to keep you from feeling deprived will not stack on the kilos. It’s the over indulgence that you need to steer clear of.
While cocoa is one source of antioxidants, they are also found in many other foods, particularly fresh fruit and vegetables, so a well balanced diet is the best way to obtain the health benefits of antioxidants.- Myth: Cutting out carbohydrates is the best way to lose weight.
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Fact: A very low carbohydrate menu is not a healthy way to lose weight!
It may stress your kidneys and cause headaches, dehydration and bad breath. It can also make you feel tired, weak, dizzy and nauseated.
Although initial weight loss may be rapid, studies show that loss is mostly water and, over time, the total weight lost is no greater than with a more moderate eating plan. It is also difficult to follow such a restrictive diet over the long-term. Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, beans and other starches are not only rich in carbohydrates, they also provide dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals as well as other antioxidants. Eliminating these foods may reduce nutrients that are important to help prevent osteoporosis, heart disease and certain cancers.
- Myth: Eating after 8.00pm leads to weight gain.
Fact: Your body burns food the same way no matter what time it is. What matters is; what you eat, how much you eat and how active you are.
No matter how good your diet is, excess kilojoules will be stored as fat. If you are eating high kilojoule and high fat foods while watching late night television, you may gain weight because of your food choices, not due to the time of day. Also, snacking while doing other things like watching television can easily lead to overeating, because distractions may cause you to lose track of how much you are eating.
- Myth: I can only lose weight if I eat less than 4000 kilojoules per day.
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Fact: Consuming too few kilojoules can send your body into "starvation mode."
Your metabolism slows down, putting your body into a state of survival in which it conserves more of the kilojoules you eat, making it more difficult for you to lose weight.