AWA: Academic Writing at Auckland
Title: Healthy eating on a budget
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Copyright: Hannah Feenstra
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Description: Design a healthy meal plan on a budget. How healthy is your menu? Consider energy and fat contributions, fruits and vegetables, etc. How could it be improved? Were you able to keep to the budget when doing your "shopping"? What challenges did you face in your "shopping"? Did you have to make any sacrifices due to cost? Is your menu feasible? What other resources are needed to eat as you have proposed? (e.g. time, cooking equipment, skills) Would you eat the foods on the menu that you have suggested? If not, why not? What are your overall impressions of healthy eating on a budget as a result of completing this assignment? What do you think are the major barriers for families for eating well with limited resources?
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Healthy eating on a budget
Family number 1: The Arnold Family
Menus and Recipes Day 1 Menu
Day 1 Recipes
Porridge with apple or banana 2 cups rolled oats 1 cup whole oats 1/4 tsp salt 6 cups water 3 bananas OR 3 apples ½ cup sultanas 4 tbsp brown sugar 1 cup light blue milk Place oats, salt, water, mashed banana OR grated apple and sultanas in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and stir until cooked. Mix in honey and serve with milk.
Bran muffins (makes 12) 2 eggs 2/3 cup brown sugar 2 bananas, mashed 1 cup light blue-top milk ¼ cup oil 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 cup wheat bran 1 cup wholemeal flour ¾ cup standard flour 1 ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp salt ½ cup dark chocolate chips 1/3 cup walnuts Mix together lemon juice and milk and leave to sour. Whisk together eggs and brown sugar. Mix in banana, sour milk, oil and bran. In a separate bowl, sift together remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and walnuts. Mix together wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Spoon into greased muffin trays, sprinkle with walnuts and bake for 15 to 25 minutes at 200°C.
Tuna and salad sandwiches (makes 5 sandwiches) 1 375g can tuna in spring water 2 tbsp mayo 100g lettuce 2 tomatoes 100g cucumber 10 slices wholemeal bread 10 tsp margarine Mix tuna with mayo, slice vegetables and assemble sandwich.
Chicken casserole with kumara mash Casserole 1 large onion 2 cloves garlic 2 sticks celery 2 carrots 1 kumara 1 capsicum 1 zucchini 2 x 400g cans cannellini beans 2 x 400g cans tomato 500g skinless chicken thighs 1 tsp cumin powder 1 tsp chilli powder 2 cups spinach ¼ tsp Salt ¼ tsp Pepper Mash 1 kg kumara 2 tsp margarine 50mL reduced fat milk Brown chicken then set aside. Sautee onion, garlic, carrot and celery with spices until soft. Chop remaining vegetables and add, along with beans. Season, then cook until vegetables are tender. Return chicken to pan along with spinach to cook through. To make mash, steam kumara until tender then mix in milk and margarine. Serve casserole with mash.
Day 2 Menu
Day 2 Recipes
Fruit salad with yoghurt 2 apples 2 bananas 2 nashi pears 2 kiwifruit 4 feijoas 2 cups natural yoghurt Cut up fruit and serve with natural yoghurt.
Tuna with salad 1 medium beetroot 1 carrot 1 apple 1 orange 1 tsp olive oil 95g can chilli tuna Grate carrot, apple and beetroot. Combine oil and orange juice. Serve with tuna.
Vegetable sticks with hummus 1 can chickpeas 2 cloves garlic Juice of 1 lemon 2 tbsp olive oil 1 red capsicum 1 carrot 2 sticks celery 80g cucumber 1/8 tsp salt 1/8 tsp Pepper Blend chickpeas, chopped garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a blender until smooth. Slice vegetables into sticks and serve with dip.
Ham and cucumber rolls 40g shaved ham 2 tsp margarine 50g cucumber 2 wholemeal rolls
Vegetable curry 1 onion 2 tbsp fresh ginger 2 cloves garlic Small bunch coriander 2 red peppers 500g pumpkin 1 can chickpeas 1 tbsp olive oil 800g tinned tomatoes 3 cups frozen peas 80g korma curry paste 200g plain yoghurt 500g brown rice
Day 3 Menu
Day 3 Recipes
Tofu stir fry 400g tofu 100 mL lemon juice 100 mL reduced salt soy sauce 2 cloves garlic 2tbsp ginger 2 cups broccoli, chopped 350g beans 3 carrots 2tbsp olive oil 500g brown rice Cut tofu into cubes. Combine finely chopped ginger and garlic, soy sauce and lemon juice and marinate tofu. Cook rice. Chop vegetables. Fry marinated tofu separately in a little oil, reserving marinade. Stir-fry vegetables in remaining oil and add tofu and remaining marinade at the end. Serve with rice.
Salmon Pasta Salad 415g canned salmon 250g wholemeal penne pasta 1 red capsicum 2 sticks celery 1 cup chopped broccoli 2 carrots 2 courgettes 1 small red onion 2/3 cup olive oil ¼ cup (62mL) lemon juice 2 tbsp mayonnaise 1 clove garlic 1/8 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper Cook pasta. Slice vegetables. Add courgette, capsicum and broccoli to the pasta water during the last minute of cooking time, then drain. Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Drain and flake salmon, then combine with vegetables and dressing. Porridge with apple See day 1 recipes.
Shopping lists
Shopping Location: Countdown New Lynn
Shopping Location: Avondale Market
Shopping Location: Bulk Barn New Lynn
Total price all ingredients: $105.10
Reflection How healthy is your menu? Consider energy and fat contributions, fruits and vegetables, etc. How could it be improved? Overall my menu is reasonably healthy. About 17% of energy is derived from protein, which is slightly higher than the recommended 11-15% (Ministry of Health, 2003). However, there is wide variation in the amount of protein consumed in different diets and 17% falls well below the recommended upper limit of 25% of energy from protein sources (National Health and Medical Research Council & Ministry of Health, 2006). The sources of protein are from a variety of healthy sources such as seafood, low fat dairy products, legumes and vegetables meaning that the slightly high percentage of energy derived from protein is unlikely to be problematic (Ministry of Health, 2003). Almost 56% of the energy in my menu is derived from carbohydrates, which meets the broad guideline that 45-65% of energy be derived from carbohydrates (National Health and Medical Research Council & Ministry of Health, 2006) and meets the WHO recommendation of at least 55% of energy derived from carbohydrates to prevent chronic disease (World Health Organization & FAO, 2003). The menu is also low in sugar which can be harmful to dental health (National Health and Medical Research Council & Ministry of Health, 2006) and includes a range of whole grains and fruit and vegetables that provide dietary fibre which is important for the prevention of a range of chronic diseases (National Health and Medical Research Council & Ministry of Health, 2006). At 27%, the percentage of energy derived from fat is within the optimal range of 20-35% of energy derived from fat (Ministry of Health, 2010; National Health and Medical Research Council & Ministry of Health, 2006). 27% of all fats is saturated fat, which means around 7% of total energy is derived from saturated fat which is below the recommended upper limit of 10% of total energy derived from saturated fat (Ministry of Health, 2003, 2010; National Health and Medical Research Council & Ministry of Health, 2006). The menu also provides about 8% of energy from poly-unsaturated fatty acids which meets the recommendation of 6-10% (Ministry of Health, 2003) and the remaining 12% of fat is mono-unsaturated fatty acids which also meets the recommendation (Ministry of Health, 2003). My menu contains a good variety of fruits and vegetables and meets the recommendation of 2 servings of fruit and 3 serving of vegetables per day (Ministry of Health, 2003). The variety provides a good range of micronutrients essential for good health (Ministry of Health, 2003). At 11815 mg/day the amount of sodium in my menu appears to be higher than the recommended upper level of intake of 2300mg/day for the adults in my family and 200mg/day for the children (8600mg/day total) (National Health and Medical Research Council & Ministry of Health, 2006). However, the Foodworks software does not have an option for the reduced salt soy sauce which I have included in my menu. Given that reduced salt soy sauce contains roughly 50% less sodium than regular soy sauce, if this is take into account the total amount of sodium per day is reduced to 9291 mg. This is still above the suggested upper level of intake and is therefore an area that could be improved.
Were you able to keep to the budget when doing your “shopping”? What challenges did you face in your “shopping”? Did you have to make any sacrifices due to cost? I was able to keep to my budget by shopping around and buying all my fruit and vegetables from the Avondale Market, which in my experience is at least 50% cheaper than buying fruit and vegetables from a supermarket. I also visited Bulk Barn and purchased only the quantity I needed of the items they had available, except for things like spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda which would have been very difficult to purchase in the tiny quantities required. This saved me a significant amount of money and I am sure I would have been unable to complete the shopping on budget if I had purchased all my items from a supermarket. I had to make some sacrifices due to cost. I would have preferred to have bought grainy bread such as Vogel’s rather than wheat meal as this provides a variety of seeds and grains and I find the taste superior. I also would have preferred to buy a mixture of raw nuts instead of nut bars but this would have cost at least twice as much as the nut bars. I would also have preferred to buy free-range eggs and chicken and red salmon rather than pink for ethical reasons.
Is your menu feasible? What other resources are needed to eat as you have proposed? (e.g. time, cooking equipment, skills) Would you eat the foods on the menu that you have suggested? If not, why not? My menu does require a certain level of commitment to healthy eating to be feasible. It took me a long time to plan such a healthy menu and I had to shop at three different places to be able to afford the ingredients. This requires time as well as a car and the luck to live near a market such as the Avondale Market that provides such a cheap source of fresh produce. The meals themselves are mostly made from scratch with the exception of a few convenience foods like canned beans and fish. They are simple meals that nevertheless require some basic cooking skills and equipment. While the dinners require preparation, all take less than half an hour of ‘hands on’ time and should be feasible for the family I chose as Mum works part time and the kids are old enough to help out with food preparation. The salmon pasta dish for lunch on day three can be completed in the time it takes the pasta to cook and could be made ahead of time if necessary. I would eat and enjoy everything on the menu if the eggs and chicken were free range. While some people might find the similarity of the stew-type meals boring, I find that these types of meals are an effective way to minimise time spent cooking and cleaning up while still ensuring that nutrient requirements are met, and flavours can easily be varied to avoid boredom. The menu is based on dishes I cook often, although I have simplified some aspects to increase the feasibility of the menu, for example by purchasing a pre-made curry paste rather than making my own. I also enjoy eating some vegetarian meals and find them just as satisfying as meals composed of meat.
What are your overall impressions of healthy eating on a budget as a result of completing this assignment? What do you think are the major barriers for families for eating well with limited resources? My main impression was that to eat healthily on such a limited budget requires a huge commitment to healthy eating. One must have some knowledge of what constitutes healthy eating; meals must be planned carefully and in detail; time must be spent shopping around to afford the ingredients; the shopping list must be religiously followed; meals must be prepared at home and almost from scratch every day; it is likely that some meals must be vegetarian; there is no money for ‘treats’. I also discovered that making ethical food choices such as buying free-range eggs and chicken, or choosing red rather than pink salmon, or buying fair-trade products is an unaffordable luxury on a limited budget. The level of commitment required is the main barrier to families eating well on limited resources. This is the result of a number of different barriers. A significant amount of time is required for planning; shopping and cooking that may be difficult even for a Mum who works part time. If members of a family do not enjoy cooking, as many people do not, these tasks will be viewed as chores and unlike other chores, there are simple and affordable ways to feed the family in much less time, for example by using convenience foods. Another potential barrier is lack of knowledge about what constitutes a healthy diet. There is a myriad of conflicting advice available about what constitutes a healthy diet and making sense of all this information can be daunting. It is likely that some people would rather just eat what they enjoy than try and work out how to eat a healthy diet. Even with access to the Foodworks software I found it difficult to ensure that the nutritional requirements of the family were met and I think this would be extremely difficult to do without knowledge or guidance. The lack of availability of affordable produce is likely to be a significant barrier to families who do not live near a large market or cheap greengrocer. Fruit and vegetables in supermarkets is much more expensive than in these places and given the large amount of produce needed to meet dietary guidelines for a family is likely to be unaffordable. I was only able to afford the produce for my assignment by purchasing it at the market and even my local greengrocer was unaffordable. Lack of skills such as budgeting and cooking skills could also act as barriers, as my menu allowed no room for error in the budget and required knowledge at the very least of how to prepare vegetables. Access to resources such as the internet and cookbooks as well as contact with people who have these skills is essential in order to be able to prepare healthy food and many families may not be able to access such resources easily. Overall, it is a huge challenge for families with limited resources to eat healthily.
References Ministry of Health. (2003). Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Adults. Wellington: Ministry of Health. Ministry of Health. (2010). Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Children and Young People (Aged 2-18 Years): A Background Paper: Draft for Consultation. Wellington: Ministry of Health. National Health and Medical Research Council, & Ministry of Health. (2006). Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand. Canberra: Commonweath of Australia. World Health Organization, & FAO. (2003). Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. Geneva: World Health Organization.
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