Triathlete and personal trainer Emma Weitnauer continues her series on what you need to eat to be fit for life.

In our last issue of Provisions I introduced you to energy-giving, healthy and satisfying low-GI carbohydrate foods. To help keep the variety in your diet here are some great low-GI meal ideas:

Breakfast

  • Porridge with low-fat milk or light soy milk, topped with LSA (linseeds, sunflower seeds and ground almonds).
  • PerforMAX toast or fruit toast with a scrape of low-fat cream cheese and sliced apple or pear, or a scrape of natural peanut butter.
  • Low-fat yoghurt, topped with fresh fruit and LSA.
  • PerforMAX or Burgen bread toasted with baked beans or a poached egg with avocado.

Lunch

  • PerforMAX, Burgen or pita bread with lean meat, tuna or egg and filled up with salad, use low-fat dip, low-fat cream cheese or avocado instead of butter, margarine or mayonnaise.
  • Add lentils, barley, split peas or pasta to vegetable soup, with a slice or two of low-GI bread.
  • Garden salad with tuna, chicken or egg and a slice or two of low-GI bread.
  • Garden salad with a mixture of beans (four-bean mix) and a slice or two of low-GI bread.

Dinner

  • Grilled lean meat, chicken or fish with sweet potato, sweet corn and peas.
  • Stir-fry lean beef, chicken or fish with vegetables and basmati rice.
  • Barbecue chicken with corn cobs and garden salad.
  • Lasagna with lean mince or vegetables, add a mixture of beans and low-fat cheese, with a garden salad.
  • Curry with lean meat, chicken or fish, corn and peas, with basmati rice and pappadums.
  • Add beans or lentils to casseroles or stews.

Dessert

  • Low-fat and low-GI ice cream, frozen yoghurt, yoghurt or custard and fresh fruit salad.
  • Baked apple stuffed with dried fruit and LSA, serve with low-fat yoghurt.
  • Fruit crumble, topped with muesli, wheat flakes and a little bit of honey, serve with low-fat ice cream.
  • Use apple juice or dried fruit instead of sugar to sweeten desert recipes.

Snacks

  • Hard-boiled egg and a piece of fruit.
  • Low-fat yoghurt with a handful of raw nuts
  • Small tin of tuna with a piece of fruit.
  • Carrot or celery sticks with low-fat dip.
  • Low-fat bran muffins.

The foods for these meals and snacks are easy to buy, easy to prepare and very nutritious. Your next step on the eating for energy pathway is to think about protein foods.

Protein foods

The carbohydrate foods you eat provide most of your energy and are essential for healthy living. Protein has an equally important role in the maintenance of great health. Protein is a vital part of all body cells, it is found in muscles, the heart, liver and kidneys, in skin, nails, bone and teeth. Protein builds, repairs and maintains body tissue. It is needed for fluid balance, blood clotting, hormone and enzyme production and immune function. When protein is digested it is broken down into amino acids. There are 20 different types of amino acid, each with a different role. Eight amino acids are called “essential” amino acids, they can’t be made within the body, so they have to come from food sources. Complete protein foods have all eight essential amino acids.

Complete protein foods are: Lean beef, lamb, veal, pork; skinless poultry; eggs; low-fat dairy foods; fish and seafood and soy beans and lentils.

If you eat some protein food with every meal and snack you will make sure that you repair the daily wear-and-tear on your body. Protein foods also satisfy hunger, making you feel more full, so you will be less likely to overeat or resort to snacking on less nutritious foods.

If you eat a varied and balanced diet you will be consuming enough protein for good health and for your everyday needs. Very active people and athletes may need extra protein for muscle-building and repair or as an extra source of energy (protein can provide as much as 10 % of energy needs).

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