Written by Kate Bullen, APD








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Written by Kate Bullen, APD

I started using Chia seeds regularly just over 12 months ago. They are a small little seed that has many uses – from baking, to sprinkling over cereal or adding to a smoothie.  I think the real benefit of Chia seeds is that they are a fantastic fibre source – and most people are lacking in the amount of fibre in their diet. In just 1 tablespoon of Chia seeds, you get 5g of fibre – so you will be well on your way to meeting your daily fibre needs of 25-30g. Chia provides both soluble and insoluble fibre which is good news for keeping you full for longer, helping with your bowel habits and your cholesterol.






I usually buy my Chia seeds from my local health food shop. You can choose from white Chia seed, black Chia seed or ground Chia seeds. I have the white ones at the moment. The 500g packs retail at $18.95 – which is quite expensive – but I put a tablespoon on my cereal in the morning and a bit over a teaspoon on each of the kids cereal – so the pack lasts me a long time. On the Chia Co website you can also get smaller 150g packs for $7.39 so if you are worried about whether you will get the use out of it, then start small.

How to Use

• 1 tablespoon on my cereal in the morning
• Add to soups or casseroles
• Add to baking, such as pancakes, muffins or muesli bars
• Add to milkshakes/smoothies

Have you tried chia? How do you like to use chia?

1 cup steamed green beans
1 bok choy, cleaned and steamed
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
2 mushrooms, sliced
4 kalamata olives, pitted
1 soft boiled egg, quartered
Black pepper


1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed

1.      Arrange vegetables and olives in a bowl, and place egg on top
2.      Place all dressing ingredients in a small sealed container and shake. Measure out 1 teaspoon and drizzle over salad. Season with freshly cracked black pepper.

Written by Kate Bullen, APD

I am all about healthy food being simple. So today I thought I would share with you a few super easy lunches and snacks that we have had in our house recently.

Lunch today in our house was some chopped carrot, sugarsnap peas, tomato and then some ham and avocado on bread for me and some crackers for my daughter. Super tasty and so simple to make.

Lunch last week - crackers with vegemite, some cheese, cucumber and sugarsnap peas.
Morning tea yesterday for my almost-2 yr old son,  5 yr old daughter and one of her friends. They shared some wholemeal english muffins, cheese, cherry tomatoes, carrot, pineapple, strawberries and roasted pumpkin. I usually try to offer a mix of fruit and vegetables. Predictably the vegetables were the only thing left on the plate - but each kid did have at least 1 piece. If they are offered then they wont eat anything!!
Healthy food doesnt need to be complicated or involve too much time or effort. Simple solutions are often the best.

What is your favourite easy, healthy and tasty snack or lunch?

Written by Kate Bullen, APD

My husband just sent me this link to an online article today, as he just knew that I would love it. This is an article about a journalist in the USA who fed himself 22 vitamin supplements, protein bars and psyllium each day for 5 months. So he used himself as a science experiment! He had a doctor check him before starting the experiment and again at the end. The only significant change was an increase in his Vitamin D - oh and he gained 5kg in weight!! I accept that this study is not a double blind placebo controlled study (the bees knees) but it does raise some very valid points about vitamin supplements - unless you have a real need for supplements, you may just be popping a pill and weeing it down the toilet. Which really just makes for expensive wee :)

And not forgetting that the vitamin industry is a multi-million dollar industry. I continue to be blown away by just how expensive supplements are.

I have written before about my thoughts on vitamin supplements, and while there are some genuine times that supplements can be very helpful (for example, if you are vegetarian, or pregnant, or breastfeeding, or have arthritis), many are just excessive and not needed. 

Some food for thought on this Monday evening!

Written by Kate Bullen, APD

Written by Kate Bullen, APD

The word cancer – what does it mean? Well most people instantly think of a bloody awful disease that no-one wants. 50% of us will be diagnosed with some type of cancer by the time we are 85years old. I know which side of the fence I want to be on!

• Fruit juice appears to increase our risk of bowel cancer, in particular rectal cancer.
• The Brassica family of vegetables – which includes cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, bok choy and turnip – reduces our risk of proximal bowel cancer, and maybe even distal bowel cancer. This makes these types of vegetables very important because really they seem to reduce our risk of most bowel cancer. This is a good thing!
• The risk of distal bowel cancer is reduced when we eat more fruits and vegetables.
• Eating more dark yellow vegetables decreases our risk of distal bowel cancer. Dark yellow vegetables include pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato and squash.
• Eating apples (the whole fruit – not juice!) appears to reduce our risk of distal bowel cancer.

Why are fruits and vegetables protective? We don’t know the exact answer, but it is possible that it is because of their fibre content, and maybe because of the compounds they contain – such as carotenoids in dark yellow vegetables.





Annema N, Heyworth JS, McNaughton SA, Iacopetta B. 2011. Fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of proximal colon, distal colon, and rectal cancers in a case-control study in Western Australia. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 111 (10): 1479-1490.