March 18, 2025 • 35 mins
In this episode of The Nutrition Couch, Susie Burrell and Leanne Ward dive into a popular topic: snack bars. Are they a healthy option, or just a quick fix with hidden downsides? We break down the pros and cons of these convenient options, from protein-packed bars to those loaded with sugars and ultra-processed ingredients.
Plus, we explore exciting new research on time-restricted eating and its potential metabolic benefits. Is skipping breakfast actually good for you? We share the latest data, including insights into fat loss, blood sugar control, and how your eating window could impact your health.
We also chat about some fresh finds, including a surprisingly delicious product from Coles that might just be the perfect meal solution for time-poor families.
And as always, we wrap up with a listener question about protein types, discussing what you should look for when choosing the best protein for your goals.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Do you love a snack bar or maybe a protein bar,
or maybe your thing is a nutbar. On today's episode
of The Nutrition Couch, we are going to chat all
things bars and nutrition and the times we use them
with our clients and the times we are not such
a fan. Hi, I'm Susie Burrell and I'm lean Ward,
and together we bring you The Nutrition Couch, the weekly
(00:22):
podcast that keeps you up to date on everything you
need to know in the world of nutrition, as well
as all things snack bars. We have some brand new
data that takes a closer look at time restricted eating.
I have found a very yummy new product at coal,
so I'm going to ask the Leanne's thoughts on and
our listener question is all about a slightly different type
(00:43):
of protein. But before we kick off, we are recording
on a Friday nightly Ann because you are live in
potential cyclone area Brisbane. What's going on there? I'll ask
for a first hand review. We thought we'd better get
on and record a couple of potties in case everything
does go power in Brisbane and Queensland. So, but there's
(01:03):
not much happening up there at the moment. It's like waiting, waiting.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
All this is like everyone's just waiting and waiting and waiting.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
And it is Friday night.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Given Originally they said it would hit like Thursday night,
early Friday morning, then Friday night. Now it's like midday Saturday,
so we're not too sure. But the wind's just starting
to pick up here. There's been no ray and like
it's so eerie, Like the sun almost came out today
multiple times.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
It was weird. We're like, can we go to the park,
should we take the kids out?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Like it's like lockdown two point zero, Like everyone's been
insigne for the last two days. They shut the schools,
they shut the daycares, like it's just odd. But poor
Gold Coasters and all the news as well, those guys
are copping it and I think it's going to sort
of come up from there in the next day or two.
So so far Brisbane's been okay.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
But our podcast editor Tom is on the Gold Coast,
so oh.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Yeah, poor Tom and Amy.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah Amy, our model, our supermodel designed by Dietitians. That's
our beautiful Amy.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
We love them both.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
We hope that they're okay, and all of our other
listeners in these yeah zones as well, we really hope
that you're okay and your family and loved ones are okay.
But by the time this airs, well, I guess we'll
been through it. We'll come out the other side and
hopefully everyone's all right.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
But our commitment to the podcast remains strong, and we
are making sure we've got an episode ready to go
in case the.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Friday nights go out. So what are you drinking?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I mean I was I was thinking pouring myself a
cheeky G and T, but I thought the better, And
I have a decalf cup of tea.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I've got the tea. I've got a couple, You've got
a creation. Yeah, I've got some creation from this morning
on too, and yeah, a little bit of tea. I'm
quite tired. I'm going to go and watch White Lotus,
the new series, but actually I'll just have a quick
chalk about Megan Michael's new show on Netflix. There's so
many good memes. I couldn't watch it. I literally couldn't
(02:43):
watch it. I was like, is this what are we
doing here? Why is she making bath salts? And why
is it on a TV show? And I fast forward
it through to the next one, and it was exactly
the same, and I spoke to one of the boys
teachers and she said the same. I was like, looking
for what is this show actually about. It's very strange.
So that's off list, And yeah, I've got some White
Lotus to go and watch up stairs in my bed
(03:03):
after this, but yeah, I skip the one too. I'm
actually even too tired for that. So anyway, let's press
on because I wanted to talk today. I'll kick off
with some new data that I just came across looking through.
There's been quite a few nutrition studies come through in
recent weeks, including one on the risk of colon cancer,
which is also quite interesting. We might do that next week.
But this was an interesting one because it talks about
(03:24):
time restricted eating. So time restricted eating is where you
basically limit your food intake to a number of hours
per day, and it might be twelve, it might be ten,
but most cases they talk about an eight hour eating
window is being metabolically beneficial. So that would mean say,
eating all of your calories between eight and four or
twelve and eight or six and two, like, whichever your
(03:47):
preference is. And I don't know if do people normally
say do it in the morning or the night I
think it links to the sort of sixteen eight where
people didn't eat breakfast and then sort of have lunch
and dinner, and.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Because it's a fast overnight, because it's easier because obviously, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
I know, but if you're just eating, if you're eating
the eight hours, I think they normally say, like, you
can eat between twelve and eight and then do like
a longer fast. Yeah, extending it now. We've spoken previously
on the podcast about women and particularly our busy women
who need their energy, and I personally don't like a
sixteen eight that excludes calories first thing in the day.
(04:23):
I think there's a huge metabolic beneit. I don't even
think it. I know scientifically there's a huge metabolic benefit
that comes from eating calories early in the day and
then tapering them at night. The issue, of course, the
out is that our society doesn't cater for that. You know,
everyone likes to have dinner. They are more likely to
skip lunch or breakfast because we do sort of have
wine at night or chocolate or indulgences, and you know,
(04:45):
people like to sit down and have a meal with
their family. You know, food and nutrition isn't just about
calories and macros. It's about the social experience of eating.
You know, I'm about to come up and see you
guys in a couple of weeks before our retreat, and
you know already I'm looking forward to sitting down having
glass of wine over a platter and just chatting like
it's that really important part of appreciating food and particularly
(05:06):
enjoying it in social environments. So I find dinner is
a tricky one, particularly because women really feel like they
need that time at night. And I say women because
most of our listeners are women, but all of us,
you know, we like to go home and have dinner
or were going out for dinner with people. But I
like this study and it's been published in a relatively
reputable journal just this week it's come out because it
(05:28):
actually looks at three different types of intimate and fasting
in terms of different time windows. So there was I'll
go through it the second. I'm just trying to find
the name of the journal here. It is Nature Medicine
The effects of late, early, and self selected time restricting
eating on visceral adipose tissue cardio metabolic health in participants
(05:49):
with overweight or OBESIE. It it's an RCT, which is
kind of the highest standard of scientific investigation, and it's
one of the first studies I've seen that has compared
different times. So it was one hundred and ninety seven
men and women, and they looked at three different eight
hour windows, whether it was the morning, the afternoon, or
whenever they chose. So basically you could do different times.
(06:09):
One day, you might not eat from twelve to eight.
Other days you might eat between seven and three. And
I love that because it really takes into account individual
differences and preferences with eating. The study is found that
as long as sixteen hours of fasting was maintained, it
didn't actually matter when people restricted their intake, and they
(06:30):
also had superior outcomes from those who were following Mediterranean diet,
so that was the control group was Mediterranean diet. So
the results showed that all three time restricted eating groups
achieved more weight loss and average of five point three pounds,
which is about ten kilos. Is that correct? Yeah, pounds
is half pounds is double wal killas are pounds of
(06:51):
double walkula, so that's two about two to three kilos three,
So basically they lost all lost fairly similar five point
three six point four and six point eight pounds.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Which is yeah, two to three kilos isle.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Would you see how long it went for? Actually it's
relevant too, but they all did just as well compared
to the group following the Mediterranean diet, which had no
real restrictions place just based on eating when you like,
so there are no differences. They all reduce visera fat significantly,
and the morning group demonstrated a greater reduction in subcutaneous
(07:23):
body fat and improved cardio metabolic health markets such as
lower fasting glucose levels. So what I took from this
leanne is that it's certainly an easy model. I think
in recent weeks when I've been speaking to my women
and they're really struggling to get things under control because
life is busy, and I've been suggesting having a lot,
(07:44):
I keep saying, can you have an earlier dinner? Can
you have an earlier dinner? Knowing that eating at eight
nine at night is just too late, particularly if you
have dinner at seven thirty eight, then you have a treat,
then you have a like, it just ends up being
too long, and then they're up again at five thirty
six and eating it's just not enough time without food.
At a minimum, we need about twelve hours. I aim
for about twelve hours, and many of us are going
(08:06):
on eight even ten, and it's just not long enough.
For women, we need a longer period of time without eating.
So I actually don't have an issue how my clients
do it, but if it's a viable option to eat
their largest meal at that four or five o'clock, it
certainly works for me. Even if they end up with
a small snack later. I would much prefer them to
have their dinner at four five o'clock than at eight
(08:27):
or nine o'clock after gym and all running around after
the kids. So I thought this was just really interesting.
It's the period of having time without food rather than
the time. It's not imperative that you fast into a lunchtime.
It's probably going to be more what suits you, what
suits your energy demands. And I actually was having conversation
with a physio this week, and it's always interesting to
(08:48):
talk to other allied health who's sort of speaking to
people about their health every day, and he was asking
me about the best advice for longevity, and I said, well,
of course everyone's different, and long term will map people,
but Ultimately, we need we need to eat less frequently,
and we need longer period of time without eating. These
are constant when it comes to the digestive health benefits
(09:11):
and microbime and all those things we talk about when
it comes to overall health and wellbeing. So yeah, I
just really liked it in terms of just need to
have that break. And even if you don't can't manage
sixteen hours without food, like you've got high energy demands,
you've got small children, even if you manage fourteen, you
know that is still going to be beneficial. You know,
if you eat, for example, your first meal at eight o'clock,
(09:32):
your next meal at twelve one o'clock, and have your
dinner by six, that is still going to be a
great way to extend that period overnight without food. And
there's only metabolic benefits that come from that, particularly when
it comes to glucose control. And in the case if
the goal is fat lost, definitely it will support that
simply because we're just not eating as many calories when
we have fewer meals and more time without eating.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
And I agree, I really like the study.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
And to answer your question, it was over twelve and
I think it's important to note as well with these studies.
So firstly, it was a European cohort, so it wasn't
based on the standard American or Australian diet, so I
think that is important to note. And also the adults
in the study had overweight or obesity, so I would
say these are very modest results for twelve weeks, you
(10:19):
know what I mean, Like they didn't control the calories
at all.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
This is simply a.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Structure to put on somebody's eating pattern that did allow
for fat loss, but not huge results. Like honestly, like
if my clients were losing two three killos and twelve weeks,
I wouldn't be that happy with that progress, if I'm
being honest. But if they weren't really looking at what
they were eating, if all they were doing was controlling
the time frame in which they ate, then yeah, it's
some great benefits. But it is important to note that
(10:45):
this was in adults with overweight for an obesity, so
if you don't have obesity and you're not overweight, you
may likely not get these similar results. But it was
also interesting. I'd just flicked through this quickly, Susie. In
the results, it was saying that there's no differences between
the morning, afternoon or self time restricted eating groups, and
also no difference between the time restricted eating groups and
(11:05):
the Mediterranean diet control group. So both the Mediterranean diet
and also the time restricted eating groups both got very
similar results. So if you are someone that loves breakfast,
if you are someone that likes to have a little
bit of a snack after dinner, look up the Mediterranean
dietary approach to eating, because that, in this study alone,
got very similar results to the time restricted eating. And
(11:26):
time restricted eating is not for everybody, particularly if you
have a shift type of job where your hours very dramatically,
or you might be a flight attendant or a doctor,
or you know a lawyer who goes to court every
day and just your eating patterns are very very erratic
that sort of lifestyle and those those jobs don't really
support time restricted eating because it's very difficult to know
(11:47):
when your next meal might be, So doing something like
the Mediterranean diet style approach could actually be.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Really, really helpful.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
But basically, the study concluded that it was fairly safe
for most healthy adults to do time or restricted eating.
Adults with obesity, that is, and it appears to be
quite safe and well tolerated long term and can lead
to some weight loss and other positive health outcomes, because
the time restricted eating group did have a greater reduction
in subcutaneous body fat and also some slightly improved cardio
(12:15):
metabolic health markers as well, such as lower fasting glucose levels.
So there are some metabolic benefits from time restricted eating
over the Mediterranean diets. If all you're looking for is
fat loss, both seem to be quite good. But if
you are looking for some of those metabolic or cardio
metabolic benefits, the time restricted eating in this study did
come out on top. So really really interesting, isn't it, Susie,
(12:38):
And just kind of confirming what we already know and
what we do teach our clients. But nice to see it,
you know, continuously backed up in research. And this is
very new research as well, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
It's very new? But actually I actually really like that
it wasn't calorie controlled, so I hear you. If someone
proactively wants fat loss, it's slow, like in twelve weeks.
I'd want my clients to have it at least eight
kilos off, if not ten. That would be a reference.
If our client had started over one hundred kilos, even
up to twelve kilos a kilo a week. But I
(13:10):
like that just changing that hours of eating here resulted
in fat loss because it shows such a dramatic improvement
metabolically and how powerful that is and such an easy
thing really to do. So that's why I like it,
Because we know, as dietitians know, we're very proud of
our work with our clients. We get good weight loss results,
(13:31):
we give very prescriptive advice. We're very I don't want
to say streets, but very directive. You know, we really
know fat loss, that's our area. But in this instance,
I just love that there's benefits even from just cutting down.
You're eating hours without doing much at all, you can
ead exactly the same thing. So yeah, I really like
this study, and gratefully I stumbled across it on this
Friday night, all rightly, and I'm going to hand over
(13:53):
to you because I don't know if you've noticed how
many of the snack bars in the music bar section
are chocolate in recent weeks, and I thought it was
time to talk about that because it's come up time
and time again on dieticians of Instagram talking because it's
absolutely right, Like even the healthier bars are now duzled
in chocolate. Now I understand why puices are making the
(14:17):
chocolate people buy them. But let's just have a talk
about snack bars in general, because I think it's quite
a confusing area about are they actually healthy at all?
What do you look for if they are healthy? And
when do we even use them with our clients on.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I've got a big list of pros and cons for you,
so I'll kick it off today.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Pros of snack bars.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Biggest one and the main reason that you and I
tend to use them, Susie, is convenience. They grab and go,
they don't need a refrigerator. They're not messy. It's not
like opening a tiner tuna that's going to stink out
the office. They're very very convenient. Another pro. They can
also be pretty mutri in dents. Depending on the bar
that you get, they can be full of some healthy fats.
You can get some good fiber, some protein. They can
(14:58):
help to keep you full of the longer depend the type,
and there are also some certain bars that may be
fortified with different types of vitamins and minerals and things
like added pro or probotics, so they can have some
you know, good nutrients added to them. They can also
really support some specific goals. You know, there are quite
good protein bars out there. There are some good lower
(15:18):
GI bars, some lower good sugar options if love sugar
control is an issue for you. There are also bars
more targeted at the gut these days, probotics probotics. I've seen,
you know, some of these snack bars targeted at skinhealth
as well, with added collagen and vitamin C, so they
can be helpful for specific goals. Again, from a convenience perspective,
(15:38):
I also like a snack bar because they're Porsching controlled,
unlike just eating nuts randomly out of an enormous pack
or chips out of an enormous family sized pack. They're
nicely Porsching controlled, and it's very rare that you'd hear
clients say, you know, I had a bit of a
binge on for snack bars, you know, but they happily say, oh,
I ate, you know, multiple handfuls of nuts, or I had,
(16:00):
you know, a whole family sized bag of potato chips.
So I do like the fact that they're Porsching controlled,
and some of them can be better alternatives to other
ultra process snacks as well. So that's my list of pros.
When it comes to cons, there's quite a few. Cost
is one of them because they're not cheap, right, Like
a snapbar can easily be what three to five dollars
(16:24):
when you compare that to more whole food options, and
apple could be a dollar or so. A big typ
of Greek yogurt five bucks and you're going to get
you know, four or five six servings out of that,
So they are not cheap. That's the biggest con for me,
one of the biggest cons. There's also a lot of
hidden ingredients and like health halos to them. Like a
lot of these snack bars are really high in sugar,
(16:45):
and it might say like no added sugar on the label,
but if the first ingredient is dates or honey or
some sort of syrup, that's really high in sugar and
as a really high sugar bar. A lot of them
are also packfull of artificial sweeteners and a lot a
lot of the probotics. A lot of brands will whack
in the probotics For people with IBS like myself and
a lot of my clients, it's a bit of a
(17:06):
sensitive tummy. It just sets off the bloating and the
uncomfortable stomach issues all day long. So a lot of
the snack bars add these probotic fibers in, but in
massive amounts, Like there shouldn't be eight to twelve grams
of fiber in a tiny snack bar.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
It's way too much.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
It's not the natural, wholesome based fiber that we want
that is actually really beneficial to our gut. It's almost
like artificial fiber, and I don't love it. I really
want my clients to get the whole food based fiber
in from whole grains, from nuts, from legumes, from fresh
fruit and vegetables. So the hidden I guess ingredients, the sugars,
the sweetness, the prebodic fibers, that's a coon to me, Like,
(17:42):
I don't love that in a lot of the bars.
A lot of bars are also really ultra processed. And
I remember I shared on my stories and I think
we brought that to the podcast one day, Susi, because
I had such a good response. I found these like
coconut covered I think low carb Kido bars and aldi
and they were wrapped in chocolate and like we couldn't
even figure out what the ingredient list was because it
was like, you know, all of these preservatives, emulsifiers, all
(18:04):
of these like processed vegetable oils.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
There was a bit of coconut in there.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
There was like twenty thirty percent chocolate, and then we
were like, we're missing like thirty percent, were like.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
What else is in this bar?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
So a lot of these bars are I guess masquerading
is healthier, but they actually contain a lot of ultra
process ingredients. And then probably my other biggest con in
snack bars is that they're not filling. Two three bites
and you're done, and your brain's like, okay, what next?
Speaker 3 (18:30):
That was fun? That was great? What next?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
They are just not feeling as if you had a
boiled egg or to a couple of vider weeds and
you sat down and you had some veggie sticks and
some hummus, that is going to be a far more
volume of snack and it was actually going to keep
you full of for a lot longer. So they're not filling,
and depending on the type of snack bar, they may
cause a big spike and crash in your blood sugars,
which is got to keep you kind of craving more
(18:52):
all afternoon long. So that's my list of pros and cons,
and then I guess next is how to choose a
better one. So my I guess goal posts for a
good snack bar. I like to see a snack bar
between about one hundred to about sort of one seventy
one eighty calories. Over that sort of two hundred calorie
mark to me that it's too much for a female
who is actively trying to lose weight. I do like
(19:15):
at least five grams of protein.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
In a bar.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
If you're actively looking for a protein bar, I would
like that eight to ten grams plus. And I personally
like about two to five grams of fiber in a
snack bar. Anything more than five grams I think a
lot of sensitive tummies don't really handle that well. And
as I said, it's more of that artificial fiber, which
I don't actually know is doing that much for us
from a health perspective. So I don't like the bars
(19:38):
that have eight, ten, fifteen grams of fiber in there.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
It's far too much.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Added sugars need to be under five to six grams
a bar. Ideally under five to six grams and then
as much as possible, we want the whole food based ingredients.
When you look at the ingredient list, if it starts
off and it says, you know, rolled oats with some
cheer seeds, or it's got some dates in there, it's
got some ppitas, it's got some peanuts, that's the sort
of thing we want. If you look at an ingredient
(20:02):
list and the first ingredient is like vegetable oil, or
it's you know, a type of no sugar chocolate, or
the first ingredient is honey or some sort of syrup,
I would be steering really really clear of that. So
that's kind of what I look for in a snack bar.
And also I would ideally like to pair it with
something else, like some vegetable sticks, like a piece of fruit,
(20:23):
just to again increase the volume in that snack so
it is that little bit healthier. So that's kind of
my reasoning for snack bars. I don't love them, but
I don't hate them. Like there's something I use occasionally
for clients, and it's ninety percent of the time from
a convenience perspective. I don't often write snack bars into
meal plans regularly. And if clients are having it more
(20:43):
than one or two times a week, I'm sort of like, Okay,
what are we doing here? Is there a better option,
and why are we having this, you know, more frequently
than a couple of times a week. That's my thoughts
on snack bars. And I would imagine that you're very
similar to me, Zuzie.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Well, you've certainly done some research, they haven't you. You've
got a lot of opinions.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Thank you Friday night, A cup of teas here.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Again, I think that first of all, it's just for me,
a lot of calories in a relatively small amount of food.
So yes, you can get some there about one hundred calories,
but they're generally pretty small, and like you said, you
have a bye or two and it's over. And that's
what I've noticed with the newer ranges of these chocolate
(21:24):
ones that have come out, because I bought them just
to try and have a look at them and gave
them to the kids. And they're tiny. So you're getting
over that hundred calories in a very small amount of food,
and it's pretty processed. So I just think that they're
not overly feeling like I'd much rather clients sit down
and have crackers and cheese with tomato and make it
a really substantial snack. Now, I think that the best
(21:46):
time to use them is as kind of a backup. Now. Carmens,
for example, have got these new ones that are fifteen
grams of protein, and again I tried those. Now they're
over two hundred calories. They're almost like a meal in itself.
I did use it as like a substantial meal when
I could get nothing else. So I think you've got
to keep in mind they're almost like a small meal
and use them in that way, because otherwise, as soon
(22:09):
as people have them in their bag, I find they
just eat them all the time, Like I'll have I
might mention it in a meal plan, and then inevitably
that's the one food that my client will gravitate towards
and eat all the time. So yeah, I sort of
like you. I think you have to be really careful.
If it looks like a chocolate bar, tastes like a
chocolate bar, it's probably closer to a chocolate bar, And
you would argue, like in the case of the No
(22:30):
Shoe bars, for example, which we have reviewed several times
on the podcast, their ultra process foods. Now, they might
taste like a Snickers bar and be a slightly fewer calories,
But if we were being honest about nutrition, are you
better to eat a few squares of dark chocolate? You
probably are, So I think just keep them in that
case where they are they're not a healthy choice. In general,
(22:50):
they can be a convenient source of nutrition on the run.
My rule of thumb for choosing them is the shorter
ingredient list, the better. And that's why Carmens do tend
to come up tops is a brand because when you
look at their ingredient lists, they are always much cleaner
than the Uncle Toby's, than the other Nice and Natural
which are always got those really long ingredient lists because
(23:11):
they're using a lot of different things to bring them together.
And that's why you know come as we've I've had
a relationship with Carolyn Creswel for quite some time, so
I'll be clear about that. Not a paid one, but
just know her. But that is why the products always
a superior nutritionally. Not only they're astray and made at own,
but they've got shorter ingredient lists. But not all some
of theirs are also quite processed again, you have to
(23:32):
go back to the basics. Like the peanut butter one
they've got is pretty minimal. It's got very few ingredients,
the original kind of fruit free bars. But as soon
as you're getting to these higher protein ones and low
carb absolutely there is ultra process because to create that
food it requires a lot of processing. And our take
home message is always the less ultra process food in
the diet, the better. So I think, use them, but
(23:53):
if you're using them more than once or twice a week,
it's too much. Absolutely, they're not a food I eat
or use every day. They're not a food I give
to my children every day. I keep a box in
the car and case for those times i've got a
kid who's starving or I'm hungry and I've got something
half decent, and I don't stop at a servo as
opposed to having it as an everyday food. So I
think we're pretty much in agrants on that, And I
(24:14):
apologize for anyone who can hear my husband in the
background screaming for the South Sydney rabbit os. I have
asked him to be quiet, but hopefully it's not coming
through too much on the noise, all right, Lee and
a client of Mind introduced me to a new product,
and I fell in love instantly, and you're gonna love it.
You're gonna be happy with me because it's a carbohydrate
based product and I do tend to I do tend
(24:34):
to not be the biggest fan of those heavier carbs.
So you're going to be very happy with me today
because I've got something that's car being good and it is. Yeah,
it's the cold finest sorantine and KNOCKI. Now this is
part of this new range coming through Colors. Now, we're
not sponsored by calls, but we're very open to one.
So if anyone who is listening who works to get office,
please pass it on that we're very open to collaboration.
(24:56):
But in the freezer sectionally, and you might have seen,
there's these nice, really nice black packaged bags, and there's
a mushroom risotto, and there's these nokies. There's a couple,
there's a peppy pepper one and then this one is
a tomato and ricotta noki. Now it retails for eight dollars.
It's four hundred grams. I think it says that it
serves two. Yes, they're not the biggest serves like, I
(25:19):
think that would be quite reasonable. So nutritionally, if we
take a closer look, let me look at the ingredient
list first and then I'll come to nutritionals. So the
ingredients are crushed tomatoes at forty two percent, followed by
potato thirty percent, wheat flour, mozzarella at seven percent, free
range egg, extra vergin olive oil, salt, basil onion, sugar,
and sunflower oil, garlic acidity regulator. So in very small
(25:39):
amounts of those final few ingredients, Like in general, we're
looking at what is that seventy two eighty one percent
of whole food, which I think is pretty strong. So
per serving, there's twelve grams of protein, forty four grams
of carb. It's just shy of three hundred calories, relatively
low in fout only two point four saturated. It does
have ten grams of sugar which is coming from the tomatoes,
(26:02):
and three point four grams of dietary fiber. But the
reason I like it because it's not you miss the
sodium high nine hundred and sixty. Yeah, you're right. The
sodium is always puffy, which is obviously the tomatoes, followed
by the mozzarella, bumping it up there, So just put
the sodium aside. I'm going to come back to that
(26:23):
in a second. Just hear me out. The reason I
like it is that I think that you can cook
that really quickly and add some extra veggies to it,
and it's a nice, relatively clean ingredient list. But you're
absolutely right. Is quite high in salt, so it's certainly
going to suit someone who is more active and certainly
(26:43):
not taking blood pressure medication.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
But I do know.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
I just think that the more of these convenient, quick
and easy options. Because my client had made it for
her teenagers and she liked it because it was such
a quick and easy dinner, and I thought that's a
million times better than say takeaway or a lot of
other stuff. So that's why I quite liked it. But
I'm hearing you. You're absolutely right. It's not low in sodium,
so it's it is a bit salty. You'd want to
(27:07):
bulk it out with some extra spinach and stuff in there.
But yeah, I just thought it's not a bad product.
You know, I don't dislike it. What do you think
you think it's too high salt.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
I'm not that based about salt. I just thought you
skipped it on purpose, and I thought, oh no, you're
trying to pull a fast one on me.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
It's Friday night.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
But I'm still sharp as Actually initially I did see
the sodium is a bit higher.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
I did.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Yeah, you're right, it's a good talk.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
I quite like it. But I think do we mention
it's eight dollars for a four hundred grand pack, so
two servings per pack, so that's actually still quite good
considering that's.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
The majority of your meal.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
And if you were to get takeaway, let's be honest,
like every time David and I get takeaway, it's fifty
to one hundred dollars and there's only two of us
in two tiny humans. Yeah, so eight bucks is actually yeah, yeah,
So I think eight dollars is really affordable. And like
you said, you know, some broccoli, a big canful of spinach,
throw and some mush and just a bit of protein
to bump that up because it's only twelve grams a serve,
(28:03):
which for a child it's fine, maybe for a growing
teenage you'd want a little bit more, and for adults absolutely,
particularly if your goal is fat loss, you want to
be close to thirty grams. You could have this in
a sneaky designed by Dietian protein shake on the side, Susie,
keep it vegetarian, that's a that's good option. Or you
could throw in some chicken breast. You could throw it
to the salmon or maybe a little bit of kangaroo meat,
(28:24):
which will lead us nicely into our next section. Right,
But no, I like it overall. I don't mind it.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yeah, And I think that it would also be easy
to use it as a base and bulk it up
and get another serve out of it, Like with two people.
You could get a lunch out of that if you
did add some chicken some extra veggies to it, which
I like because I quite like to sort of if
I'm working at home having a hot lunch, and I
could definitely get three serves out of that if you
bumped it up the right way. But you know, sometimes
you just really a craving like some carbs, you know,
(28:52):
like you you know, sometimes you just want some pasta
or some nokie and now instead of going and buying
you know one from the shop or you know, fitter
cheaty boscola whatever. I just thought it was quite a healthy,
healthy way to have some carbs. And again, like you said,
could bulk it up. So yeah, I thought it was
really quite a nice product. So yeah, check out that
(29:13):
range the sort of I'm really impressed with what colds
are doing, like they're doing some really good stuff.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
I got some good dieticians on board.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
Actually, yeah, so well done. It's a good product and
I will definitely be recommending it to a few of
my time for families and feel my vegetarian clients. Just quietly,
all rightly, and it's your time to talk all about
a great austrayed meat.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
I love that you handed this one over me.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Skippy bush kangaroo.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Before we jumped on the podcast, I said, SUSY's asking
me about kangaroo meat, and he goes, who wants to
eat Skippy? I'm like, that's my exact snowbody run This
was Leanne.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
That was a listener question from the podcast. So with
the greatest level of respect for our listeners.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
So personal preferences aside, I don't eat Skippy and I
choose not to be. But personal preferences aside, is kangaroo
meat a healthy option? And the long and short of
it is, yes, it is a healthy option. It's very
high in protein. There's about I think I looked it
up twenty two to twenty four grams of protein per
hundred grams, which is it's quite good. It's very comparable
to you know, red meat in chicken, so it's really
(30:13):
good for muscle growth, recovery, so tidy metabolic health as well.
And it's very very lean like. It's very low in calories.
It's only about like one to two percent fat.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
It's leaner than beef. It's significantly lean in the lamb.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
It's even leaner than skinless chicken breast, which I think
will actually surprise some people. And it's very very low
and saturated fats if you're looking to reduce your saturated
fat intake.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
I need to stop calling it scooby.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
I'm just gonna start calling it kangaroo meat because I
can't call scibby a keep a straight face. It's also
very rich in iron and zinc, like most red meat
as well, and zinc is really important for immunity wound healing,
particularly for females as well. I don't feel like females
get enough iron or zinc. And unlike other red meat,
surprisingly it has a bit of a megas free fatty
acids in there, which really surprised me. Tous, I didn't
(30:58):
realize that. And it is natural and you know free
range if you're looking, if you're someone who you know
wants free range organic, A lot of kangaro meat is
probably better quality, and a lot of it is generally
wild harvested as well, so there's not a whole lot
of hormones and antibiotics, which can't be said sometimes for
some of the other animal based products as well. So
certainly there are huge strengths in terms of kangaroo meat,
(31:22):
but a couple of the downsides, like is it good
nutritional absolutely, like I'm not debating that at all. Does
have a very strong flavor, and it does have a
little bit of a I don't know if I should
say this like gamy taste compared to other types of
beerf or even chicken. And because it is so lean,
it overcooks very very quickly because it has such low
fat content. So a lot of my clients who have
(31:44):
tried it don't like it because have accidentally overcooked it
and it makes it quite chewy. So your best to
do it very medium to even meetium rare and keep
it quite tender. If you cook it too long, it
will go quite chewy because it's so so low and
fat and it cooks really really quickly. The other thing
to note is that it does have a little bit
of a higher purine content, So if you have issues
with gallut or kidney stones, probably not the best option
(32:07):
for you. But I have had a couple of clients
that have really enjoyed it because again it's so lean
and it's a great protein sauce. They'll use it in
a stur fr, they'll kind of mince it up, and
they'll use it in like burgers or meatballs and bolonaise,
And again, you can kind of mask that gamy taste
a little bit if you're putting it through a bolonaise
sauce and you're throwing it at tinner lentils or something,
or if you're doing it into like a stew or
(32:27):
a curry. I feel like, if you're just eating it
by itself, like you might eat an I feel it
with a bit of broccolini and some potato or something.
I personally couldn't do that. But if it was in
like a curry or in a stew, or it's mixed
up and some meat balls and a bolonnai sauce. It
would be a little bit easier to kind of mask
that stronger flavor. So that's kind of the bottom line
for me is it's a great option nutritionally, be careful
(32:49):
how long you cook it, and try to add a
bit of extra flavor to it, because I, personally, and
this is my personal opinion, don't enjoy the natural flavor of.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Well, I think we like I'm not the biggest red
meat eater, Like I enjoy like a piece of filet
state but it's never my go to. I always prefer
fish or even vegetarian. So it's not for me. But
my husband loves it and he's very happy to eat it.
And it is very nutritious if you love it. It's
very very high on iron. It's a great source of protein.
It's lean. Now, when I got my dog Taco, see
(33:22):
it's my jog, Now, my jog, the one you never wanted, Yeah,
one I didn't want. I thought, you know what, he
eats a lot, right, he's twenty five kilo's like, it's
a lot of meat that he eats each shape. It's
quite expensive, right, So I was like, oh, you know what,
I might feed him kangaroo because it's really good for
him and cheap, well, it's not cheap. Kangaroo is not cheap.
It's like thirty five dollars per kilo. So like in
(33:46):
the old days, going back ten fifteen years, we would
talk about it as a cost effective lean meat option,
but it's actually not. It's quite expensive, so you pay
for the quality. So the demand must be there because
as I said, it doesn't reach our cheap because I
was thinking, oh I can get you know, mince for
five bucks or whatever. Not, it is just as expensive
as the regular meat. So if you love it, it's
(34:06):
a great choice, absolutely, but it's certainly not any cheaper.
And well it's a little bit cheaper than lean beef
and like really good quality, but not overly like I thought,
it's not. You can't tell the difference. So yeah, I'm
not buying Skippy either for taco but yeah, each their own.
It's a very nutritious food. If you like it, go
for it. It's a good choice, all right, Lenne. Well,
(34:26):
that brings us to the end of the Nutrition Couch
cyclone edition. We hope that you have been safe and
by the time this goes to air, everyone has moved
on and is doing well, and I don't even know
what I'm saying it so late, so have a good week.
Thanks for listening to the Nutrition Couch and we'll see
you next Wednesday.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
Thanks for your support.
Do you love a snack bar or maybe a protein bar,
or maybe your thing is a nutbar. On today's episode
of The Nutrition Couch, we are going to chat all
things bars and nutrition and the times we use them
with our clients and the times we are not such
a fan. Hi, I'm Susie Burrell and I'm lean Ward,
and together we bring you The Nutrition Couch, the weekly
(00:22):
podcast that keeps you up to date on everything you
need to know in the world of nutrition, as well
as all things snack bars. We have some brand new
data that takes a closer look at time restricted eating.
I have found a very yummy new product at coal,
so I'm going to ask the Leanne's thoughts on and
our listener question is all about a slightly different type
(00:43):
of protein. But before we kick off, we are recording
on a Friday nightly Ann because you are live in
potential cyclone area Brisbane. What's going on there? I'll ask
for a first hand review. We thought we'd better get
on and record a couple of potties in case everything
does go power in Brisbane and Queensland. So, but there's
(01:03):
not much happening up there at the moment. It's like waiting, waiting.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
All this is like everyone's just waiting and waiting and waiting.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
And it is Friday night.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Given Originally they said it would hit like Thursday night,
early Friday morning, then Friday night. Now it's like midday Saturday,
so we're not too sure. But the wind's just starting
to pick up here. There's been no ray and like
it's so eerie, Like the sun almost came out today
multiple times.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
It was weird. We're like, can we go to the park,
should we take the kids out?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Like it's like lockdown two point zero, Like everyone's been
insigne for the last two days. They shut the schools,
they shut the daycares, like it's just odd. But poor
Gold Coasters and all the news as well, those guys
are copping it and I think it's going to sort
of come up from there in the next day or two.
So so far Brisbane's been okay.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
But our podcast editor Tom is on the Gold Coast,
so oh.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Yeah, poor Tom and Amy.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah Amy, our model, our supermodel designed by Dietitians. That's
our beautiful Amy.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
We love them both.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
We hope that they're okay, and all of our other
listeners in these yeah zones as well, we really hope
that you're okay and your family and loved ones are okay.
But by the time this airs, well, I guess we'll
been through it. We'll come out the other side and
hopefully everyone's all right.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
But our commitment to the podcast remains strong, and we
are making sure we've got an episode ready to go
in case the.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Friday nights go out. So what are you drinking?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I mean I was I was thinking pouring myself a
cheeky G and T, but I thought the better, And
I have a decalf cup of tea.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I've got the tea. I've got a couple, You've got
a creation. Yeah, I've got some creation from this morning
on too, and yeah, a little bit of tea. I'm
quite tired. I'm going to go and watch White Lotus,
the new series, but actually I'll just have a quick
chalk about Megan Michael's new show on Netflix. There's so
many good memes. I couldn't watch it. I literally couldn't
(02:43):
watch it. I was like, is this what are we
doing here? Why is she making bath salts? And why
is it on a TV show? And I fast forward
it through to the next one, and it was exactly
the same, and I spoke to one of the boys
teachers and she said the same. I was like, looking
for what is this show actually about. It's very strange.
So that's off list, And yeah, I've got some White
Lotus to go and watch up stairs in my bed
(03:03):
after this, but yeah, I skip the one too. I'm
actually even too tired for that. So anyway, let's press
on because I wanted to talk today. I'll kick off
with some new data that I just came across looking through.
There's been quite a few nutrition studies come through in
recent weeks, including one on the risk of colon cancer,
which is also quite interesting. We might do that next week.
But this was an interesting one because it talks about
(03:24):
time restricted eating. So time restricted eating is where you
basically limit your food intake to a number of hours
per day, and it might be twelve, it might be ten,
but most cases they talk about an eight hour eating
window is being metabolically beneficial. So that would mean say,
eating all of your calories between eight and four or
twelve and eight or six and two, like, whichever your
(03:47):
preference is. And I don't know if do people normally
say do it in the morning or the night I
think it links to the sort of sixteen eight where
people didn't eat breakfast and then sort of have lunch
and dinner, and.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Because it's a fast overnight, because it's easier because obviously, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
I know, but if you're just eating, if you're eating
the eight hours, I think they normally say, like, you
can eat between twelve and eight and then do like
a longer fast. Yeah, extending it now. We've spoken previously
on the podcast about women and particularly our busy women
who need their energy, and I personally don't like a
sixteen eight that excludes calories first thing in the day.
(04:23):
I think there's a huge metabolic beneit. I don't even
think it. I know scientifically there's a huge metabolic benefit
that comes from eating calories early in the day and
then tapering them at night. The issue, of course, the
out is that our society doesn't cater for that. You know,
everyone likes to have dinner. They are more likely to
skip lunch or breakfast because we do sort of have
wine at night or chocolate or indulgences, and you know,
(04:45):
people like to sit down and have a meal with
their family. You know, food and nutrition isn't just about
calories and macros. It's about the social experience of eating.
You know, I'm about to come up and see you
guys in a couple of weeks before our retreat, and
you know already I'm looking forward to sitting down having
glass of wine over a platter and just chatting like
it's that really important part of appreciating food and particularly
(05:06):
enjoying it in social environments. So I find dinner is
a tricky one, particularly because women really feel like they
need that time at night. And I say women because
most of our listeners are women, but all of us,
you know, we like to go home and have dinner
or were going out for dinner with people. But I
like this study and it's been published in a relatively
reputable journal just this week it's come out because it
(05:28):
actually looks at three different types of intimate and fasting
in terms of different time windows. So there was I'll
go through it the second. I'm just trying to find
the name of the journal here. It is Nature Medicine
The effects of late, early, and self selected time restricting
eating on visceral adipose tissue cardio metabolic health in participants
(05:49):
with overweight or OBESIE. It it's an RCT, which is
kind of the highest standard of scientific investigation, and it's
one of the first studies I've seen that has compared
different times. So it was one hundred and ninety seven
men and women, and they looked at three different eight
hour windows, whether it was the morning, the afternoon, or
whenever they chose. So basically you could do different times.
(06:09):
One day, you might not eat from twelve to eight.
Other days you might eat between seven and three. And
I love that because it really takes into account individual
differences and preferences with eating. The study is found that
as long as sixteen hours of fasting was maintained, it
didn't actually matter when people restricted their intake, and they
(06:30):
also had superior outcomes from those who were following Mediterranean diet,
so that was the control group was Mediterranean diet. So
the results showed that all three time restricted eating groups
achieved more weight loss and average of five point three pounds,
which is about ten kilos. Is that correct? Yeah, pounds
is half pounds is double wal killas are pounds of
(06:51):
double walkula, so that's two about two to three kilos three,
So basically they lost all lost fairly similar five point
three six point four and six point eight pounds.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Which is yeah, two to three kilos isle.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Would you see how long it went for? Actually it's
relevant too, but they all did just as well compared
to the group following the Mediterranean diet, which had no
real restrictions place just based on eating when you like,
so there are no differences. They all reduce visera fat significantly,
and the morning group demonstrated a greater reduction in subcutaneous
(07:23):
body fat and improved cardio metabolic health markets such as
lower fasting glucose levels. So what I took from this
leanne is that it's certainly an easy model. I think
in recent weeks when I've been speaking to my women
and they're really struggling to get things under control because
life is busy, and I've been suggesting having a lot,
(07:44):
I keep saying, can you have an earlier dinner? Can
you have an earlier dinner? Knowing that eating at eight
nine at night is just too late, particularly if you
have dinner at seven thirty eight, then you have a treat,
then you have a like, it just ends up being
too long, and then they're up again at five thirty
six and eating it's just not enough time without food.
At a minimum, we need about twelve hours. I aim
for about twelve hours, and many of us are going
(08:06):
on eight even ten, and it's just not long enough.
For women, we need a longer period of time without eating.
So I actually don't have an issue how my clients
do it, but if it's a viable option to eat
their largest meal at that four or five o'clock, it
certainly works for me. Even if they end up with
a small snack later. I would much prefer them to
have their dinner at four five o'clock than at eight
(08:27):
or nine o'clock after gym and all running around after
the kids. So I thought this was just really interesting.
It's the period of having time without food rather than
the time. It's not imperative that you fast into a lunchtime.
It's probably going to be more what suits you, what
suits your energy demands. And I actually was having conversation
with a physio this week, and it's always interesting to
(08:48):
talk to other allied health who's sort of speaking to
people about their health every day, and he was asking
me about the best advice for longevity, and I said, well,
of course everyone's different, and long term will map people,
but Ultimately, we need we need to eat less frequently,
and we need longer period of time without eating. These
are constant when it comes to the digestive health benefits
(09:11):
and microbime and all those things we talk about when
it comes to overall health and wellbeing. So yeah, I
just really liked it in terms of just need to
have that break. And even if you don't can't manage
sixteen hours without food, like you've got high energy demands,
you've got small children, even if you manage fourteen, you
know that is still going to be beneficial. You know,
if you eat, for example, your first meal at eight o'clock,
(09:32):
your next meal at twelve one o'clock, and have your
dinner by six, that is still going to be a
great way to extend that period overnight without food. And
there's only metabolic benefits that come from that, particularly when
it comes to glucose control. And in the case if
the goal is fat lost, definitely it will support that
simply because we're just not eating as many calories when
we have fewer meals and more time without eating.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
And I agree, I really like the study.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
And to answer your question, it was over twelve and
I think it's important to note as well with these studies.
So firstly, it was a European cohort, so it wasn't
based on the standard American or Australian diet, so I
think that is important to note. And also the adults
in the study had overweight or obesity, so I would
say these are very modest results for twelve weeks, you
(10:19):
know what I mean, Like they didn't control the calories
at all.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
This is simply a.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Structure to put on somebody's eating pattern that did allow
for fat loss, but not huge results. Like honestly, like
if my clients were losing two three killos and twelve weeks,
I wouldn't be that happy with that progress, if I'm
being honest. But if they weren't really looking at what
they were eating, if all they were doing was controlling
the time frame in which they ate, then yeah, it's
some great benefits. But it is important to note that
(10:45):
this was in adults with overweight for an obesity, so
if you don't have obesity and you're not overweight, you
may likely not get these similar results. But it was
also interesting. I'd just flicked through this quickly, Susie. In
the results, it was saying that there's no differences between
the morning, afternoon or self time restricted eating groups, and
also no difference between the time restricted eating groups and
(11:05):
the Mediterranean diet control group. So both the Mediterranean diet
and also the time restricted eating groups both got very
similar results. So if you are someone that loves breakfast,
if you are someone that likes to have a little
bit of a snack after dinner, look up the Mediterranean
dietary approach to eating, because that, in this study alone,
got very similar results to the time restricted eating. And
(11:26):
time restricted eating is not for everybody, particularly if you
have a shift type of job where your hours very dramatically,
or you might be a flight attendant or a doctor,
or you know a lawyer who goes to court every
day and just your eating patterns are very very erratic
that sort of lifestyle and those those jobs don't really
support time restricted eating because it's very difficult to know
(11:47):
when your next meal might be, So doing something like
the Mediterranean diet style approach could actually be.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Really, really helpful.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
But basically, the study concluded that it was fairly safe
for most healthy adults to do time or restricted eating.
Adults with obesity, that is, and it appears to be
quite safe and well tolerated long term and can lead
to some weight loss and other positive health outcomes, because
the time restricted eating group did have a greater reduction
in subcutaneous body fat and also some slightly improved cardio
(12:15):
metabolic health markers as well, such as lower fasting glucose levels.
So there are some metabolic benefits from time restricted eating
over the Mediterranean diets. If all you're looking for is
fat loss, both seem to be quite good. But if
you are looking for some of those metabolic or cardio
metabolic benefits, the time restricted eating in this study did
come out on top. So really really interesting, isn't it, Susie,
(12:38):
And just kind of confirming what we already know and
what we do teach our clients. But nice to see it,
you know, continuously backed up in research. And this is
very new research as well, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
It's very new? But actually I actually really like that
it wasn't calorie controlled, so I hear you. If someone
proactively wants fat loss, it's slow, like in twelve weeks.
I'd want my clients to have it at least eight
kilos off, if not ten. That would be a reference.
If our client had started over one hundred kilos, even
up to twelve kilos a kilo a week. But I
(13:10):
like that just changing that hours of eating here resulted
in fat loss because it shows such a dramatic improvement
metabolically and how powerful that is and such an easy
thing really to do. So that's why I like it,
Because we know, as dietitians know, we're very proud of
our work with our clients. We get good weight loss results,
(13:31):
we give very prescriptive advice. We're very I don't want
to say streets, but very directive. You know, we really
know fat loss, that's our area. But in this instance,
I just love that there's benefits even from just cutting down.
You're eating hours without doing much at all, you can
ead exactly the same thing. So yeah, I really like
this study, and gratefully I stumbled across it on this
Friday night, all rightly, and I'm going to hand over
(13:53):
to you because I don't know if you've noticed how
many of the snack bars in the music bar section
are chocolate in recent weeks, and I thought it was
time to talk about that because it's come up time
and time again on dieticians of Instagram talking because it's
absolutely right, Like even the healthier bars are now duzled
in chocolate. Now I understand why puices are making the
(14:17):
chocolate people buy them. But let's just have a talk
about snack bars in general, because I think it's quite
a confusing area about are they actually healthy at all?
What do you look for if they are healthy? And
when do we even use them with our clients on.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I've got a big list of pros and cons for you,
so I'll kick it off today.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Pros of snack bars.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Biggest one and the main reason that you and I
tend to use them, Susie, is convenience. They grab and go,
they don't need a refrigerator. They're not messy. It's not
like opening a tiner tuna that's going to stink out
the office. They're very very convenient. Another pro. They can
also be pretty mutri in dents. Depending on the bar
that you get, they can be full of some healthy fats.
You can get some good fiber, some protein. They can
(14:58):
help to keep you full of the longer depend the type,
and there are also some certain bars that may be
fortified with different types of vitamins and minerals and things
like added pro or probotics, so they can have some
you know, good nutrients added to them. They can also
really support some specific goals. You know, there are quite
good protein bars out there. There are some good lower
(15:18):
GI bars, some lower good sugar options if love sugar
control is an issue for you. There are also bars
more targeted at the gut these days, probotics probotics. I've seen,
you know, some of these snack bars targeted at skinhealth
as well, with added collagen and vitamin C, so they
can be helpful for specific goals. Again, from a convenience perspective,
(15:38):
I also like a snack bar because they're Porsching controlled,
unlike just eating nuts randomly out of an enormous pack
or chips out of an enormous family sized pack. They're
nicely Porsching controlled, and it's very rare that you'd hear
clients say, you know, I had a bit of a
binge on for snack bars, you know, but they happily say, oh,
I ate, you know, multiple handfuls of nuts, or I had,
(16:00):
you know, a whole family sized bag of potato chips.
So I do like the fact that they're Porsching controlled,
and some of them can be better alternatives to other
ultra process snacks as well. So that's my list of pros.
When it comes to cons, there's quite a few. Cost
is one of them because they're not cheap, right, Like
a snapbar can easily be what three to five dollars
(16:24):
when you compare that to more whole food options, and
apple could be a dollar or so. A big typ
of Greek yogurt five bucks and you're going to get
you know, four or five six servings out of that,
So they are not cheap. That's the biggest con for me,
one of the biggest cons. There's also a lot of
hidden ingredients and like health halos to them. Like a
lot of these snack bars are really high in sugar,
(16:45):
and it might say like no added sugar on the label,
but if the first ingredient is dates or honey or
some sort of syrup, that's really high in sugar and
as a really high sugar bar. A lot of them
are also packfull of artificial sweeteners and a lot a
lot of the probotics. A lot of brands will whack
in the probotics For people with IBS like myself and
a lot of my clients, it's a bit of a
(17:06):
sensitive tummy. It just sets off the bloating and the
uncomfortable stomach issues all day long. So a lot of
the snack bars add these probotic fibers in, but in
massive amounts, Like there shouldn't be eight to twelve grams
of fiber in a tiny snack bar.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
It's way too much.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
It's not the natural, wholesome based fiber that we want
that is actually really beneficial to our gut. It's almost
like artificial fiber, and I don't love it. I really
want my clients to get the whole food based fiber
in from whole grains, from nuts, from legumes, from fresh
fruit and vegetables. So the hidden I guess ingredients, the sugars,
the sweetness, the prebodic fibers, that's a coon to me, Like,
(17:42):
I don't love that in a lot of the bars.
A lot of bars are also really ultra processed. And
I remember I shared on my stories and I think
we brought that to the podcast one day, Susi, because
I had such a good response. I found these like
coconut covered I think low carb Kido bars and aldi
and they were wrapped in chocolate and like we couldn't
even figure out what the ingredient list was because it
was like, you know, all of these preservatives, emulsifiers, all
(18:04):
of these like processed vegetable oils.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
There was a bit of coconut in there.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
There was like twenty thirty percent chocolate, and then we
were like, we're missing like thirty percent, were like.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
What else is in this bar?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
So a lot of these bars are I guess masquerading
is healthier, but they actually contain a lot of ultra
process ingredients. And then probably my other biggest con in
snack bars is that they're not filling. Two three bites
and you're done, and your brain's like, okay, what next?
Speaker 3 (18:30):
That was fun? That was great? What next?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
They are just not feeling as if you had a
boiled egg or to a couple of vider weeds and
you sat down and you had some veggie sticks and
some hummus, that is going to be a far more
volume of snack and it was actually going to keep
you full of for a lot longer. So they're not filling,
and depending on the type of snack bar, they may
cause a big spike and crash in your blood sugars,
which is got to keep you kind of craving more
(18:52):
all afternoon long. So that's my list of pros and cons,
and then I guess next is how to choose a
better one. So my I guess goal posts for a
good snack bar. I like to see a snack bar
between about one hundred to about sort of one seventy
one eighty calories. Over that sort of two hundred calorie
mark to me that it's too much for a female
who is actively trying to lose weight. I do like
(19:15):
at least five grams of protein.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
In a bar.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
If you're actively looking for a protein bar, I would
like that eight to ten grams plus. And I personally
like about two to five grams of fiber in a
snack bar. Anything more than five grams I think a
lot of sensitive tummies don't really handle that well. And
as I said, it's more of that artificial fiber, which
I don't actually know is doing that much for us
from a health perspective. So I don't like the bars
(19:38):
that have eight, ten, fifteen grams of fiber in there.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
It's far too much.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Added sugars need to be under five to six grams
a bar. Ideally under five to six grams and then
as much as possible, we want the whole food based ingredients.
When you look at the ingredient list, if it starts
off and it says, you know, rolled oats with some
cheer seeds, or it's got some dates in there, it's
got some ppitas, it's got some peanuts, that's the sort
of thing we want. If you look at an ingredient
(20:02):
list and the first ingredient is like vegetable oil, or
it's you know, a type of no sugar chocolate, or
the first ingredient is honey or some sort of syrup,
I would be steering really really clear of that. So
that's kind of what I look for in a snack bar.
And also I would ideally like to pair it with
something else, like some vegetable sticks, like a piece of fruit,
(20:23):
just to again increase the volume in that snack so
it is that little bit healthier. So that's kind of
my reasoning for snack bars. I don't love them, but
I don't hate them. Like there's something I use occasionally
for clients, and it's ninety percent of the time from
a convenience perspective. I don't often write snack bars into
meal plans regularly. And if clients are having it more
(20:43):
than one or two times a week, I'm sort of like, Okay,
what are we doing here? Is there a better option,
and why are we having this, you know, more frequently
than a couple of times a week. That's my thoughts
on snack bars. And I would imagine that you're very
similar to me, Zuzie.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Well, you've certainly done some research, they haven't you. You've
got a lot of opinions.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Thank you Friday night, A cup of teas here.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Again, I think that first of all, it's just for me,
a lot of calories in a relatively small amount of food.
So yes, you can get some there about one hundred calories,
but they're generally pretty small, and like you said, you
have a bye or two and it's over. And that's
what I've noticed with the newer ranges of these chocolate
(21:24):
ones that have come out, because I bought them just
to try and have a look at them and gave
them to the kids. And they're tiny. So you're getting
over that hundred calories in a very small amount of food,
and it's pretty processed. So I just think that they're
not overly feeling like I'd much rather clients sit down
and have crackers and cheese with tomato and make it
a really substantial snack. Now, I think that the best
(21:46):
time to use them is as kind of a backup. Now. Carmens,
for example, have got these new ones that are fifteen
grams of protein, and again I tried those. Now they're
over two hundred calories. They're almost like a meal in itself.
I did use it as like a substantial meal when
I could get nothing else. So I think you've got
to keep in mind they're almost like a small meal
and use them in that way, because otherwise, as soon
(22:09):
as people have them in their bag, I find they
just eat them all the time, Like I'll have I
might mention it in a meal plan, and then inevitably
that's the one food that my client will gravitate towards
and eat all the time. So yeah, I sort of
like you. I think you have to be really careful.
If it looks like a chocolate bar, tastes like a
chocolate bar, it's probably closer to a chocolate bar, And
you would argue, like in the case of the No
(22:30):
Shoe bars, for example, which we have reviewed several times
on the podcast, their ultra process foods. Now, they might
taste like a Snickers bar and be a slightly fewer calories,
But if we were being honest about nutrition, are you
better to eat a few squares of dark chocolate? You
probably are, So I think just keep them in that
case where they are they're not a healthy choice. In general,
(22:50):
they can be a convenient source of nutrition on the run.
My rule of thumb for choosing them is the shorter
ingredient list, the better. And that's why Carmens do tend
to come up tops is a brand because when you
look at their ingredient lists, they are always much cleaner
than the Uncle Toby's, than the other Nice and Natural
which are always got those really long ingredient lists because
(23:11):
they're using a lot of different things to bring them together.
And that's why you know come as we've I've had
a relationship with Carolyn Creswel for quite some time, so
I'll be clear about that. Not a paid one, but
just know her. But that is why the products always
a superior nutritionally. Not only they're astray and made at own,
but they've got shorter ingredient lists. But not all some
of theirs are also quite processed again, you have to
(23:32):
go back to the basics. Like the peanut butter one
they've got is pretty minimal. It's got very few ingredients,
the original kind of fruit free bars. But as soon
as you're getting to these higher protein ones and low
carb absolutely there is ultra process because to create that
food it requires a lot of processing. And our take
home message is always the less ultra process food in
the diet, the better. So I think, use them, but
(23:53):
if you're using them more than once or twice a week,
it's too much. Absolutely, they're not a food I eat
or use every day. They're not a food I give
to my children every day. I keep a box in
the car and case for those times i've got a
kid who's starving or I'm hungry and I've got something
half decent, and I don't stop at a servo as
opposed to having it as an everyday food. So I
think we're pretty much in agrants on that, And I
(24:14):
apologize for anyone who can hear my husband in the
background screaming for the South Sydney rabbit os. I have
asked him to be quiet, but hopefully it's not coming
through too much on the noise, all right, Lee and
a client of Mind introduced me to a new product,
and I fell in love instantly, and you're gonna love it.
You're gonna be happy with me because it's a carbohydrate
based product and I do tend to I do tend
(24:34):
to not be the biggest fan of those heavier carbs.
So you're going to be very happy with me today
because I've got something that's car being good and it is. Yeah,
it's the cold finest sorantine and KNOCKI. Now this is
part of this new range coming through Colors. Now, we're
not sponsored by calls, but we're very open to one.
So if anyone who is listening who works to get office,
please pass it on that we're very open to collaboration.
(24:56):
But in the freezer sectionally, and you might have seen,
there's these nice, really nice black packaged bags, and there's
a mushroom risotto, and there's these nokies. There's a couple,
there's a peppy pepper one and then this one is
a tomato and ricotta noki. Now it retails for eight dollars.
It's four hundred grams. I think it says that it
serves two. Yes, they're not the biggest serves like, I
(25:19):
think that would be quite reasonable. So nutritionally, if we
take a closer look, let me look at the ingredient
list first and then I'll come to nutritionals. So the
ingredients are crushed tomatoes at forty two percent, followed by
potato thirty percent, wheat flour, mozzarella at seven percent, free
range egg, extra vergin olive oil, salt, basil onion, sugar,
and sunflower oil, garlic acidity regulator. So in very small
(25:39):
amounts of those final few ingredients, Like in general, we're
looking at what is that seventy two eighty one percent
of whole food, which I think is pretty strong. So
per serving, there's twelve grams of protein, forty four grams
of carb. It's just shy of three hundred calories, relatively
low in fout only two point four saturated. It does
have ten grams of sugar which is coming from the tomatoes,
(26:02):
and three point four grams of dietary fiber. But the
reason I like it because it's not you miss the
sodium high nine hundred and sixty. Yeah, you're right. The
sodium is always puffy, which is obviously the tomatoes, followed
by the mozzarella, bumping it up there, So just put
the sodium aside. I'm going to come back to that
(26:23):
in a second. Just hear me out. The reason I
like it is that I think that you can cook
that really quickly and add some extra veggies to it,
and it's a nice, relatively clean ingredient list. But you're
absolutely right. Is quite high in salt, so it's certainly
going to suit someone who is more active and certainly
(26:43):
not taking blood pressure medication.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
But I do know.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
I just think that the more of these convenient, quick
and easy options. Because my client had made it for
her teenagers and she liked it because it was such
a quick and easy dinner, and I thought that's a
million times better than say takeaway or a lot of
other stuff. So that's why I quite liked it. But
I'm hearing you. You're absolutely right. It's not low in sodium,
so it's it is a bit salty. You'd want to
(27:07):
bulk it out with some extra spinach and stuff in there.
But yeah, I just thought it's not a bad product.
You know, I don't dislike it. What do you think
you think it's too high salt.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
I'm not that based about salt. I just thought you
skipped it on purpose, and I thought, oh no, you're
trying to pull a fast one on me.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
It's Friday night.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
But I'm still sharp as Actually initially I did see
the sodium is a bit higher.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
I did.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Yeah, you're right, it's a good talk.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
I quite like it. But I think do we mention
it's eight dollars for a four hundred grand pack, so
two servings per pack, so that's actually still quite good
considering that's.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
The majority of your meal.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
And if you were to get takeaway, let's be honest,
like every time David and I get takeaway, it's fifty
to one hundred dollars and there's only two of us
in two tiny humans. Yeah, so eight bucks is actually yeah, yeah,
So I think eight dollars is really affordable. And like
you said, you know, some broccoli, a big canful of spinach,
throw and some mush and just a bit of protein
to bump that up because it's only twelve grams a serve,
(28:03):
which for a child it's fine, maybe for a growing
teenage you'd want a little bit more, and for adults absolutely,
particularly if your goal is fat loss, you want to
be close to thirty grams. You could have this in
a sneaky designed by Dietian protein shake on the side, Susie,
keep it vegetarian, that's a that's good option. Or you
could throw in some chicken breast. You could throw it
to the salmon or maybe a little bit of kangaroo meat,
(28:24):
which will lead us nicely into our next section. Right,
But no, I like it overall. I don't mind it.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yeah, And I think that it would also be easy
to use it as a base and bulk it up
and get another serve out of it, Like with two people.
You could get a lunch out of that if you
did add some chicken some extra veggies to it, which
I like because I quite like to sort of if
I'm working at home having a hot lunch, and I
could definitely get three serves out of that if you
bumped it up the right way. But you know, sometimes
you just really a craving like some carbs, you know,
(28:52):
like you you know, sometimes you just want some pasta
or some nokie and now instead of going and buying
you know one from the shop or you know, fitter
cheaty boscola whatever. I just thought it was quite a healthy,
healthy way to have some carbs. And again, like you said,
could bulk it up. So yeah, I thought it was
really quite a nice product. So yeah, check out that
(29:13):
range the sort of I'm really impressed with what colds
are doing, like they're doing some really good stuff.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
I got some good dieticians on board.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
Actually, yeah, so well done. It's a good product and
I will definitely be recommending it to a few of
my time for families and feel my vegetarian clients. Just quietly,
all rightly, and it's your time to talk all about
a great austrayed meat.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
I love that you handed this one over me.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Skippy bush kangaroo.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Before we jumped on the podcast, I said, SUSY's asking
me about kangaroo meat, and he goes, who wants to
eat Skippy? I'm like, that's my exact snowbody run This
was Leanne.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
That was a listener question from the podcast. So with
the greatest level of respect for our listeners.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
So personal preferences aside, I don't eat Skippy and I
choose not to be. But personal preferences aside, is kangaroo
meat a healthy option? And the long and short of
it is, yes, it is a healthy option. It's very
high in protein. There's about I think I looked it
up twenty two to twenty four grams of protein per
hundred grams, which is it's quite good. It's very comparable
to you know, red meat in chicken, so it's really
(30:13):
good for muscle growth, recovery, so tidy metabolic health as well.
And it's very very lean like. It's very low in calories.
It's only about like one to two percent fat.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
It's leaner than beef. It's significantly lean in the lamb.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
It's even leaner than skinless chicken breast, which I think
will actually surprise some people. And it's very very low
and saturated fats if you're looking to reduce your saturated
fat intake.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
I need to stop calling it scooby.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
I'm just gonna start calling it kangaroo meat because I
can't call scibby a keep a straight face. It's also
very rich in iron and zinc, like most red meat
as well, and zinc is really important for immunity wound healing,
particularly for females as well. I don't feel like females
get enough iron or zinc. And unlike other red meat,
surprisingly it has a bit of a megas free fatty
acids in there, which really surprised me. Tous, I didn't
(30:58):
realize that. And it is natural and you know free
range if you're looking, if you're someone who you know
wants free range organic, A lot of kangaro meat is
probably better quality, and a lot of it is generally
wild harvested as well, so there's not a whole lot
of hormones and antibiotics, which can't be said sometimes for
some of the other animal based products as well. So
certainly there are huge strengths in terms of kangaroo meat,
(31:22):
but a couple of the downsides, like is it good
nutritional absolutely, like I'm not debating that at all. Does
have a very strong flavor, and it does have a
little bit of a I don't know if I should
say this like gamy taste compared to other types of
beerf or even chicken. And because it is so lean,
it overcooks very very quickly because it has such low
fat content. So a lot of my clients who have
(31:44):
tried it don't like it because have accidentally overcooked it
and it makes it quite chewy. So your best to
do it very medium to even meetium rare and keep
it quite tender. If you cook it too long, it
will go quite chewy because it's so so low and
fat and it cooks really really quickly. The other thing
to note is that it does have a little bit
of a higher purine content, So if you have issues
with gallut or kidney stones, probably not the best option
(32:07):
for you. But I have had a couple of clients
that have really enjoyed it because again it's so lean
and it's a great protein sauce. They'll use it in
a stur fr, they'll kind of mince it up, and
they'll use it in like burgers or meatballs and bolonaise,
And again, you can kind of mask that gamy taste
a little bit if you're putting it through a bolonaise
sauce and you're throwing it at tinner lentils or something,
or if you're doing it into like a stew or
(32:27):
a curry. I feel like, if you're just eating it
by itself, like you might eat an I feel it
with a bit of broccolini and some potato or something.
I personally couldn't do that. But if it was in
like a curry or in a stew, or it's mixed
up and some meat balls and a bolonnai sauce. It
would be a little bit easier to kind of mask
that stronger flavor. So that's kind of the bottom line
for me is it's a great option nutritionally, be careful
(32:49):
how long you cook it, and try to add a
bit of extra flavor to it, because I, personally, and
this is my personal opinion, don't enjoy the natural flavor of.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Well, I think we like I'm not the biggest red
meat eater, Like I enjoy like a piece of filet
state but it's never my go to. I always prefer
fish or even vegetarian. So it's not for me. But
my husband loves it and he's very happy to eat it.
And it is very nutritious if you love it. It's
very very high on iron. It's a great source of protein.
It's lean. Now, when I got my dog Taco, see
(33:22):
it's my jog, Now, my jog, the one you never wanted, Yeah,
one I didn't want. I thought, you know what, he
eats a lot, right, he's twenty five kilo's like, it's
a lot of meat that he eats each shape. It's
quite expensive, right, So I was like, oh, you know what,
I might feed him kangaroo because it's really good for
him and cheap, well, it's not cheap. Kangaroo is not cheap.
It's like thirty five dollars per kilo. So like in
(33:46):
the old days, going back ten fifteen years, we would
talk about it as a cost effective lean meat option,
but it's actually not. It's quite expensive, so you pay
for the quality. So the demand must be there because
as I said, it doesn't reach our cheap because I
was thinking, oh I can get you know, mince for
five bucks or whatever. Not, it is just as expensive
as the regular meat. So if you love it, it's
(34:06):
a great choice, absolutely, but it's certainly not any cheaper.
And well it's a little bit cheaper than lean beef
and like really good quality, but not overly like I thought,
it's not. You can't tell the difference. So yeah, I'm
not buying Skippy either for taco but yeah, each their own.
It's a very nutritious food. If you like it, go
for it. It's a good choice, all right, Lenne. Well,
(34:26):
that brings us to the end of the Nutrition Couch
cyclone edition. We hope that you have been safe and
by the time this goes to air, everyone has moved
on and is doing well, and I don't even know
what I'm saying it so late, so have a good week.
Thanks for listening to the Nutrition Couch and we'll see
you next Wednesday.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
Thanks for your support.
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