You picked the toastie instead of the burger. You got sushi instead of a sandwich. You grabbed rice crackers instead of chips. You are making the healthy choice, right?
Not always. And this week Leanne and Susie are talking about exactly that, the foods that feel like the lighter option but are quietly adding a lot more to your day than you realise. No guilt, just the information you actually need to make better calls when you are busy, hungry, and eating on the run.
In this episode:
The cafe and bakery foods that seem like a sensible choice but regularly clock in at 500 to 700 calories, including the toasted sandwich that is closer to a croissant than you think
Why sushi is not the light lunch most women believe it is, and what is actually happening when you compact that rice into three or four rolls
The rice cracker trap: why 10 rice crackers are nutritionally equivalent to two slices of bread, and which crackers are genuinely worth buying
Why hummus should not be counted as a protein source, and what to eat instead if protein is actually your goal at lunch
The new research linking ADHD and perimenopause: women with ADHD were twice as likely to experience perimenopausal symptoms in a recent European study, and what that means for how this group should be eating through the day
Susie's practical nutrition strategies for women managing both ADHD and perimenopausal symptoms, including why savoury, bulky meals and structured eating windows make a bigger difference than any supplement
A full breakdown of the types of ADHD most commonly seen in adult women, and why the hyperactive young boy stereotype has nothing to do with how it typically presents in women in their 30s, 40s and 50s
The Coles Kitchen Chicken and Corn Soup: 21 grams of protein, under 200 calories, $4.50. Leanne and Susie revisit one of their all-time favourite supermarket finds and explain how to build it into a genuinely complete lunch
Matcha versus coffee versus chai: is matcha actually better for you, or is it just more photogenic? Leanne breaks down the caffeine, L-theanine, and antioxidant research, and gives her honest verdict on the Starbucks matcha latte trend
Shop Designed by Dietitians:
Looking for evidence-based supplements made in Australia by two busy dietitian mums? Visit designedbydietitians.com to explore the full range.
Keep telling your friends about The Nutrition Couch so this show keeps reaching the women who need it most.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
What do you order when you're out and about. Maybe
you go to subway, Maybe you get a wrap, some sushi,
maybe sushi on brown rice, or perhaps you pick up
a toasted soundwiche Now the weather is cooling down. On
today's episode of The Nutrition Couch, we discuss the day
to day foods that we regularly eat and we think
they're healthier, but are they really? Hi?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I'm Leanne Woot and I'm Susie Burrow, and together.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
We bring you The Nutrition Couch, the weekly podcast that
keeps you up to date with everything that you need
to know in the world of nutrition, as well as
popular foods on the go. We have some new research
that looks at Adhd and Perry. We take a look
at a soup that we've loved for a very long time,
and our listener question is all about the ever popular
craze which I feel like is never going away, Susie
(00:46):
of Matcha. But to kick off the podcast today, we
are talking about foods we eat on the run and
often you and I fall into this category, Susie. Where
busy women, we've got kids. Sometimes if you don't have
a solid planning place with your nutrition, you're eating on
the run, and often that might look like And a
perfect example was a client that I had last week
went to the doctors, which, you know, she's doing the
(01:06):
right thing, she's getting some blood. She hadn't had bloods
done in over a year, and of course, naturally it
was a very busy day. She ran hours over time.
The appointment was supposed to be I want to say,
like eleven thirty or something, but the time she got
out of there it was like, well after two. It
was a good twenty thirty minute drive to home. And
so of course naturally she stopped and she picked up
something at the bakery on the way home. So a
(01:26):
lot of those options that we think are quick and
healthy or even what I might classify, a client will
say to me, I got that because it was a
lighter option. And these are some of the things that
we wanted to talk about today, because naturally, I think
sometimes we feel like the lighter options are things like
a toasted sandwich, perhaps a kish at a bakery, or
even a sausage roll, because they don't seem inherently huge, right,
(01:48):
They're not like a chicken palme you get at a
pub that's like falling off the plate. That's that big.
These are smaller sized options. So I think for a
lot of us, we in our minds classify them as
a lighter option, but when we deep dive into them,
sometimes they can actually be quite heavy, can't they. And
sushi often falls into that category too, where clients will say, oh,
we've got a couple of sushi rolls, you know, three
of them with a bit of sauce, you know, chicken avocado,
(02:11):
because avocado is healthy. How's up for a lunch option?
And I think often that we forget that sushi is
compact white rice. Like at the end of the day,
they're squishing that white rice down into these little sushi rolls,
and it doesn't appear as much from a volume perspective,
but there's a hell of a lot of rice that
goes into two or three sushi rolls. True.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Actually it's funny.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I like how you've described it as lighter options because
that sums up what I want to talk about today,
which is I don't want to say that they masquerade
as healthy, but we think they're lighter, and they're they're
not as light as we think. So I loved how
you use that word. And I had a client who
sent me a photo of her lunch, and it was
this gorgeous It would have been so expensive. It was
like all of this sashimi, like a big mound of
(02:50):
sashimi salmon, but what went with it was a big,
massive amount of avocado or diced up like the dollars.
It was so big and and she had bought it
as a lighter, healthier option, and I had to say
to her, the portion of that, like someone's actually quite
high in fat, as is avocado. It was probably eight
hundred calories, but it looks like it would have been lighter.
(03:11):
The other one I see all the time is people
go to Mexican because there's a perception that Mexican take
away is healthier and lighter. And indeed it can be
healthier in the sense it often has a lot more
vegetables than fried foods and burgers. But if you're having
the nutchoes and the chips and the sour cream and
the loading, you know again it's not actually really a
light option. A Mexican salad bowl is a light option,
(03:33):
but not the things that we choose. The other one
that comes up a lot for me is a toasty
So I will say to my clients. If you make
your own toasty at home, using say an amazing bread
like bergen, you don't actually put any butter or margarine.
You might put a thin layer of sort of relish
or chutney, or maybe thin avocado cottage cheese, and then
(03:55):
you might put a slice of light yelsberg and sort
of some lean pro like some tuna would be amazing.
But if you're using process, meant ham. But that's not
what a toasted sandwich is like when you go to
the shop, Like we just had breakfast out, my husband
ordered a toasted sandwich. It was literally so deliciously, but
it was this thick, thick bread grain bread, but it
(04:16):
had been toasted in butter both sides, and then it
had cheese like lashings of cheese and mushrooms which were
cooked obviously in oil. Like it was delicious, but it
was a sex six seven hundred calorie breakfast like.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
It was not light.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
And the typical ham and cheese toasted you get at
the coffee shop is the same. It's on big slabs
of white bread, turkish or sour dough. They taste amazing
because they've got butter both sides of them. That's when
they toast, it gives that delicious flavor. The cheese is
heavy and a lot of it, and the ham is
not as high in protein as you think, so it
ends up just being a very high fat option. It's
not that much better than a croissant, if we're honest,
(04:51):
Like it would have been a million times better to
order eggs on toast or a felo pastry or even
like a frattata than that. Now, I know toastes are delicious.
They're delicious because of the way take away and cafe
shops make them. So that's another one that springs to mind.
The other couple that come up all the time for
me are rice crackers. You know, my clients will always
eat rice crackers, and I think when you look at
(05:12):
the cracker section, it's not surprising because there's actually not
that many healthy crackers there are. You've got things like
salada sao, which are not healthy. You've got vitaweats, which
are pretty healthy, but also people don't pick them up
because they probably are healthy and don't taste it's good.
I think they taste great. And then you've got a
whole lot of rice crackers. There's a million of them.
There's so many. Now, brown rice cakes are pretty healthy.
(05:34):
Corn cakes are healthy, but not rice crackers because rice crackers,
like rice, is so dense. You know, ten rice crackers
is equivalent in carves is two slices of bread. It's
highly refined grain. You're not getting any fiber.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Now.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Sure, the brown rice crackers are better slightly, but they're
still very, very dense in carbohydrates, so they're not your
best cracker. Nor are jats or rits. They are not healthy.
If you look at the fat, they're well over ten
percent fat. The only crackers that are, i'd say, are
truly healthier things like rivita, kind of those buckwheat crackers
in the health food section. Corn cakes we like, you know,
(06:08):
they're actually the healthier options. And I'll end on homis.
You know, homice is tricky because I'll have clients who'll
add it as a dip all the time because it
appears to be so healthy. But most homice is generally
a lot more oil and calories and fat than it
is protein. And the higher protein homices are literally three
or four hundred calories worth to get the protein amounts
(06:29):
their claiming it's not something you know if you had
it as a light spread on a piece of bread
rather than margarine. You could use it like that, but
as soon as we're dipping it and you're getting over
twenty grams or so, it's certainly a lot more fat
than it is protein.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah, homoe is the tricky one, isn't it. And I
certainly wouldn't be using homus to get my protein intake higher.
So again, to me, that's just a real bad marketing
trend wave where marketing homics is high protein. Like, does
homics have some protein in it? Yes, but it shouldn't
be the bulk of the protein in a meal, Absolutely not,
because I think we forget that the base of homice
is chickpeas and when you blend them all up, it's
(07:03):
a very concentrated source. You'd be far better to add,
you know, a cup of chickpeas into a meal to
get much better protein and much more volume and so
tidy from that meal versus like pre blended homice, which
is lashing as of oil and often other things in
it as well. So I don't mind homice, but yeah,
portion control is really key when it does come to homice.
(07:23):
But I think you're right like that. I guess thought
pattern that because things are smaller or smaller volume, they
appear lighter. I do hear that quite a lot. And bakery,
you know, things from the bakery are a big one
for me, Susie, like often the kishas with the pastry
on them. You know, if you're getting even just a
bacon and egg keisha and it might have some spring
onions and stuff in it, it doesn't appear like it's
(07:45):
an overly terrible option. But a kish could easily be
four to six hundred calories. And are they that feeling
Absolutely not. You'll probably need something in around two hours
time because you're still hungry. So it really comes down
to are you able to get that vegetable volume in?
Are you able to get an appropriate amount of protein in?
And that to us as dieticians, classifies a well balanced meal.
(08:07):
Of course we want some healthy vats, of course we
want some carbohydrate. But what we see at lunchtime, the
bulk of our busy women are missing is an appropriate
level of protein. For most women, twenty five to thirty
grams a meal is ideal, and an appropriate amount of
vegetable or salad for most women, a couple of cups
and You're certainly not going to get that from two
slices of tomato and a ham cheese toasty.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
That is very, very true. All right.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
We wanted to talk about some research on the nutrition
couch to Daily and actually one last point I wanted
to say bacon. Bacon is not healthy. It doesn't matter. Yes,
it's delicious. I do not count bacon in my protein.
Now my clients will put bacon on thinking that it's protein.
I count it only as fat because most bacon you
get away from the home is much higher and fat
(08:52):
cheap cuts that you're not getting as much of the
lean stuff, and it's never you can't count your bacon
as protein people, I'm sorry, that's my position.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
What is a bit of protein. It's just a very
high calorie way to get protein. Yes, there is hiati
in certainly, but it is high calorie. Okay, all right,
moving on.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
I've got a new study leanne which we like some
research here on the nutrition couch as evidence based practitioners.
And this is a new study that was published late
last year in the journal European Psychiatry, and it tickled
my fancy. The headline because it claims or states or
found that ADHD women faced more perimenopausal symptoms in a
(09:30):
review coport study, and I thought that was very fascinating
because we do hear it a lot now, people going
back in their thirties, forties, fifties and assessing whether they
might have ADHD, and it does impact their life in many,
many different ways. And this is one of the first
reports I've ever seen that link perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms
(09:52):
with an ADHD diagnosis. So it was from twenty twenty five,
and it found that women who had been diagnosed with
adhd D were twice as likely to experience perimenopausal symptoms
as women without ADHD, So fifty four percent more than
half the cohort experienced symptoms compared to only thirty or
one in three women who had not had diagnosed ADHD.
(10:15):
And the symptoms in particular included anxiety, depressive moods, irritability,
and fatigue, and physical symptoms in thirty percent of those
with hot flushes, headaches, palpitations, and they were only in
fourteen percent of the women without ADHD, which is very
really quite low, because if you had read a lot
of the stuff out there about perimenopause, you would say
(10:36):
that a lot of women experience, say the hot flushes
and racing heart, but actually the study was reporting only
fourteen percent of women in that looked at it, And
I thought it was a really interesting piece of research
because people who have diagnosed ADHD will talk about how
debilitating it can be in terms of making progress in
(10:58):
life and being distracted and feeling constantly overwhelmed. So for me,
it makes sense that this group may be more vulnerable
throughout that perimenopausal period in their lives. So this wasn't
an intervention study. It was more observational, just stating that
there seemed to be an association. So for me, for
more heightened individuals whose brain is operating slightly differently, it
makes sense that they might have that greater experience, particularly
(11:20):
when it comes to anxiety. But what I wanted to
talk about it today was the relationship between food intake
because it had been on my mind in terms of
just putting a segment out around food and ADHD, and
I know that a lot of people are interested in that,
and so a couple of points I wanted to discuss
in relation, which would certainly also help those in pery
(11:40):
and menopause. My observation of clients who are in their
forties and managing also a diagnos of ADHD. I find
that they are very heightened and they're very very sensitive
to glucose and carbohydrate in their food. So one of
the key shifts I will try and encourage them, which
would certainly be beneficial to women in perimenopause, is shift
(12:04):
away from sweet and carbohydrate containing foods, particularly in the
first half of the day. Because if you're one of
these people who are in this age group, you have ADHD,
you've started to experience the effects of perimenopause. You're feeling
more anxious, more unsettled with your moods, and also constantly
thinking about food and distracted by eating. The worst thing
(12:24):
that you can do is fuel them with carbohydrate rich foods.
You'll find that it will just make the anxiety and
the moods worse because you'll start to ride on carbohydrate
all the time. So, for example, if you get up
in the morning and have a sweet breakfast granola, sweet
yogat berries, and then you'll find in an hour or
two you're hungry again and you're looking for more food.
It will make that experience worse the whole day, and
(12:47):
you'll find that you're just quite unsettled with your blood
glucose control, which will make all of these symptoms, including
your concentration, far worse.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So I would encourage if this is.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Something you're struggling with and it's suspicious that you might
have ADHD or do have an ADHD dediagnosis, the best
thing that you can do is have savory meals that
are very bulky and very filling through the day to
help regulate glucose levels, which will indirectly help all of
those other variables. So that's the first thing I will
work on. And in this group of clients, and I've
(13:16):
had a few, I will be quite strict with eating
times because I find, because they're so heightened, they'll just
be constantly looking to feed and thinking about food and
quite anxious about it.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Whereas I'll be quite strict.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
To say, I want you to eat a proper meal
that's bulky, no smoothies, no wraps. I want real proper
food that it takes a while for you to eat,
and then I don't want you to eat for three hours.
That's actually a rule, and I find that tends to
settle their anxiety quite a lot, and certainly beneficial for
perimenopausal symptoms in general. And the second thing I will
do with this group of clients, so anyone listening who
(13:48):
struggles with ADHD and food planning is I will spend
a lot of time planning meals and have a series
of default meals that they revert to so they don't
have to think about it too much. Because people with
ADHD get distry so incredibly easyly, So if you send
them to the supermarket, they'll buy five different products and
can't concentrate overly well on what they should be having.
Whereas I'll create a set number of meals that they're
(14:09):
choosing from, so they're directing their energy and have a
lot of clear structure, particularly during the week. And again
coming back to this study, it will only help women
who struggle with that concentration and indirectly help their symptoms
once they make that food intake a lot simpler for themselves.
So I think that Lee and I will come back
to a whole segment of nutrition and ADHD. But I
(14:31):
thought it was fascinating because it was certainly our listeners
are interested in this. But yeah, if you are ADHD
and perimenopausal and thinking that you're going crazy. Certainly there
appears to be some physiological differences which exacerbate the symptoms
of perimenopause for that subgroup of people.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Yeah, and I love that you brought this up, because
I don't know too much about the link between Perry
and ADHD. But I've certainly had a good core handful
of friends. Even I've got one friend who's a dietitian
who's been diagnosed and another friend who's a dietitian whose
daughter's just been diagnosed as well. And I just think
that we're seeing more and more prevalence of ADHD as well,
particularly in adult women. And it's not like, I guess
(15:07):
what people might perceive as an ADHD diagnosis where you're
just bouncing off the walls like that. Is that misconception
that or that common perception that it's you know, young
boys acting out and going crazy. In adult women, it's
often that they're super overwhelmed, they're quite forgetful, they're mentally exhausted,
and sometimes they can be misdiagnosed and those hormone shifts
within perimenopause can make things so much worse. Like you said,
(15:30):
so just quickly, if it's alright with you, run through
a couple of different types of ADHD, because I myself
up until a few years ago, wasn't actually aware that
there were multiple types of ADHD, because I think like
most people really just sort of thought about that hyperactive
one that a lot of you know, young boys to
kind of get diagnosed with, and that is certainly that
predominant hyperactivity. It's very impulsive, there's a lot of restlessness, interrupting,
(15:54):
a lot, a lot of behavioral issues, difficulty sitting still,
acting before thinking, and it is more obvious in children,
and for adult women it's actually less common. The one
that is most common in adult women is that predominantly inattentive,
so it's troubles with focus, organization, memory issues for getting things,
very easily distracted, very mentally overwhelmed. And then there is
(16:18):
that third type that's sort of that combination presentation where
you can actually have a mix of both both the
inattentiveness and also that sort of hyperactive impulsive symptoms as well.
So if you are someone sitting there thinking, you know,
I really do have troubles focusing. I get very easily distractive,
I'm mentally exhausted and overwhelmed all of the time. I
have difficulty remembering things even when I write them down.
(16:41):
That is well worth a conversation with your doctor. And
I was saying to one of my clients who has
recently been medicated and it has absolutely changed her life.
For so long, it took her into her adult life
to get an ADHD diagnosis, and then for so long
after that she felt like she was failing. I guess
if she accepted medication. So I just wanted to remind
(17:03):
any of our listeners out there, if you are on
the fence and considering, it's not because you're weak the medication,
you know that can make you really strong. Actually taking
some medication, to me, it's a position of strength knowing
that you're doing something that can actively help you in
your brain and the decisions that you have to make
every single day. That to me is a sign of strength,
not weakness. So I do think it's worth having a
(17:25):
great team around you, a great community around you. There
are certainly a lot of support groups out there. And
also it's well worth a good conversation with a good
doctor who won't, you know, have you in and out
in just ten minutes to actually understand the diagnosis, actually
understand what medical options are available to you, whether that's medication,
whether that's therapy, because we are seeing more and more
(17:45):
adults diagnosed with ADHD, and I think that that misconception
that it's just you know, young boys with hyperactivity, I hope,
is getting less and less and more adults are sort
of standing up and saying, hey, that might be me.
Let me go and see my doctor for a good chat.
That's all I really wanted to say.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
There true, and we'll come back to it again because
I think it is relevant and more and more people
as they get older, thinking oh, perhaps that's something that
would help my brain function, and each day do I
need to be tested? And it does come out, as
we said, in some of these physiological symptoms and link
to food management. So let us know if you're keen
for us to discuss this more. All right, Lenne, I'm
in love now. I actually think we've talked about this
(18:25):
product several years ago, but I'm in love so much
with it. I want to talk about it again because
it is soup season and I recently did a soup
trolley as I do each year, and you know, the
Dari soups are beyond fantastic in supermarkets and the La
zuper pouches are outstanding as well. You know, there's a
handful of soups that are really good. Now, whenever I
post anything about package soup on my Instagram, I'll get
(18:48):
all these people saying, just make your own, and I'm like, well,
you can make your own, absolutely, but you also season
your soup at home.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
It's not free of salt.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
I think there's a perception soup that is from the
supermarket has a lot more salt that can but you
put plenty in at home as who so you're not
as pure as you think. But I think from a
cost perspective and people who are busy, pre made soups
can be extremely cost effective. And the soup I'm going
to talk about, for example, is four dollars fifty Now,
by the time you buy all your soup ingredients, you're
probably looking at at least ten, if not twenty dollars
(19:18):
plus time, effort, energy, So there is no need to
feel guilty about pre buying your soup. I like to
make a couple of soups, but I certainly have recommendations
for clients on pre made soups, and one that just
is so good, and I am shocked how good it
is is the coals kitchen chicken and corn soup. Now
Leanne has been in love with this product for several years,
(19:39):
but even I was shocked when I took another look
at it. So it retails at four dollars fifty for
three hundred grams, So that's a big serve and small
than a cup. Now per serve is got less than
two hundred or just on two hundred calories, so eight
hundred and thirty killojeels twenty one grams of protein. People
twenty one grams of protein. That is massive, more than tuna.
(20:01):
Six point three grams are fat in total, low saturated
fat is expected, only twelve grams of carbohydrate very very low,
less than a slice of bread. Three point nine grams
of sugar is very low, massive, four point five grams
of dietary fiber, and only five hundred and ten milligrams
of salt. I guarantee you if you make a salt
at home, you'll be sticking more in it to make
it taste good. The ingredient list is equally as impressive.
(20:23):
Water nineteen percent corn, eight percent chicken breast, onion, potato, cornstarch,
soy sauce, canola oil, spring onion, vegetable stock, seasoning, crust, ginger,
a little bit of preservative. But in general, this is
a ten out of ten nutritional product. Now, if you
buy a vegetable based soup like the Diaries Veggie, it's
(20:43):
pretty free.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
I'll call it free.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
There's not much in it, not much protein, a bit
of nutrition, a great addition to meals. But this is
actually a small meal with twenty one grams of protein
and probably one of the most cost effective ways to
get twenty one grams of protein in such a clean
food ingredient. So I think this is an outstanding, outstanding food.
I think you've eaten it and like it. And this
is one soup that if you want a filling lunch like,
(21:07):
you could have this for lunch with a slice of
toast and you would be full for several hours and
you'd have your lunch for about five bucks. So one
of the best products in the supermarket. So well done calls.
I am very impressed, and.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Not really have I eaten it and liked it. I
literally survived my postpartum journey with Tilly on this soup,
so we actually I think this was from memory one
of the first products we ever ever cover on a
nutrition couch. Yes, I've loved this for many, many years.
I've never changed the formulation, which I love even more,
and over time, I think in three or four years
it's only gone up about fifty cents, so it's still
very cost effective. I personally have it with a couple
(21:42):
of slices of my favorite burg and soilin. I put
a little bit of butter on there. I dune a
handful of broccoli it just frozen broccoli sometimes in there,
to bulk it out a little bit, because I personally
don't find it that volume tense. It's not enough nutrition
calories me. It's enough protein for my goal, so I
like to boost that up with a couple of good
slices of good quality bread also dump I don't know,
some extra beans in there for a bit of carbon protein.
(22:03):
I do think it needs a little bit more veged.
The portion size is small. That would only really feel
me for an hour or two. I'd be really looking
for something else, so I like to round it out
a little bit. But it is so strong as a base,
and there's actually like chicken like chunks of chicken breast
in there. There's little bits of corn in there. It's
not one of those really smooth soups that's got a
bit of texture to it, which I love as well.
(22:24):
And the other soup I used to love, which I
also survived. I had Matilda in winter and so I
just lived off soup for lunch. I didn't really have
time to cook. I had two kids, a couple of businesses. Like,
it was busy time, and I survived my postpartum journey
with soup, and the other one I used to love,
which they've taken off the market, which makes me want
to cry. Susi Cole's perform range used to do this
amazing Mexican beef in Mexican one with black beans and corn.
(22:47):
And they also had this like kale and kinoir chicken
one which is around three hundred calories, like upwards of
twenty grams of protein. There were so strong nutritionally. I
used to rotate between those three each week, and yes
I was getting in a lot of salt, but it
didn't really matter because I was breastfeeding. But I'm really
sad that those have gone off the market. Unfortunately, I
used to buy them so much. But this one is
still alive, it's still kicking. It's very affordable. I just
(23:09):
think for a lot of busy women it will need
to be bulked up a little bit. And a couple
of slices of good quality toast is a great option
here because the protein know that what is really good
twenty one grams. I like most of my women up
closer to the thirty grams. And it is quite low
carb for anyone who is actively doing some exercise as well,
and I'd say even if you aren't exercising, twelve gram
of carb for lunch, to me personally, is still too low.
(23:31):
So I think it is well suited to one or
two slices of a good quality bread.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
True, so I check it out and the close Kitchen
Rage are incredibly strong nutritionally across the board, but this
is a standout. So yes, we still love it as
much as we did when we first reviewed it, all right, Lee,
And we have said several times we like a cheeky Starbucks,
and when I'm in a good mood, I might take
my boys out to get a Starbucks. And one of
my little boys asked me recently he wanted to try
(23:56):
much and as we know, Starbucks drengths not inexpensive at
eight or ten bucks. But I gripped my teeth and
said to him, of course, if you'd like to try it,
no problem, because I didn't want to say it tastes
like rubbish, you're gonna hate it. I needed to let
him come to that conclusion himself. So the list of
question is all about mucha and is it a better
option than coffee or tea? You can tell me your
(24:19):
thoughts on that. This is your question I'm taking over.
We need to know what Gussie thought on the match. First, Well,
he got it. It was gusty rush. He normally likes
a dragon what is that dragon tea?
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Dragonfruit? He loves dragon fruit.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
He got it and he had a few SIPs of it,
and then he said to me, oh, I don't I
don't love it, mom, And I said.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
That's okay, it's good you tried it. Now you know.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
I was having a great parenting moment, now you know.
So I think I probably written didn't went and got
him a dragon fruit. But I'd safe to say my
children probably won't order it again because it does have
a very distinct flavor. Now, obviously there's people out there
who like it. I do not, because there is match
to everything.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
I live in Sydney where it's a heavy population of
Asian people and they love it.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
It's in everything. It's not for me, But is it healthy?
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Man? Tell us, well, I'm half Malaysian and I personally
don't love it either. And I tell you my story
the first time David and I went to Japan. The
very first night we were in Japan, he wanted to
try like a traditional dessert and the lady was like,
this match of ice creams very famous, it's really good.
And Dave's like, all right, yeah, I'll get that. And
he took one spoon like Gussie, one second spoon just
in case, a third spoon just in case he thought
he'd changed his mind. He was a hard no, and
(25:32):
he went and he ordered this like decadent chocolate thing.
Afterwards he was like, hard no. But yeah, I think
a lot of marcha that is traditionally made. Particularly, you
see a lot of that ice marcher just coming out
of you know, the warmer weather we've seen in the
last few months. A lot of clients over that Christmas
January period are having the ice marchers. Often they are
sweetened quite a lot, and often they're made not only
with the sweetener base. Maybe it's honey and maybe it's
(25:53):
some sort of syrup. It's also made on a plant
based in milk, which has added sugar in a lot
of you know a lot of the cases as well
a barista style almond milk which has added you know,
sugars to it as well. So I guess my personal opinion,
so the question is is much of better than coffee
or chai. It's not better, but it's just different, right,
And it depends on your goals. It depends on your
(26:14):
taste spuds really, because I personally don't really like it either.
It does contain a small amount of caffeine compared to coffee.
It does also contain something that's really important. It's really
rich in antioxidants. But it also contains elthy aine, which
has been sort of shown to give you that more sustained,
calmer energy. So a lot of people who have I
(26:34):
guess difficulty with caffeine or regulating their caffeine intake have
swapped a matcha and they say that it, you know,
supports focus and you don't get a big jittery crash.
So for those people that are really sensitive to coffee,
they want more of that steady energy. Yeah, perhaps it
is a great alternative to coffee. But Susie, you and
I are both busy mums. I tally decided that on
(26:56):
a Saturday today we're recording on a Saturday, it was
a great idea to wake up at four it so
I feel like by ten o'clock I've already lived two lives.
So I personally have two or three copies a day.
It doesn't affect me. It doesn't make my anxiety any
better or words, and it doesn't really affect my sleep.
So I personally think caffeine. It gives you a better
I guess a stronger caffeine boost. It quickly boosts alertness
(27:18):
and makes you feel human again as a busy parent.
It's very very well researched from a cognitive perspective. It
has some slight benefits in terms of metabolism. I've also
seen some benefits from like a cardiac perspective, but it
can maybe slightly for some sensitive people, potentially increase cortisol
and just those jitters. So to me, it's best for
super busy parents who are running on poor quality sleep
(27:39):
it's good for early mornings, it's good pre workout as
a boost, and it's good for performance in general. That's
my comparison to Matcha. And then Chai has a little
bit less caffeine as well. It does have a strong
sort of black tea based So again Chai does have
some caffeine in it as well, but like match it's
a lot less caffeine and it often contains spices things
like you know, cnemond, ginger, carbodom So it can be
(28:02):
a nice well rounded option as well. But if you
are getting chai at a cafe, a lot of cafe
versions are higher in sugar, higher in calories, So I
think I don't think that it's better. I just think
that it's different and it's different for different people. But
I certainly wouldn't be telling I've never ever told my
client to stop drinking coffee and go to Mutcha, never
ever ever in my entire life. But if they are
drinking much or and they really enjoy it and they
(28:24):
love it, I'm certainly not going to swap them off
that because it can be a good, well rounded option
for people. So to me, it comes down to what
is the best thing from a taste perspective, not necessarily
a nutrition perspective, because I do think there are benefits
with both Mucha and coffee and chai. I think nutritionally
it does come down to is there sugar or sweetener
or syrups added, and what is the milk base that
(28:45):
they're making it on, not just the fundamental core ingredient
in much or caffeine or chi. That's my opinion.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
True, And I just think, don't eat or consume things
you don't like. But I think some of those drinks
I see with influences the Mucha life, they're full of
sugar to make them taste good, So just be mindful
of that. The true benefit is in much a proper
tea leaf powder, and that's the one with the sort
of more earthy taste. So yeah, don't kid yourself to
thinking that much A flavored cross on site. Yeah, I'm
(29:14):
good for you.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Exactly, because if you go to where they traditionally make
march like places like Japan, for example, it is very
very bitter. Hence David giving up his match of ice
cream when it didn't taste very good because it has
a very bitter undertone, and they're traditionally isn't much sweetener,
if any added at all. So I think that we've
just taken a trend and put on our Western spin
on it, haven't we, Susie. Like we do with most
(29:36):
things over here.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
In Australia, we do, we cherry pick, we do all right. Well.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
That brings us to the end of another episode of
nutrition catch for another week. If you would like to
check out our range of scientifically formulated supplements made right
here in Australia, designed by two busy moms with an
evidence based scientific lens, go and check out designed by
dietitians dot com. Thank you for listening, Have a great week, Spirits,
What do you order when you're out and about. Maybe
you go to subway, Maybe you get a wrap, some sushi,
maybe sushi on brown rice, or perhaps you pick up
a toasted soundwiche Now the weather is cooling down. On
today's episode of The Nutrition Couch, we discuss the day
to day foods that we regularly eat and we think
they're healthier, but are they really? Hi?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I'm Leanne Woot and I'm Susie Burrow, and together.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
We bring you The Nutrition Couch, the weekly podcast that
keeps you up to date with everything that you need
to know in the world of nutrition, as well as
popular foods on the go. We have some new research
that looks at Adhd and Perry. We take a look
at a soup that we've loved for a very long time,
and our listener question is all about the ever popular
craze which I feel like is never going away, Susie
(00:46):
of Matcha. But to kick off the podcast today, we
are talking about foods we eat on the run and
often you and I fall into this category, Susie. Where
busy women, we've got kids. Sometimes if you don't have
a solid planning place with your nutrition, you're eating on
the run, and often that might look like And a
perfect example was a client that I had last week
went to the doctors, which, you know, she's doing the
(01:06):
right thing, she's getting some blood. She hadn't had bloods
done in over a year, and of course, naturally it
was a very busy day. She ran hours over time.
The appointment was supposed to be I want to say,
like eleven thirty or something, but the time she got
out of there it was like, well after two. It
was a good twenty thirty minute drive to home. And
so of course naturally she stopped and she picked up
something at the bakery on the way home. So a
(01:26):
lot of those options that we think are quick and
healthy or even what I might classify, a client will
say to me, I got that because it was a
lighter option. And these are some of the things that
we wanted to talk about today, because naturally, I think
sometimes we feel like the lighter options are things like
a toasted sandwich, perhaps a kish at a bakery, or
even a sausage roll, because they don't seem inherently huge, right,
(01:48):
They're not like a chicken palme you get at a
pub that's like falling off the plate. That's that big.
These are smaller sized options. So I think for a
lot of us, we in our minds classify them as
a lighter option, but when we deep dive into them,
sometimes they can actually be quite heavy, can't they. And
sushi often falls into that category too, where clients will say, oh,
we've got a couple of sushi rolls, you know, three
of them with a bit of sauce, you know, chicken avocado,
(02:11):
because avocado is healthy. How's up for a lunch option?
And I think often that we forget that sushi is
compact white rice. Like at the end of the day,
they're squishing that white rice down into these little sushi rolls,
and it doesn't appear as much from a volume perspective,
but there's a hell of a lot of rice that
goes into two or three sushi rolls. True.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Actually it's funny.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I like how you've described it as lighter options because
that sums up what I want to talk about today,
which is I don't want to say that they masquerade
as healthy, but we think they're lighter, and they're they're
not as light as we think. So I loved how
you use that word. And I had a client who
sent me a photo of her lunch, and it was
this gorgeous It would have been so expensive. It was
like all of this sashimi, like a big mound of
(02:50):
sashimi salmon, but what went with it was a big,
massive amount of avocado or diced up like the dollars.
It was so big and and she had bought it
as a lighter, healthier option, and I had to say
to her, the portion of that, like someone's actually quite
high in fat, as is avocado. It was probably eight
hundred calories, but it looks like it would have been lighter.
(03:11):
The other one I see all the time is people
go to Mexican because there's a perception that Mexican take
away is healthier and lighter. And indeed it can be
healthier in the sense it often has a lot more
vegetables than fried foods and burgers. But if you're having
the nutchoes and the chips and the sour cream and
the loading, you know again it's not actually really a
light option. A Mexican salad bowl is a light option,
(03:33):
but not the things that we choose. The other one
that comes up a lot for me is a toasty
So I will say to my clients. If you make
your own toasty at home, using say an amazing bread
like bergen, you don't actually put any butter or margarine.
You might put a thin layer of sort of relish
or chutney, or maybe thin avocado cottage cheese, and then
(03:55):
you might put a slice of light yelsberg and sort
of some lean pro like some tuna would be amazing.
But if you're using process, meant ham. But that's not
what a toasted sandwich is like when you go to
the shop, Like we just had breakfast out, my husband
ordered a toasted sandwich. It was literally so deliciously, but
it was this thick, thick bread grain bread, but it
(04:16):
had been toasted in butter both sides, and then it
had cheese like lashings of cheese and mushrooms which were
cooked obviously in oil. Like it was delicious, but it
was a sex six seven hundred calorie breakfast like.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
It was not light.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
And the typical ham and cheese toasted you get at
the coffee shop is the same. It's on big slabs
of white bread, turkish or sour dough. They taste amazing
because they've got butter both sides of them. That's when
they toast, it gives that delicious flavor. The cheese is
heavy and a lot of it, and the ham is
not as high in protein as you think, so it
ends up just being a very high fat option. It's
not that much better than a croissant, if we're honest,
(04:51):
Like it would have been a million times better to
order eggs on toast or a felo pastry or even
like a frattata than that. Now, I know toastes are delicious.
They're delicious because of the way take away and cafe
shops make them. So that's another one that springs to mind.
The other couple that come up all the time for
me are rice crackers. You know, my clients will always
eat rice crackers, and I think when you look at
(05:12):
the cracker section, it's not surprising because there's actually not
that many healthy crackers there are. You've got things like
salada sao, which are not healthy. You've got vitaweats, which
are pretty healthy, but also people don't pick them up
because they probably are healthy and don't taste it's good.
I think they taste great. And then you've got a
whole lot of rice crackers. There's a million of them.
There's so many. Now, brown rice cakes are pretty healthy.
(05:34):
Corn cakes are healthy, but not rice crackers because rice crackers,
like rice, is so dense. You know, ten rice crackers
is equivalent in carves is two slices of bread. It's
highly refined grain. You're not getting any fiber.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Now.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Sure, the brown rice crackers are better slightly, but they're
still very, very dense in carbohydrates, so they're not your
best cracker. Nor are jats or rits. They are not healthy.
If you look at the fat, they're well over ten
percent fat. The only crackers that are, i'd say, are
truly healthier things like rivita, kind of those buckwheat crackers
in the health food section. Corn cakes we like, you know,
(06:08):
they're actually the healthier options. And I'll end on homis.
You know, homice is tricky because I'll have clients who'll
add it as a dip all the time because it
appears to be so healthy. But most homice is generally
a lot more oil and calories and fat than it
is protein. And the higher protein homices are literally three
or four hundred calories worth to get the protein amounts
(06:29):
their claiming it's not something you know if you had
it as a light spread on a piece of bread
rather than margarine. You could use it like that, but
as soon as we're dipping it and you're getting over
twenty grams or so, it's certainly a lot more fat
than it is protein.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah, homoe is the tricky one, isn't it. And I
certainly wouldn't be using homus to get my protein intake higher.
So again, to me, that's just a real bad marketing
trend wave where marketing homics is high protein. Like, does
homics have some protein in it? Yes, but it shouldn't
be the bulk of the protein in a meal, Absolutely not,
because I think we forget that the base of homice
is chickpeas and when you blend them all up, it's
(07:03):
a very concentrated source. You'd be far better to add,
you know, a cup of chickpeas into a meal to
get much better protein and much more volume and so
tidy from that meal versus like pre blended homice, which
is lashing as of oil and often other things in
it as well. So I don't mind homice, but yeah,
portion control is really key when it does come to homice.
(07:23):
But I think you're right like that. I guess thought
pattern that because things are smaller or smaller volume, they
appear lighter. I do hear that quite a lot. And bakery,
you know, things from the bakery are a big one
for me, Susie, like often the kishas with the pastry
on them. You know, if you're getting even just a
bacon and egg keisha and it might have some spring
onions and stuff in it, it doesn't appear like it's
(07:45):
an overly terrible option. But a kish could easily be
four to six hundred calories. And are they that feeling
Absolutely not. You'll probably need something in around two hours
time because you're still hungry. So it really comes down
to are you able to get that vegetable volume in?
Are you able to get an appropriate amount of protein in?
And that to us as dieticians, classifies a well balanced meal.
(08:07):
Of course we want some healthy vats, of course we
want some carbohydrate. But what we see at lunchtime, the
bulk of our busy women are missing is an appropriate
level of protein. For most women, twenty five to thirty
grams a meal is ideal, and an appropriate amount of
vegetable or salad for most women, a couple of cups
and You're certainly not going to get that from two
slices of tomato and a ham cheese toasty.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
That is very, very true. All right.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
We wanted to talk about some research on the nutrition
couch to Daily and actually one last point I wanted
to say bacon. Bacon is not healthy. It doesn't matter. Yes,
it's delicious. I do not count bacon in my protein.
Now my clients will put bacon on thinking that it's protein.
I count it only as fat because most bacon you
get away from the home is much higher and fat
(08:52):
cheap cuts that you're not getting as much of the
lean stuff, and it's never you can't count your bacon
as protein people, I'm sorry, that's my position.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
What is a bit of protein. It's just a very
high calorie way to get protein. Yes, there is hiati
in certainly, but it is high calorie. Okay, all right,
moving on.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
I've got a new study leanne which we like some
research here on the nutrition couch as evidence based practitioners.
And this is a new study that was published late
last year in the journal European Psychiatry, and it tickled
my fancy. The headline because it claims or states or
found that ADHD women faced more perimenopausal symptoms in a
(09:30):
review coport study, and I thought that was very fascinating
because we do hear it a lot now, people going
back in their thirties, forties, fifties and assessing whether they
might have ADHD, and it does impact their life in many,
many different ways. And this is one of the first
reports I've ever seen that link perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms
(09:52):
with an ADHD diagnosis. So it was from twenty twenty five,
and it found that women who had been diagnosed with
adhd D were twice as likely to experience perimenopausal symptoms
as women without ADHD, So fifty four percent more than
half the cohort experienced symptoms compared to only thirty or
one in three women who had not had diagnosed ADHD.
(10:15):
And the symptoms in particular included anxiety, depressive moods, irritability,
and fatigue, and physical symptoms in thirty percent of those
with hot flushes, headaches, palpitations, and they were only in
fourteen percent of the women without ADHD, which is very
really quite low, because if you had read a lot
of the stuff out there about perimenopause, you would say
(10:36):
that a lot of women experience, say the hot flushes
and racing heart, but actually the study was reporting only
fourteen percent of women in that looked at it, And
I thought it was a really interesting piece of research
because people who have diagnosed ADHD will talk about how
debilitating it can be in terms of making progress in
(10:58):
life and being distracted and feeling constantly overwhelmed. So for me,
it makes sense that this group may be more vulnerable
throughout that perimenopausal period in their lives. So this wasn't
an intervention study. It was more observational, just stating that
there seemed to be an association. So for me, for
more heightened individuals whose brain is operating slightly differently, it
makes sense that they might have that greater experience, particularly
(11:20):
when it comes to anxiety. But what I wanted to
talk about it today was the relationship between food intake
because it had been on my mind in terms of
just putting a segment out around food and ADHD, and
I know that a lot of people are interested in that,
and so a couple of points I wanted to discuss
in relation, which would certainly also help those in pery
(11:40):
and menopause. My observation of clients who are in their
forties and managing also a diagnos of ADHD. I find
that they are very heightened and they're very very sensitive
to glucose and carbohydrate in their food. So one of
the key shifts I will try and encourage them, which
would certainly be beneficial to women in perimenopause, is shift
(12:04):
away from sweet and carbohydrate containing foods, particularly in the
first half of the day. Because if you're one of
these people who are in this age group, you have ADHD,
you've started to experience the effects of perimenopause. You're feeling
more anxious, more unsettled with your moods, and also constantly
thinking about food and distracted by eating. The worst thing
(12:24):
that you can do is fuel them with carbohydrate rich foods.
You'll find that it will just make the anxiety and
the moods worse because you'll start to ride on carbohydrate
all the time. So, for example, if you get up
in the morning and have a sweet breakfast granola, sweet
yogat berries, and then you'll find in an hour or
two you're hungry again and you're looking for more food.
It will make that experience worse the whole day, and
(12:47):
you'll find that you're just quite unsettled with your blood
glucose control, which will make all of these symptoms, including
your concentration, far worse.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So I would encourage if this is.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Something you're struggling with and it's suspicious that you might
have ADHD or do have an ADHD dediagnosis, the best
thing that you can do is have savory meals that
are very bulky and very filling through the day to
help regulate glucose levels, which will indirectly help all of
those other variables. So that's the first thing I will
work on. And in this group of clients, and I've
(13:16):
had a few, I will be quite strict with eating
times because I find, because they're so heightened, they'll just
be constantly looking to feed and thinking about food and
quite anxious about it.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Whereas I'll be quite strict.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
To say, I want you to eat a proper meal
that's bulky, no smoothies, no wraps. I want real proper
food that it takes a while for you to eat,
and then I don't want you to eat for three hours.
That's actually a rule, and I find that tends to
settle their anxiety quite a lot, and certainly beneficial for
perimenopausal symptoms in general. And the second thing I will
do with this group of clients, so anyone listening who
(13:48):
struggles with ADHD and food planning is I will spend
a lot of time planning meals and have a series
of default meals that they revert to so they don't
have to think about it too much. Because people with
ADHD get distry so incredibly easyly, So if you send
them to the supermarket, they'll buy five different products and
can't concentrate overly well on what they should be having.
Whereas I'll create a set number of meals that they're
(14:09):
choosing from, so they're directing their energy and have a
lot of clear structure, particularly during the week. And again
coming back to this study, it will only help women
who struggle with that concentration and indirectly help their symptoms
once they make that food intake a lot simpler for themselves.
So I think that Lee and I will come back
to a whole segment of nutrition and ADHD. But I
(14:31):
thought it was fascinating because it was certainly our listeners
are interested in this. But yeah, if you are ADHD
and perimenopausal and thinking that you're going crazy. Certainly there
appears to be some physiological differences which exacerbate the symptoms
of perimenopause for that subgroup of people.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Yeah, and I love that you brought this up, because
I don't know too much about the link between Perry
and ADHD. But I've certainly had a good core handful
of friends. Even I've got one friend who's a dietitian
who's been diagnosed and another friend who's a dietitian whose
daughter's just been diagnosed as well. And I just think
that we're seeing more and more prevalence of ADHD as well,
particularly in adult women. And it's not like, I guess
(15:07):
what people might perceive as an ADHD diagnosis where you're
just bouncing off the walls like that. Is that misconception
that or that common perception that it's you know, young
boys acting out and going crazy. In adult women, it's
often that they're super overwhelmed, they're quite forgetful, they're mentally exhausted,
and sometimes they can be misdiagnosed and those hormone shifts
within perimenopause can make things so much worse. Like you said,
(15:30):
so just quickly, if it's alright with you, run through
a couple of different types of ADHD, because I myself
up until a few years ago, wasn't actually aware that
there were multiple types of ADHD, because I think like
most people really just sort of thought about that hyperactive
one that a lot of you know, young boys to
kind of get diagnosed with, and that is certainly that
predominant hyperactivity. It's very impulsive, there's a lot of restlessness, interrupting,
(15:54):
a lot, a lot of behavioral issues, difficulty sitting still,
acting before thinking, and it is more obvious in children,
and for adult women it's actually less common. The one
that is most common in adult women is that predominantly inattentive,
so it's troubles with focus, organization, memory issues for getting things,
very easily distracted, very mentally overwhelmed. And then there is
(16:18):
that third type that's sort of that combination presentation where
you can actually have a mix of both both the
inattentiveness and also that sort of hyperactive impulsive symptoms as well.
So if you are someone sitting there thinking, you know,
I really do have troubles focusing. I get very easily distractive,
I'm mentally exhausted and overwhelmed all of the time. I
have difficulty remembering things even when I write them down.
(16:41):
That is well worth a conversation with your doctor. And
I was saying to one of my clients who has
recently been medicated and it has absolutely changed her life.
For so long, it took her into her adult life
to get an ADHD diagnosis, and then for so long
after that she felt like she was failing. I guess
if she accepted medication. So I just wanted to remind
(17:03):
any of our listeners out there, if you are on
the fence and considering, it's not because you're weak the medication,
you know that can make you really strong. Actually taking
some medication, to me, it's a position of strength knowing
that you're doing something that can actively help you in
your brain and the decisions that you have to make
every single day. That to me is a sign of strength,
not weakness. So I do think it's worth having a
(17:25):
great team around you, a great community around you. There
are certainly a lot of support groups out there. And
also it's well worth a good conversation with a good
doctor who won't, you know, have you in and out
in just ten minutes to actually understand the diagnosis, actually
understand what medical options are available to you, whether that's medication,
whether that's therapy, because we are seeing more and more
(17:45):
adults diagnosed with ADHD, and I think that that misconception
that it's just you know, young boys with hyperactivity, I hope,
is getting less and less and more adults are sort
of standing up and saying, hey, that might be me.
Let me go and see my doctor for a good chat.
That's all I really wanted to say.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
There true, and we'll come back to it again because
I think it is relevant and more and more people
as they get older, thinking oh, perhaps that's something that
would help my brain function, and each day do I
need to be tested? And it does come out, as
we said, in some of these physiological symptoms and link
to food management. So let us know if you're keen
for us to discuss this more. All right, Lenne, I'm
in love now. I actually think we've talked about this
(18:25):
product several years ago, but I'm in love so much
with it. I want to talk about it again because
it is soup season and I recently did a soup
trolley as I do each year, and you know, the
Dari soups are beyond fantastic in supermarkets and the La
zuper pouches are outstanding as well. You know, there's a
handful of soups that are really good. Now, whenever I
post anything about package soup on my Instagram, I'll get
(18:48):
all these people saying, just make your own, and I'm like, well,
you can make your own, absolutely, but you also season
your soup at home.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
It's not free of salt.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
I think there's a perception soup that is from the
supermarket has a lot more salt that can but you
put plenty in at home as who so you're not
as pure as you think. But I think from a
cost perspective and people who are busy, pre made soups
can be extremely cost effective. And the soup I'm going
to talk about, for example, is four dollars fifty Now,
by the time you buy all your soup ingredients, you're
probably looking at at least ten, if not twenty dollars
(19:18):
plus time, effort, energy, So there is no need to
feel guilty about pre buying your soup. I like to
make a couple of soups, but I certainly have recommendations
for clients on pre made soups, and one that just
is so good, and I am shocked how good it
is is the coals kitchen chicken and corn soup. Now
Leanne has been in love with this product for several years,
(19:39):
but even I was shocked when I took another look
at it. So it retails at four dollars fifty for
three hundred grams, So that's a big serve and small
than a cup. Now per serve is got less than
two hundred or just on two hundred calories, so eight
hundred and thirty killojeels twenty one grams of protein. People
twenty one grams of protein. That is massive, more than tuna.
(20:01):
Six point three grams are fat in total, low saturated
fat is expected, only twelve grams of carbohydrate very very low,
less than a slice of bread. Three point nine grams
of sugar is very low, massive, four point five grams
of dietary fiber, and only five hundred and ten milligrams
of salt. I guarantee you if you make a salt
at home, you'll be sticking more in it to make
it taste good. The ingredient list is equally as impressive.
(20:23):
Water nineteen percent corn, eight percent chicken breast, onion, potato, cornstarch,
soy sauce, canola oil, spring onion, vegetable stock, seasoning, crust, ginger,
a little bit of preservative. But in general, this is
a ten out of ten nutritional product. Now, if you
buy a vegetable based soup like the Diaries Veggie, it's
(20:43):
pretty free.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
I'll call it free.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
There's not much in it, not much protein, a bit
of nutrition, a great addition to meals. But this is
actually a small meal with twenty one grams of protein
and probably one of the most cost effective ways to
get twenty one grams of protein in such a clean
food ingredient. So I think this is an outstanding, outstanding food.
I think you've eaten it and like it. And this
is one soup that if you want a filling lunch like,
(21:07):
you could have this for lunch with a slice of
toast and you would be full for several hours and
you'd have your lunch for about five bucks. So one
of the best products in the supermarket. So well done calls.
I am very impressed, and.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Not really have I eaten it and liked it. I
literally survived my postpartum journey with Tilly on this soup,
so we actually I think this was from memory one
of the first products we ever ever cover on a
nutrition couch. Yes, I've loved this for many, many years.
I've never changed the formulation, which I love even more,
and over time, I think in three or four years
it's only gone up about fifty cents, so it's still
very cost effective. I personally have it with a couple
(21:42):
of slices of my favorite burg and soilin. I put
a little bit of butter on there. I dune a
handful of broccoli it just frozen broccoli sometimes in there,
to bulk it out a little bit, because I personally
don't find it that volume tense. It's not enough nutrition
calories me. It's enough protein for my goal, so I
like to boost that up with a couple of good
slices of good quality bread also dump I don't know,
some extra beans in there for a bit of carbon protein.
(22:03):
I do think it needs a little bit more veged.
The portion size is small. That would only really feel
me for an hour or two. I'd be really looking
for something else, so I like to round it out
a little bit. But it is so strong as a base,
and there's actually like chicken like chunks of chicken breast
in there. There's little bits of corn in there. It's
not one of those really smooth soups that's got a
bit of texture to it, which I love as well.
(22:24):
And the other soup I used to love, which I
also survived. I had Matilda in winter and so I
just lived off soup for lunch. I didn't really have
time to cook. I had two kids, a couple of businesses. Like,
it was busy time, and I survived my postpartum journey
with soup, and the other one I used to love,
which they've taken off the market, which makes me want
to cry. Susi Cole's perform range used to do this
amazing Mexican beef in Mexican one with black beans and corn.
(22:47):
And they also had this like kale and kinoir chicken
one which is around three hundred calories, like upwards of
twenty grams of protein. There were so strong nutritionally. I
used to rotate between those three each week, and yes
I was getting in a lot of salt, but it
didn't really matter because I was breastfeeding. But I'm really
sad that those have gone off the market. Unfortunately, I
used to buy them so much. But this one is
still alive, it's still kicking. It's very affordable. I just
(23:09):
think for a lot of busy women it will need
to be bulked up a little bit. And a couple
of slices of good quality toast is a great option
here because the protein know that what is really good
twenty one grams. I like most of my women up
closer to the thirty grams. And it is quite low
carb for anyone who is actively doing some exercise as well,
and I'd say even if you aren't exercising, twelve gram
of carb for lunch, to me personally, is still too low.
(23:31):
So I think it is well suited to one or
two slices of a good quality bread.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
True, so I check it out and the close Kitchen
Rage are incredibly strong nutritionally across the board, but this
is a standout. So yes, we still love it as
much as we did when we first reviewed it, all right, Lee,
And we have said several times we like a cheeky Starbucks,
and when I'm in a good mood, I might take
my boys out to get a Starbucks. And one of
my little boys asked me recently he wanted to try
(23:56):
much and as we know, Starbucks drengths not inexpensive at
eight or ten bucks. But I gripped my teeth and
said to him, of course, if you'd like to try it,
no problem, because I didn't want to say it tastes
like rubbish, you're gonna hate it. I needed to let
him come to that conclusion himself. So the list of
question is all about mucha and is it a better
option than coffee or tea? You can tell me your
(24:19):
thoughts on that. This is your question I'm taking over.
We need to know what Gussie thought on the match. First, Well,
he got it. It was gusty rush. He normally likes
a dragon what is that dragon tea?
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Dragonfruit? He loves dragon fruit.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
He got it and he had a few SIPs of it,
and then he said to me, oh, I don't I
don't love it, mom, And I said.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
That's okay, it's good you tried it. Now you know.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
I was having a great parenting moment, now you know.
So I think I probably written didn't went and got
him a dragon fruit. But I'd safe to say my
children probably won't order it again because it does have
a very distinct flavor. Now, obviously there's people out there
who like it. I do not, because there is match
to everything.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
I live in Sydney where it's a heavy population of
Asian people and they love it.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
It's in everything. It's not for me, But is it healthy?
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Man? Tell us, well, I'm half Malaysian and I personally
don't love it either. And I tell you my story
the first time David and I went to Japan. The
very first night we were in Japan, he wanted to
try like a traditional dessert and the lady was like,
this match of ice creams very famous, it's really good.
And Dave's like, all right, yeah, I'll get that. And
he took one spoon like Gussie, one second spoon just
in case, a third spoon just in case he thought
he'd changed his mind. He was a hard no, and
(25:32):
he went and he ordered this like decadent chocolate thing.
Afterwards he was like, hard no. But yeah, I think
a lot of marcha that is traditionally made. Particularly, you
see a lot of that ice marcher just coming out
of you know, the warmer weather we've seen in the
last few months. A lot of clients over that Christmas
January period are having the ice marchers. Often they are
sweetened quite a lot, and often they're made not only
with the sweetener base. Maybe it's honey and maybe it's
(25:53):
some sort of syrup. It's also made on a plant
based in milk, which has added sugar in a lot
of you know a lot of the cases as well
a barista style almond milk which has added you know,
sugars to it as well. So I guess my personal opinion,
so the question is is much of better than coffee
or chai. It's not better, but it's just different, right,
And it depends on your goals. It depends on your
(26:14):
taste spuds really, because I personally don't really like it either.
It does contain a small amount of caffeine compared to coffee.
It does also contain something that's really important. It's really
rich in antioxidants. But it also contains elthy aine, which
has been sort of shown to give you that more sustained,
calmer energy. So a lot of people who have I
(26:34):
guess difficulty with caffeine or regulating their caffeine intake have
swapped a matcha and they say that it, you know,
supports focus and you don't get a big jittery crash.
So for those people that are really sensitive to coffee,
they want more of that steady energy. Yeah, perhaps it
is a great alternative to coffee. But Susie, you and
I are both busy mums. I tally decided that on
(26:56):
a Saturday today we're recording on a Saturday, it was
a great idea to wake up at four it so
I feel like by ten o'clock I've already lived two lives.
So I personally have two or three copies a day.
It doesn't affect me. It doesn't make my anxiety any
better or words, and it doesn't really affect my sleep.
So I personally think caffeine. It gives you a better
I guess a stronger caffeine boost. It quickly boosts alertness
(27:18):
and makes you feel human again as a busy parent.
It's very very well researched from a cognitive perspective. It
has some slight benefits in terms of metabolism. I've also
seen some benefits from like a cardiac perspective, but it
can maybe slightly for some sensitive people, potentially increase cortisol
and just those jitters. So to me, it's best for
super busy parents who are running on poor quality sleep
(27:39):
it's good for early mornings, it's good pre workout as
a boost, and it's good for performance in general. That's
my comparison to Matcha. And then Chai has a little
bit less caffeine as well. It does have a strong
sort of black tea based So again Chai does have
some caffeine in it as well, but like match it's
a lot less caffeine and it often contains spices things
like you know, cnemond, ginger, carbodom So it can be
(28:02):
a nice well rounded option as well. But if you
are getting chai at a cafe, a lot of cafe
versions are higher in sugar, higher in calories, So I
think I don't think that it's better. I just think
that it's different and it's different for different people. But
I certainly wouldn't be telling I've never ever told my
client to stop drinking coffee and go to Mutcha, never
ever ever in my entire life. But if they are
drinking much or and they really enjoy it and they
(28:24):
love it, I'm certainly not going to swap them off
that because it can be a good, well rounded option
for people. So to me, it comes down to what
is the best thing from a taste perspective, not necessarily
a nutrition perspective, because I do think there are benefits
with both Mucha and coffee and chai. I think nutritionally
it does come down to is there sugar or sweetener
or syrups added, and what is the milk base that
(28:45):
they're making it on, not just the fundamental core ingredient
in much or caffeine or chi. That's my opinion.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
True, And I just think, don't eat or consume things
you don't like. But I think some of those drinks
I see with influences the Mucha life, they're full of
sugar to make them taste good, So just be mindful
of that. The true benefit is in much a proper
tea leaf powder, and that's the one with the sort
of more earthy taste. So yeah, don't kid yourself to
thinking that much A flavored cross on site. Yeah, I'm
(29:14):
good for you.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Exactly, because if you go to where they traditionally make
march like places like Japan, for example, it is very
very bitter. Hence David giving up his match of ice
cream when it didn't taste very good because it has
a very bitter undertone, and they're traditionally isn't much sweetener,
if any added at all. So I think that we've
just taken a trend and put on our Western spin
on it, haven't we, Susie. Like we do with most
(29:36):
things over here.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
In Australia, we do, we cherry pick, we do all right. Well.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
That brings us to the end of another episode of
nutrition catch for another week. If you would like to
check out our range of scientifically formulated supplements made right
here in Australia, designed by two busy moms with an
evidence based scientific lens, go and check out designed by
dietitians dot com. Thank you for listening, Have a great week, Spirits,
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