When the words cake, chocolate, soft drink, alcohol, lollies, ice cream or pizza are mentioned you would not be alone if you felt many emotions around these foods but one of them included is guilt. What you may not realise these foods are not bad but are simply to be enjoyed in moderation throughout your week, for most of adults this is recommended to be at most 2.5 to 3 times a week for women and men respectfully aged between 19-50 years. Yes, these foods and drinks do need to be kept on a leash for control and making the sometimes foods and drinks staples in your day is linked to poor health outcomes but it doesn’t mean they should or need to be avoided all together.
So what is a serve? How can I enjoy these sometimes foods in moderation to be included and enjoyed as part of a healthy and happy lifestyle?
A serving is 600kJ or 144 calories of energy. The key is to pick the things you really enjoy the most and savour them, be present in the moment and enjoy each mouthful. A serving of ‘sometimes’ or discretionary foods and drinks could include:
- 2 tablespoons (40 g) cream
- 1 tablespoon (20 g) butter or hard margarine
- 200 mL wine (2 standard drinks (regularly equals 1 glass for many wines)
- 60 mL spirits (2 standard drinks)
- 600 mL light beer (1½ standard drinks)
- 400 mL regular beer (1½ standard drinks)
- 1 can (375 mL) soft drink
- 1/3 (60 g) commercial meat pie or pastie
- 12 (60 g) fried hot chips
- 2 scoops (75g) regular ice cream
- ¼ cup condensed milk
- 50-60g (about two slices) processed meats, salami, devon
- 1 ½ thick or 2 thinner higher fat/salt sausages
- 30g salty crackers (a small individual serve packet)
- 2-3 sweet biscuits
- 1 (40 g) doughnut
- 1 slice (40 g) plain cake or small cake-type muffin
- 40g sugar confectionary (about 5-6 small lollies)
- 60g jam/honey (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1/2 small bar (25 g) chocolate
You may be interested to know that unsaturated fats, oils and spreads are an additional category from these sometimes foods. This means the unsaturated spreads like margarine made from olive oil or sunflower oil or seeds, nuts and seeds spreads like 100% peanut butter can be enjoyed in addition. 2 serves (14-20g) are recommended for women and 4 serves (28-40g) a day for men, so you can enjoy some margarine on your toast or some olive oil on your salad without blowing your sometimes food budget.
Take home message: You can have your cake and eat it too. Food is not good or bad and should be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet. The key is understanding the role different foods and drinks play in your body and that some foods and drinks are best enjoyed in moderation for overall health. Knowledge is power and if you still are unsure make sure you see an Accredited Practicing Dietitian who can help you be your healthiest and achieve your nutrition goals.
Reference:
- Health AGDo. Eatforhealth.gov.au Australia: Australian Government; 2017 [updated 16/5/2017; cited 2017 11/7/2017]. Available from: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/discretionary-food-and-drink-choices.
