Recipe competition: Eat well live well!

The recipe competition

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are prevalent in New Zealand and what you eat plays a huge role in reducing or managing it effectively.

Taking steps to prevent or control diabetes isn’t about being on a boring and strict diet, it’s about a tasty and balanced eating regime that will also boost your energy and improve your mood.

To show you how simple it is to create a tasty, healthy and cost-effective way of eating, during November – Diabetes Awareness month, we are running a recipe competition, with prizes! It’s easy to enter, all you need to do is:

• submit a picture of your diabetic-friendly dish (sweet or savoury)
• a list of ingredients
• an outline of how you made it
• the length of time it took you to make
• an estimated cost per serving (for one person)

One of the key criteria is to use easily accessible ingredients that are cost-effective and relatively simple – more on this below.

What are the judges looking for?

At the end of the month, our panel of judges, Jenny Huri, Emma Robertson and David Glover, will pick their top three winning recipes, scoring them on:

1. Time involved in making the dish
2. Cost to make it
3. Complexity – keep it simple!
4. Accessibility of ingredients – easy to find at your local supermarket
5. Diversity of ingredients – preferably items you usually or often have in your kitchen
6. Wow factor – Looks good on the plate, appealing or kid-friendly

Prizes

There are three prizes! Each of the three winning recipe entries will receive a $100 Pak ‘n Save voucher.

Note – Just one submission per person.

How to enter

Email your pictures and the info listed above (1. to 6.) to ptheunissen@unitec.ac.nz.

Entries close: 5.00pm Friday 30 November 2018

The Health & Safety team will collate all the recipes that meet the criteria following the competition, to share with all staff.

Some tips and facts on a healthier and diabetes-friendly eating plan

Myth: You must avoid sugar at all costs.
Fact: You can enjoy your favourite treats as long as you plan properly and limit hidden sugars. Dessert doesn’t have to be off limits, as long as it’s a part of a healthy meal plan.

Myth: You have to cut way down on carbs.
Fact: The type of carbohydrates you eat as well as serving size is key. Focus on whole grain carbs instead of starchy carbs since they’re high in fibre and digested slowly, keeping blood sugar levels more even.

Myth: You’ll need special diabetic meals.
Fact: The principles of healthy eating are the same – whether or not you’re diabetic. Expensive diabetic foods generally offer no special benefit.

Myth: A high-protein diet is best.
Fact: Studies have shown that eating too much protein, especially animal protein, may actually cause insulin resistance, a key factor in diabetes. A healthy diet includes protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Our bodies need all three to function properly. The key is a balanced diet.

Eat more of these…

• Healthy fats from nuts, olive oil, fish oils, flax seeds, or avocados
• Fruits and vegetables – ideally fresh, the more colourful the better; whole fruit rather than juices
• High-fibre cereals and breads made from whole grains
• Fish and shellfish, organic chicken or turkey
• High-quality protein such as eggs, beans, low-fat dairy, and unsweetened yogurt

Eat less of these…

• Trans fats from partially hydrogenated or deep-fried foods
• Packaged and fast foods, especially those high in sugar, baked goods, sweets, chips, desserts
• White bread, sugary cereals, refined pastas or rice
• Processed meat and red meat
• Low-fat products that have replaced fat with added sugar, such as fat-free yogurt