Portion sizes at our favourite restaurants, cafes and fast food
restaurants have increased enormously over the decades, even doubled or tripled
compared to twenty years ago. These increased sizes have created confusion around
meals that have translated to increasing our portions at home, not to mention acting
as a major factor contributing to our current epidemic of obesity and weight
related health conditions. By creating our own meals at home, and serving our
own portion sizes, we are able to avoid over eating and are more likely to eat only
what we need.
By cooking meals at home and getting your children involved in the
process, such as cutting up or peeling vegetables, you not only act as a
healthy role model for your children, but by sitting down to eat the meal you
have prepared together, you can bond as a family.
A range of fast foods and foods in restaurants and cafes have hidden
fats, sugars and salts. Meals may seem healthy but in fact have a range of
additives and preservatives. Meals may also be perceived as cooked on site,
especially in restaurants you expect the meal to be made from scratch, but in
fact a range of restaurants buy in frozen pre-made produce, that is simply
heated up upon order.
The obvious incentive to cook at home is budget, it is certainly a
fact that by doing a weekly shop and creating your own meals at home you can save.
One meal could cost up to $70 for two people in a restaurant, when you could
make the same meal at home to last you a week at the same price.
For example, you can buy a boneless chicken banquet from KFC for $24.95,
this includes 12 pieces of chicken and 2 large chips, serving 4 people. You can
purchase a whole roast chicken for around $5-6/kg from your local supermarket,
and some sweet potato for around $5/kg.
You can easily whip up a roast chicken and sweet potato wedges for
dinner with little preparation, and cooking time of around 1 hour depending on
your chicken size. Why not spend a few more dollars and get a range of seasonal
veggies, which you can steam in under 15 minutes. This
home made meal can cost you around half the price of a take out from KFC, is
easy to prepare, and will leave you with leftovers that will last you the week. Not to mention a healthy meal that is rich in
vitamins and minerals and high in protein and starch to encourage a healthy
weight, compared to a KFC meal that full of salt, fat and sugars, potentially
leading to increases in your risk of chronic disease.
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KFC V’s Home
Roast Chicken
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KFC Banquet
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Home Roast Chicken
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Cost
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$24 .95
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$21
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Time
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15 minutes
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2 hours prep and cooking time
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Portion
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12 x pieces of boneless fried chicken
2 x large chips
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2kg x whole roast chicken
1kg x sweet potato wedges
1 kg x greens and veg
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Serves
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4 x serves
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10 x serves
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Sarah Campbell
Naed Nutrition - Currambine
Need help planning your meals? Simply email admin@naednutrition.com.au to learn how you can make the most of your meal planning and food prep.
