Easy Dinner Idea

Are you stuck for dinner plans tonight? Here's a really simple meal you can make that is healthy and tastes great.

Start with around 180g per person of a fish like salmon or trout. Place the fish on a piece of foil big enough to wrap the fish completely, spraying a little big of olive oil onto the foil first.

Add some flavour to the fish with some fresh thin slices of tomato or fresh herbs like coriander, parsley, garlic or grated ginger. Add some pepper to taste. Bake the fish in a hot oven until the fish is white and flaky. Serve with brown rice or steamed pumpkin and green beans.

What's your favourite healthy recipe? Hit comment below to share your fave recipe with other Atlas fans.

Why you Shouldn't Skip Breakfast

You remember the other day when we said you shouldn't skip breakfast? If the fitness and nutritional benefits weren't enough to convince you, take a look at this.

A world first study conducted by Menzies Research Institute Tasmania has shown that skipping breakfast over a long period of time may increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

This new study was recently published online in the international journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Skipping breakfast is a fairly common practice with 23 per cent of adults and 10 per cent of children reporting they did not regularly eat breakfast in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey (Australia) and there is evidence that skipping breakfast is becoming more common.

Previous studies have shown eating breakfast is good for weight management.

First author and chief investigator of the paper, Menzies’ PhD student Kylie Smith says results from our new study show that not only is breakfast good for weight management, but it is also good for reducing other risk factors for heart disease and diabetes such as blood insulin and cholesterol levels, independently of weight.

“People who reported skipping breakfast both during childhood and adulthood had more risk factors for diabetes and heart disease than their peers who ate breakfast at both times in the study,” she said.

The investigation was part of the national Childhood Determinants of Adult Health (CDAH) study. Over 2,000 participants were involved with the breakfast skipping study. “We used data from a large nation-wide study with a 20 year follow-up from childhood to early adulthood," Kylie said. “Compared to those who ate breakfast both as a child and an adult, those who skipped breakfast on both occasions had a larger waist circumference, and had higher fasting insulin, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol), which are all risk factors for heart disease and diabetes."

Healthy Weight, Heart Foundation national director Susan Anderson added: “We’ve always known that eating breakfast helps with concentration, weight control and good nutrition, but this study provides further evidence that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If parents wanted to do just one thing to help ensure the good health of their children now and into the future, it could be to make sure that no-one leaves the house in the mornings without breakfast."

Vitamin Water: Friend or Foe?

We've been long frustrated that many people believe they can substitute a healthy nutritional diet for vitamin-enriched water. Now CHOICE, the independent community interest watchdog, is advising consumers not to buy into the hype saying vitamin-enriched waters are "essentially expensive lolly waters with hyperventilated health claims."

According to a release issued by CHOICE, some of the drinks, which go by names such as 'Nutrient Water', 'Smart Water' and 'Vitamin Water' and retail for between $2.50 and $4.00, contain enough sugar in one 500ml bottle to provide the average woman with a third of her recommended daily intake.

CHOICE spokesperson Ingrid Just says it's time to get tough on potentially misleading promotions and labelling such as 'nature approved ingredients' and 'natural flavours' which mean nothing.

"This type of labelling creates the impression that the drinks can be used as a safety net for a poor lifestyle when grabbing an apple and a glass of water will provide you with far more nutrients for a fraction of the cost," Ingrid says.

When CHOICE complained to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in 2008 that Coca Cola Amatil's Glaceau Vitamin Water made a mockery of food labeling laws, the complaint was rejected. Since that time the market has been flooded with similar products.

"It's time to take another look at the way vitamin enhanced waters are being marketed; these drinks are leading consumers up an imaginary garden path to health and vitality," Ingrid says. "Treat them like any other sugary or artificial drink; enjoy occasionally, not as a means to any kind of wellbeing whatever the label or pretty pictures might suggest.”

Our advice? Steer clear of packaged drinks and get your water from the tap. Make sure you always take a bottle of water out with you, but use a BPA-free bottle!