With summer just weeks away there's no better time to get healthy. And we're taking the hard work away by providing the ACA Summer Diet.
By following five simple steps, dietician Melanie McGrice has formulated the diet you can do easily at home.
Each week for the next two months, Melanie will be creating simple meal plans, which will be posted onto our website.
But she says it's important to follow these tips:
— Eat small regular meals
— Eat all core food groups
— Watch your portion sizes
— Cut out soft drinks
— Do at least 3.5 hours of exercise a week
If you're following the diet plan at home, we want to hear about your progress. Let us know on Facebook or email aca@nine.com.au.
ACA Summer Diet: Week 5
Monday
Breakfast
Two wheat breakfast biscuits with 1 cup of low fat milk with a handful of blueberries
Morning Tea
2 grainy crackers topped with slices of tomato and cracked pepper
Lunch
A sandwich made with 2 sandwich slices wholegrain bread, 100g of tuna in spring water, 2 lettuce leaves, 40g of reduced fat cheese, quarter cup of grated carrot and 97 percent fat free mayonnaise
Afternoon Tea
200g of fat free yoghurt
Dinner
1 fish fillet oven baked in foil with 1 tablespoon of marinade (made from 1 tsp each of garlic, ginger, sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce) served with an Asian salad made from finely chopped 2 stalks celery, 2 carrots, half green capsicum, half red capsicum, 8 mushrooms and a small packet of slivered almonds. Dress with a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Tuesday
Breakfast
Quarter cup wholegrain rolled oats and quarter cup of processed wheat bran topped with 6 small strawberries and half cup of low fat milk
Morning Tea
1 medium carrot cut into sticks and 30g pack of sultanas
Lunch
1 cup pasta salad made with 30g spiral pasta, 60g skinless chicken, 1 cup of baby spinach leaves, half red capsicum (diced), 3 small mushrooms (diced), half carrot (grated) and a tbsp of low fat mayonnaise
Afternoon tea
250ml glass of low fat milk
Dinner
100g grilled lean beef steak marinated (oil with the garlic, water, coriander, cumin and chilli powder) served with a corn on the cob, half head of steamed broccoli, 2 tbsp steamed beans and 1 steamed diced carrot
Wednesday
Breakfast
Half a cup of natural untoasted muesli with half cup low fat milk and 5 sliced strawberries
Morning Tea
1 cup of diced preserved fruit
Lunch
One wholegrain sandwich with 1 sliced hardboiled egg, lettuce and carrot and thinly spread 97 percent fat free mayonnaise and seeded mustard
Afternoon Tea
Two corn crackers each with 1 slice of fat reduced cheese and tomato
Dinner
100g chicken breast brushed with tandoori paste and natural yoghurt and grilled and served with 3-4 cups of salad made with rocket, slices of fresh pear, a handful of snowpeas, slices of cucumber and 40g of shaved parmesan cheese
Thursday
Breakfast
Two wheat biscuits with 1 cup of low fat milk and a sliced medium banana
Morning Tea
1 apple
Lunch
60g leftover tandoori chicken, half cup shredded lettuce, half tomato (diced) and 1 stick celery (diced) wrapped in a slice of mountain bread
Afternoon Tea
A dozen carrot sticks dipped into quarter cup of cottage cheese
Dinner
Tuna pasta made with 100g canned flavoured tuna (I’d recommend tomato and basil) mixed with baby spinach, halved cherry tomatoes and 1 tspn lemon zest tossed with 1 cup of hot cooked penne pasta
Friday
Breakfast
2 slices of toasted fruit loaf thinly spread with margarine
Morning Tea
One small handful (30g) of mixed nuts and dried fruit
Lunch
One small wholemeal pita bread with 60g lean ham, 2 slices of fat reduced cheese, grated carrot, lettuce, tomato and a teaspoon of tomato relish
Afternoon Tea
1 small freddo frog
Dinner
2-3 San Choi Bao (lettuce leave cups) made by cooking 150g lean mince meat and mixing 50g with a tbsp of diced red capsicum, a tbsp of shredded carrot, a tbsp of diced mushrooms and a tbsp of hoi sin sauce then spooning it instead a lettuce leaf and rolling it up to eat
Saturday
Breakfast
One cup wholegrain flake and fruit cereal with half cup of tinned or fresh fruit salad and half cup of low fat milk
Morning Tea
250ml skinny latte
Lunch
130g can of baked beans on 1 slice of wholegrain bread
Afternoon Tea
1 kiwifruit
Dinner
Chicken skewers made by grilling bite sized pieces of chicken (100g per person), red and green capsicum, mushroom and pineapple (canned or fresh) threaded onto skewers
Sunday
Breakfast
2 poached eggs with 2 halves of grilled tomato and 1 slice of wholegrain toast spread with avocado
Morning Tea
3 slices of fresh cantaloupe
Lunch
A tuna salad made from 100g of canned tuna combined with 1 small can each of rinsed and drained corn kernels and kidney beans, quarter cup of grated fat reduced cheese, shredded lettuce, 3 halved cherry tomatoes with a splash of balsamic vinegar
Afternoon Tea
One glass of iced coffee made with skim milk and ice cubes
Dinner
1 small frozen meal
For more health tips from Melanie:
Website: www.health-kick.com.au
Facebook: Facebook.com/HealthKickNutrition
Phone: 1300 438 550.
