Cut down on red meat
Q. Are there any anti-aging foods you eat regularly?
A. When we talk anti-aging, what we’re really looking at is providing our bodies with lots of antioxidants and phytochemicals — nutrients found in plant foods. Phyto means plant and I tell my clients it also stands for fight. These foods fight the ravages of disease and they fight against aging. I try to eat lots of fruits, especially berries and a range of colourful vegetables.
Q. Do you eat red meat?
A. I do, but rarely, maybe twice a month. I used to eat red meat seven days a week, so it’s quite a shift. Beef was part of my upbringing in South Africa, where the weather was so beautiful that we barbecued all the time. But I come from a family with a history of heart disease and when my father discovered his cholesterol was elevated, my mother changed our whole diet. It brought down his cholesterol and everybody lost weight. That made me decide to take nutrition on as my career path, and I’ve been following a really heart-healthy diet since.
Debbie MacLellan, dietitian
52, Charlottetown
A professor with the department of family and nutritional sciences at University of Prince Edward Island, MacLellan was a co-investigator for the PEI Nutrition Survey, a comprehensive study of the eating habits of 2,000 adult Islanders.
Q. How did your four kids end up as vegetarians, and what challenges does that present for getting nutritious meals on the table?
A. My eldest son started what he called ‘the vegetarian revolution’ and the rest followed suit, but my husband would never give up meat. I had to come up with meals that were easily adaptable for both, which was a challenge in the beginning, but has now become second nature. Fajitas have been the most popular dish at my house. I stir-fry the vegetables in one pan and then the tofu or crushed black beans or chicken or beef in others. It takes lots of frying pans, but people can just put together whatever they want.
Q. Are there any convenience foods that you love?
A. Frozen fruits and vegetables have come a long way. There are so many different vegetables that can be thrown into a stir-fry. I particularly like frozen mixed tropical fruit, which I blend with yogurt, flaxseed oil and milk or soy milk to create a pretty nutritious morning smoothie in just a few minutes.
Q. What do you snack on?
A. I always have a big bowl of fruit on the counter and we go through that probably every two or three days. We also have baby carrots and a vegetable tray in the fridge, because if it’s there they’ll eat it.
Q. What mistake do you see women our age making with their diets?
A. A lot of us got the message that we should be lowering our fat intake, but we forget that it’s really important to eat enough food of the right type. So we’re really good at buying low-fat foods, but we’re not very good at eating enough whole-grain breads and cereals, and fruits and vegetables. We focus too much on what we shouldn’t eat rather than on what we should be eating.
