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Hungry Jacks has just announced it will offer salad cups as part of its menu.

It’s definitely a move in the right direction.  However, one should maintain a healthy level of skepticism, given that all other products on offer at Hungry Jacks are full of sugar, saturated fat and salt.

What’s interesting is the pricing structure.  A salad cup will set you back $4.95 if purchased on its own, or $2.50 when ordered as a value meal. This fact highlights that processed food is a lot cheaper to sell and has higher margins.

You have to ask yourself whether the heavy 50% discount of the salad cup in the value meal is really being subsidised by your burger purchase or if the pricing structure is more about getting the consumer to buy  burgers by offering a price penalty for purchasing the salad cup on its own.

Perhaps you can only sell vegetables cheaply if  you first process them, extrude them into vegetable shapes, then add back colours and flavours?  That would explain the inflated $4.95 price.

Maybe by serving raw vegetables Hungry Jacks is merely upping the ante against McDonalds’ salad options?

Look, its a great initiative, but it’s kind of like a Yoga studio that offers kick boxing classes. It begs the question – what’s their brand offer really about?

Is Hungry Jacks’ new healthy food option in alignment with their brand? Are their communication channels really speaking to the market about healthy food?

Written by Andrew Talati

Your body’s performance is similar to that of a car.

We all know a higher quality of fuel gets better results.

Think about your car’s engine. If you use low-grade fuel (which blends additives and non-petroleum products with regular fuel) over a long period it affects the performance of your engine.

In time this leads to additional wear and tear of your engine parts.  This was experienced first hand  in Victoria some years ago when service station operators used non-petroleum based fuel blended with regular petrol because the product attracted less excise duty.

Try this simple (but potentially expensive) experiment.  When you purchase a new car use a higher grade fuel/petrol from day one.  After  12 months, switch to a lower grade petrol and see if there’s any noticeable difference in performance or reliability.

You’ll see that when you use a better grade fuel with higher octane you get greater performance.

Like your car, your body also works optimally when you put the right fuel in. Put garbage in and you get garbage out. To get greater performance  eat a healthy balanced diet filled with plenty of fruit, vegetable and lean meats, and minimal processed food.

And, like a car engine, we can initially fill up with lower grade fuel during the early parts of our life and everything appears to be okay.

But as we get older things start to break down. We become more susceptible to illness and  predisposed to the high-risk groups for developing certain diseases – cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or Type II diabetes.This is the cumulative effect of slow bodily deterioration over a long period.

The secret is to never become complacent.  Even if you’ve eaten a poor diet all your life without detrimental effects, that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

Think of it like small deposits in a bank. In the short term there’s no noticeable improvement in your balance. But at some point, you will  get to a critical mass, particularly after the compounding effect of interest over time.

And if you decide later in life to open a bank account and start saving, you can still accumulate money.  However, there’s no guarantee you’ll have as substantial a balance after 10 years of saving compared to a lifetime of steady habits.

Written by Andrew Talati

The weight loss equation is a fairly simple one, yet we all struggle to maintain a healthy weight range. Ultimately it comes down to sensible eating and making time for regular exercise.

Unfortunately, with our busy lives time is the one commodity that is always in short supply. However, here’s some simple strategies you can adopt to help”

1. Energy intake

a. Eat a balanced diet filled with plenty of fruit and vegetables, preferably locally grown rather than imported.
b. Start the day with a healthy breakfast, unprocessed muesli, fresh fruit or toast.
c. Avoid fast food for lunch. Take your lunch to work and put it in the fridge or office esky (as friend of mine in a senior position does).
d. Try cooking at least 4-5 meals at home per week, but avoid frying your food or using oils.
e. Eat at the dinner table rather than in front of the computer or TV.
f. Eat smaller portions more often
g. Have a snacking plan. Keep nuts and fruit at close quarters in case of emergency. This will help you keep on track when the vending machine seems like the only option.
i. Change your eating patterns. Avoid associating certain activities with eating, like watching TV or working on the computer. You can consume quite a lot in a short time when you’re not fully conscious of what you’re eating.
j. Avoid drinking sugary drinks such as flavoured waters and exercise recovery drinks.

2. Energy Expenditure

a. Become less sedentary. Walk to public transport, join a sporting team, catch up with friends by going for a walk rather than a coffee.
b. Incorporate exercise into everyday life. Take the stairs (make sure you don’t trip the fire alarm doors), park your car at the furthest point at any car park.
c. Get outdoors. Less couch/chair time means more activities outside of the house.
d. Buy a bike for local commuting and travel. It’s two benefits for the price of one.

Finally, the key to any energy expenditure or intake plan begins with the commitment that this is what you really want to do. If deep down you’re really quite happy keeping the status quo, then any attempts to change will always be an up hill battle.

Written by Andrew Talati

With so many fantastic benefits of olive oil, we often get confused by the different terminologies on the packaging such as extra virgin olive oil.
The attractiveness of extra virgin olive oil is it’s fresh, crisp, clean, fruity taste which leads the consumer needing to be familiar with this level of quality as the labeling may be misleading.

While in Australia the regulation of the terminology isn’t as stringent as Europe, there are certain voluntary guidelines that stipulate what constitutes extra-virgin olive oil. However it is up to the integrity of the producer as to whether their product meets the guidelines as it’s caveat emptor or buyer beware. This was highlighted by choice Magazine in June 2010 that found that half the olive oil’s on tests didn’t meet the International Olive Oil Council standard.

What constitutes Virgin Olive Oil
The main standard is based on the acidity level being less than 0.8 – 1% and other chemical and sensory/taste based criteria. This becomes extremely technical with minimum defect tolerances based on certain criteria from the International Olive Council (IOC).

The Attributes by the Internal Olive Council:
1.Fruity – Based on the freshness of the olives and is tested by scent
2.Bitter – Usual from unripe olives and is tested by taste by the furry feeling on the back of the tongue.
3.Pungent – Again from tasting and is felt in the back of the throat
4.Fusty – This is through taste and occurs when the olives are left unprocessed for a length of time and produce oleic acid and isoamyl alcohol formed from the commencement of the fermentation process.
5.Musty – This is the result of fungi that has developed from the fruit being stored in humid conditions for several days.
6.Muddy sediment – Again the flavor of oil that has been left in contact with the sediment in tanks and vats.
7.Winey-Vinegary – Like the taste of vinegar that forms due to the commencement of the fermentation process that produces acetic acid, ethyl acetate, and ethanol.
8.Rancid – This is from exposure to oxygen or UV light and produces, acids, alcohols and Fermenting tank sediments that can cause the muddy sediment effect
9.Heated or Burnt – caused by excessive and/or prolonged heating during processing.

The California Standards for Olive oil even go further and take a more scientific approach by breaking down even the Pomace levels and sterol composition.

The Australian Olive Oil Association which is similar to the Organic Certification bodies also has laboratory testing based and an Organoleptic Assessment by 3 people.

The chemical composition must meet the following:
• free fatty acid contents, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams
• a peroxide value less than 20 (mEq. peroxide oxygen per kg of oil)
• not exceed the following extinction coefficients for ultra-violet absorbency tests:
270 nm no greater than 0.22
ΔK no greater than 0.01
232 nm no greater than 2.5
• similar organoleptically testing to the International Olive Council (IOC) based on being fusty, muddy, musty, rancid or winey

There is a move for Food Standards Australia to adopt a standard for the labeling of olive oil which will cover definitions regarding the various terminologies used and information regarding use by dates and production dates to be inform the consumer.

Like wine or even coffee there are many variables that ultimately go to produce a high-quality product that leads to bitterness or sweetness and the different aromas which is no different to the production and processing of olive oil. While the green olives tend to the more bitter and peppery the black varieties are sweeter and moire fruity in flavour.

Ideally the olive should be pressed within 24 hours from being picked to stop deterioration and the fermentation process taking place. During the pressing process the olives should undergo a cold pressing process whereby the olives are not heated excessively.

Many oils on the market that are labeled light are usually highly refined and are heated which changes the chemical structure of the oil. These oils are usually bland with not much flavour, colour or taste and can lead to the consumer thinking they are light in fat.

At the worse end of the olive oil market is Pomice olive oil that users chemicals to extra the dredges of oil from the waste product from the initial pressing process.

Unfortunately until Food Standards Australia and New Zealand introduce labeling standards, it’s best to purchase your extra virgin olive oil from a reputable brand and avoid the cheap and nasty varieties on the market.

It’s no wonder obesity rates are exploding with lots of take away food places only offering up-front highly processed, fatty, salty deep-fried food which requires minimal preparation and can be kept in a bain-marie for hours. So, how do we make healthier take away breakfast choices and create healthier options when there’s not much to choose from?

Depending on the place you’re eating at, you can often get something palatable and healthier for you, all you have to do is ask. So, if you’re in a situation where finding a healthy breakfast seems like mission impossible, don’t give up, if you’re committed there are solutions.

Try asking for avocado, grilled tomato and a piece of toast – foods even the greasiest of greasy spoons always have – this may not be the ultimate in breakfasts, but it is still reasonably healthy for you. With a good balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fats this is guaranteed to please the most ardent eater while avoiding deep frying or consuming processed foods.

There are also plenty of options when it comes to having eggs, poached are the healthiest as this avoids frying in butter or oil.

Finally, you don’t necessarily need to head to the large branded fast food franchises for breakfast, rather than put yourself in a situation of not having any healthy breakfast options, try going to your local take away shop or café and you’ll be surprised with what is available