Category Archives: Other

Dietitians’ Week: A snapshot of my life as a dietitian.

10 June, 2015 Priya 1 Comment

This week 8th-12th June is officially DIETITIANS WEEK. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean a week off for us hard-working dietitian’s. Maybe I should suggest that! Instead many departments and dietitians around the UK are taking the opportunity to work even harder and put on special events to celebrate and highlight dietitians. There are also twitter chats happening and receptions at places like the House of Lords!

To celebrate I thought I would share a snapshot of how I work as a dietitian. I’m a freelance dietitian, so there is no big department for me, instead I work either on my own from the delights of my loft… or as part of a team of therapists and health professionals. A large amount of my work is supporting clients with eating disorders, either face to face or via Skype. I also enjoy getting involved with media work and project work. I love the variety my work brings me.

I work around my 2 small children, which means I can tend to work odd hours. Plus I also run a Pilates business with my husband. That’s currently 24 classes run from our studio. Life can get a bit hectic!

My job role:

1. Eating Disorder Clients. I tend to have 6-8 clients a week. These are via Skype or I see people at Wings Counselling where I work as part of a team of therapists and a psychiatrist. These clients can take up quite a lot of me time as once I have chatted to them there can be meal plans to adjust, phone calls to liase with the GP and often I am in daily email contact with the client.

2. Chronic Fatigue Clients. This is a smaller part of my role and I have 1-2 clients on my books at present. Again here I work as part of a team that includes a physio, several Occupational Therapists and some nurses. This involves home visits and phone calls. I also advise the team on the rest of the client base.

3. Other issues. I also see a few clients each month for other conditions such as IBS, weaning and food intolerances. I have to be careful how much I take on so am quite specific about the areas I work in.

4. Media calls. These can vary but I usually do at least 2 a week. Sometimes I find I am doing these daily and then other weeks I only do a couple a week. I give quotes for the press, for websites and for magazines, chat to television producers, go on the radio and sometimes appear on the screen too.

5. Project Work is something I enjoy as it gives me the chance to get my teeth into something and run with it. Whether it is recipe analysis, writing text, advising a food company or making a video I tend to enjoy all the work I do. Maybe it is the chance to sit down and have a moments peace from the children 😉

6. Social Media. Now I’m no social media expert, it is something I’ve fallen into, but also something I’m now addicted to. I see the benefits to myself, to the profession and I enjoy it most of the time. Blogging, networking, tweeting, making videos, posting pictures and coming up with new ways to get messages across. I’ve taken part in Google Hangouts on nutrition and in live twitter chats. My latest venture is playing with Periscope. Go check it out.

So no hospitals and white coats for me. Being a dietitian is diverse. The world is your oyster. Go grab it.

Other

Winner of the British Dietetic Association Media Spokesperson of the Year Award 2015.

6 June, 2015 Priya 4 Comments

I’m still slightly in shock.

However I have a trophy and certificate to prove it.

This week I travelled up to Birmingham for the British Dietetic Associations Annual Awards Dinner. This was a great opportunity to network, meet lots of people who I’ve heard of, seen in the past or chatted to on social media… and also to get a little dressed up.

The British Dietetic Association is my professional body. To receive an award from them is something I would never have dreamt of and is a complete honour. So I was pretty astounded when I received a call asking me to come up to Birmingham for the evening. My first reply was I wasn’t sure with 2 small children that I could make it. However on being told I had won an award I realised I needed to go. So we went up as a family. Why travel alone when you can take a 1 and 4 year old too.

I respond to a lot of Media requests. Personally I see it as part of my working week and my role. As dietitian’s part of our remit is to educate the public and pass on our knowledge. One way of doing that is through the Media. Making sure the right messages get out there and also ensuring that the name “dietitian” is one that is widely seen by the public and widely used by the media. So if I can help out I will. The vast majority of these media requests are unpaid work, they take time and thought but they do gain you some exposure in a variety of places. I’ve been quoted in the Independent and the Times, lesser well-known industry magazines, the BBC News Website and other lesser read health websites. In fact I often don’t know where and when I am quoted until people tell me! I think my all time favourite media quote has to be talking about Madonna’s bottom, closely followed by Victoria Beckham’s face. Yes really.

If you are a dietitian I would highly recommend you get involved with media requests. Get to know your local press and radio station. I’m a regular on our local BBC radio station. Get known as someone who is happy to help, you never know where it will lead you.

Other, Reviews

Good Friday Mess.

4 April, 2015 Priya Leave a comment

This Easter Miss K is 4. Already she is telling me that the Easter bunny will be coming with chocolate eggs – which is not something she has picked up from home… so today we took full advantage of our local churches and descended into the full on Mess of Messy Church.

Good Friday morning we went to Highfield church, which was quite literally full of children. A room filled with about 10 tables of activities to choose from. My hardest job was trying to keep an eye on the toddler boy who was running around as if he had never seen a huge room before… and trying to help Miss K do various crafts. We made an Easter card using Hama beads, we decorated a stone, we played with clay (Miss K made a caterpillar!), made a palm leaf and used biscuits to make a tomb. All very creative and Easter like, giving us a good talking point later on at home.

The church service was well thought out for mums of small ones as it was full of stations to move around and journey through the Easter story, this gave us time to reflect as parents and time for me to explain a little of what was going on. Finally a lunch of pasta, tomato sauce, cheese and ham. Minus the veggies sadly, but mine had veggies as a snack later that day to make up for it 😉 This led to a messy J-boy. A wonderful event that I would certainly not have been able to recreate at home.

Then later in the day we went to Citylife Church, a place where we frequent for playgroup and other groups. This meant I could let the boy off to run around a little more. In fact by the time I had taken off my coat he was sat at a table looking at decorating a cake! I distracted him with paint. Here we decorated Easter cakes, made daffodil Easter cards, made an Easter garden and my favourite – used shaving foam and paint to decorate a paper Easter egg.

This truly was “Messy” church. The service part was very suitable for my small ones and led to Miss K really grasping the Easter story through a video. My boy sat on my lap on the floor and simple pointed to the screen asking for “More”. Bless him.

Coming home tonight in the car Miss K tells me “Mummy it must have hurt Jesus’ hands to be nailed to a cross”. At 4 years old this girl speaks volumes.

Easter in our house does involve Chocolate but it’s more about remembering the man who gave his all for us.

Happy Easter.

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Welcome 2015, resolve to relax.

1 January, 2015 Priya 2 Comments

2014 you were officially a whirlwind. With a baby, a preschooler and 2 businesses to run I had to cut maternity leave short and get right back into the craziness of working around my littlies. Trust me this is not recommended and leads to generalised chaos, very little sleep and a never ending to-do list.

2014 you were also full of celebration and new things. I love hanging with my small ones, being around daily to watch them grown and develop is so amazing. One of my sayings is to “celebrate the small successes in life”. The baby saying “Moo” and pointing to a cow, Miss K, aged 4 putting a fresh toilet roll on the holder for the first time (all by herself, with no prompting) when she finished the last of the old roll. Little things, but lovely to take a moment and celebrate.

2014 was a huge learning curve. I’ve learnt more about social media, business, Pilates, nutrition, motherhood, cooking, recipe development, mental health, IBS and myself. Good job I love to learn.

I love a new year. It’s like a fresh notebook, clean pages, endless stories to fill it in with. So 2015, I look forward to seeing what you bring.

I don’t really make resolutions… but this year I’ve a few small ones:

1. To relax more. I felt like I was working all the hours I possibly could towards the end of 2014, yet still not getting everything done. So I’m going at it from a more backwards approach and builing in more relaxation time. My key will be to make this structured relaxation time. So it is put in my diary as set work/relaxing time.

2. To book in some CPD courses. Now the baby boy is big enough to be left all day I am looking forward to getting stuck into some day courses. I’ve already booked one. Go me.

3. To be more selective about what work I take on… and what I work I turn down. This has always been a hard one for me, but now with so much going on I know I can’t do it all.

4. To get away more. A break away from work always helps put life in perspective and gives us much needed family time, even for a night. So I’ve already booked some holiday time, something to really look forward to.

5. To see more of friends. Having lost a dear friend recently I want to make sure I treasure my friendships and invest in them.

Notice none of these are about diet or detoxing? You weren’t expected them to be were you?! #trustadietitian

Other

Tea Pigs Review

6 December, 2014 Priya Leave a comment

It’s a well known fact that I love tea… the two teas I was sent to review from Tea Pigs are not my usual cuppa, so it was great to try something new. They have a great branding and the products just look good. I was sent:

Organic Matcha.

This is made from green tea leaves, ground into a powder. I was sent a lovely Teapigs shot glass with this – look how amazingly green it comes out.

I found the powder didn’t dissolve in hot water as easily as I would have liked, so it took a bit of stirring and squishing out of lumps. Miss K (my 4 year old) was bemused by the whole process but wouldn’t try it 😉 I found the flavour as a shot not to my taste, but when made into a tall drink it was far more palatable. I personally found this to be more of a “health” tea than a tea you drink for the taste.

Green tea is high in antioxidants, known to fight the effects of free radicals in the body and contains caffeine, a stimulant. So this tea can help to give you a boost. The primary antioxidant is called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and it is this that is credited to most of the green tea benefits. The research on green tea is mixed but there are possible links with green tea reducing the risks of certain cancers – breast, colorectal and stomach. Green tea has been shown to reduce the risk of coronary artery disease and stroke and improve cognitive functioning in older adults.

Spiced Winter Red Tea.

Now this tea smells like Christmas in a teabag. Literally, the smell is amazing. Think mulled wine, cloves, cinnamon, and orange hints. It is made on a base of redbush tea, which for me is a win, as I love redbush. I personally liked this tea served without milk – and having small children I found out that this tea is not only great hot, but also cold. I reckon it would make a good iced tea too.

Thankyou Teapigs, loving your work.

Disclaimer: I was asked to review this product and was sent the tea free. All opinions are my own.

Other

Turning 4.

9 November, 2014 Priya 2 Comments

Miss K turned 4 this week. I absolutely love birthdays and wanted her to have a party that suited her. This is a girl who likes smaller rather than larger, likes to be in a space she is familiar with, has a creative spirit and sparkles! For her actual birthday she celebrated with sushi, an afternoon at home with her new toys and cake.

So seeing as we are fortunate enough to have a studio space in our home we decided to make use of it and threw a small ballet party for Miss K and just 4 friends.

Sometime simple is just best. A bit of ballet from our amazing teacher friend, party games and food. We played pass the parcel, musical bumps, musical statues, musical chairs (with pilates blocks instead of chairs) and Simon Says. We ate sandwiches, rolls, raw veggies with hummus, strawberries and grapes, mini cheese’s, crisps, marshmallow wafer biscuits and cupcakes 🙂

Miss K you amaze me constantly, make me laugh, you sing all day with me, dance with me and cook with me. Have a fun time being 4.

Other

Slow cooker beef in red wine.

26 October, 2014 Priya Leave a comment

Sundays are special. My day off work, a time for family, a time to wind down and slow down the pace. Today we went out for an advent to Mottisfont and explored the grounds. A great place for kids as they have amazingly created dens, things to find and open space to run in. Plenty of fresh air, beauty and autumn leaves led to tired kids and us leaving close to tea time.

Fortunately I had dived into my freezer and found some beef and concocted a slow cooker creation. So dinner was on the table, 10 minutes after we got in the door. It was guzzled down pronto. I tell you my slow cooker saves my on many an occasion.

Typically my wifi was off in the evening but here is a quick post of the recipe:

Recipe:

500g stewing beef in chunks
2 medium onions
4 cloves garlic
150ml red wine
100ml stock or water
4 carrots chopped into rounds
1/2 medium butternut squash chopped into chunks
2 star anise
1 tbsp tomato purée
Black pepper
1 tbsp mixed dried herbs

Place the ingredient into slow cooker in the order listed.
Cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 8 hours.
Serve with rice or mashed potato.
I don’t cook with salt but feel free to add a little to taste if you want to.

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Pilates: the best workout you can do.

25 September, 2014 Priya Leave a comment

Ok so I must declare I am completely biased as I am not only a Pilates fanatic and a Pilates teacher but I am also a Pilates studio owner. As a dietitian I know that only focusing on eating a healthy diet will only give me half the results that I want. In order to keep my body in tip top condition I need to get active too. Pilates ticks most of the activity boxes for me as includes whole body toning, abdominal strengthening and it addresses postural issues. It isn’t fast paced and full of cardio but there are some cardio elements to it, you can certainly work up a light sweat and I combine it with other cardio activities.

Top 5 Reasons to do Pilates:

1. It will help your posture – stand taller, help with rounded shoulders, curved spines and it will show you how to correct yourself in day to day activities.

2. That bad back will definitely thank you. By improving your core strength you will support your lower back and help your whole body move in a more functional manner.

3. Pilates uses body weight exercises so you get some resistance training thrown in too – think press ups, side planks and tricep dips.

4. It will improve any other exercise you do. When you realise what you need to correct in your posture it carries over to other parts of life. A stronger core will help in other exercise too.

5. It can be done anywhere and doesn’t need lots of fancy equipment.

If you fancy giving Pilates a go then check out my DVD.

Other

Healthy Carrot Cake Cereal Bars

Video 23 August, 2014 Priya 18 Comments

It’s the weekend. Finally I feel like I’ve found some time and space in life to catch up with myself a little. I’ve had the steam cleaner out, which I have to share with Miss K, cleaning fanatic. I’ve pretty much put all the washing away (MIRACLE) and due to my Slow Cooker Experiment dinner is cooking, the baby napping. SO…it was time to get out Vlog on and try a new recipe out 🙂

Who doesn’t love a bit of carrot cake? Combine that with a cereal bar love in our house and these have instantly become a winner. These came about at Miss K’s fav veggie is carrot and she loves the bought cereal bars (which mummy meanly rarely buys)…. so I decided it was time to play around with making a savoury feel cereal bar for her. They are surprisingly good.

So here we are, back in action one again….

Healthy Homemade Carrot Cereal Bars

2014-08-23 21:44:10

Yields 10

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

35 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

35 min

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

59g

Yields

Amount Per Serving

Calories 200

Calories from Fat 52

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 6g

Saturated Fat 1g

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 3g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 6mg

Total Carbohydrates 33g

11%

Dietary Fiber 3g

13%

Sugars 4g

Protein 6g

Vitamin A

25%

Vitamin C

Calcium

Iron

11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup prunes
1 tbsp water
1/4 cup almonds (whole or ground)
1 carrot
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp apple sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp rapeseed oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a baking tray.
Grind the almonds in a food processor or use ground almonds if you prefer.
Now puree the prunes with 1 tbsp water to make a paste.
Mix the oats and prunes together then add the almonds.
Peel and grate the carrot, then add it to the mixture.
Now measure out the seeds and add along with the apple sauce and oil.
Melt the honey and mix it all together.
Spoon into the baking tray and level off the top.
Now bake for 30-35 minutes, then leave to cool before slicing into bars.

By Priya Tew, Dietitian UK

beta

calories

200

fat

protein

carbs

33g

Dietitian UK https://www.dietitianuk.co.uk/

Cooking with Kids, Dairy Free, Eating Out Gluten/Wheat Free, Family Meals, Other, Recipes, Reviews

Sticky and Sweet Greengage Flapjacks

4 August, 2014 Priya Leave a comment

We are lucky enough to have a large plum and a large greengage tree in our garden. Cue lots and lots of yummy fruit which cannot be wasted. With the immense flapjack love I have and the glut of greengages this one was a no brainer – it worked REALLY well.

These are healthier as I’ve not added any sugar, the greengages and prunes add sweetness. I’ve reduced the butter and used part peanut butter for monounsaturated fats. The oats add wholegrain goodness.

I’m off to sit in the sun, with a cuppa and some flapjack 😉

Greengage and Prune Flapjacks

2014-08-04 10:42:10

Yields 20

A healthier take on flapjacks that uses the sweetness from the fruit instead of sugar.

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Save Recipe

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

45 min

Total Time

1 hr

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

45 min

Total Time

1 hr

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

54g

Yields

Amount Per Serving

Calories 143

Calories from Fat 44

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 5g

Saturated Fat 1g

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 2g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 18mg

Total Carbohydrates 22g

Dietary Fiber 3g

10%

Sugars 3g

Protein 4g

Vitamin A

Vitamin C

Calcium

Iron

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

Ingredients

450g greengages or plums
150g prunes
1 tsp cinnamon
350g oats
70g peanut butter
50g butter/margarine

Instructions

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6.
De stone the greengages and chop each one into about 8 pieces.
Chop the prunes finely or blitz in a food processor.
Mix the fruit with the cinnamon.
Weight out the oats and then mix in well.
Now measure out the peanut butter and butter, melt in the microwave then mix into the oaty mix, stirring well.
Add about 50ml water to help the mixture bind together well.
Press into a well greased and lined tin.
Cover the top with foil and bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil for the last 15 minutes.

By Priya Tew, Dietitian UK

Adapted from BBC Good Food "Sticky Plum Flapjacks"

beta

calories

143

fat

protein

carbs

22g

Adapted from BBC Good Food "Sticky Plum Flapjacks"

Dietitian UK https://www.dietitianuk.co.uk/

Freelance Dietitian specialising in helping those with Eating Disorders and a Media Spokesperson for the profession.