Nikita Wasson - Dietitian

05/08/2025

Date choccy muffins!

Dates are a nutritious fruit, rich in fiber, potassium, and various other vitamins and minerals. They do contain natural sugar and serve as a sugar ‘replacement’ in this recipe - and whilst all sugar is sugar, dates are a more nutritious sweetener with a lower GI (thanks to the fibre).

This recipe calls for fresh medjool dates which are really expensive. I always replace with dried dates and pre soak them in some hot water to soften them first.

This recipe isn’t super sweet, and I don’t bother with the raspberries usually, but I might try it out next time!

Look at this delicious recipe I found on Cookidoo®: Intense Chocolate Muffins (No Added Sugar) https://cookidoo.com.au/recipes/recipe/en-AU/r269319

01/08/2025

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This is the best earn offer I’ve ever seen! I’m a bit sad I’m not eligible 🫠

31/07/2025

Unfortunately our environment is extremely obesogenic - meaning it sets us up to make poor food and health choices that don’t support our long term health. It’s not as simple as having more willpower to eat better and exercise more. We have to understand that biologically we are driven to eat high reward foods to excess and conserve energy when we can - these are survival strategies that have supported human evolution. Keep trying to make those better health choices but we also need to advocate to improve the environmental factors so it’s easier to move more and eat better.

31/07/2025

Sorrryyyyyy 😬

30/07/2025

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is…

We’ve known for some time that artificial sweeteners aren’t good for you. They’re a better option than sugar, but they’re not a ‘freebie’. So enjoy a diet beverage…. OCCASIONALLY. Artificial sweeteners aren’t a license to have them daily because they’re calorie free!

Artificial sweeteners are usually recommended for those at risk of developing diabetes as a better alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages, but new research is suggesting otherwise.

An Australian study has found that drinking one artificially sweetened drink a day increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 38 per cent.

LEARN MORE: https://nine.social/ZVN

29/07/2025

I love a kitchen gadget to make cooking simpler, and this is the ULTIMATE kitchen gadget!

Order yours here to get it before Xmas! http://tinyurl.com/nikita-dietitian

29/07/2025

A bright quinoa salad for lunch today!

I havnt had quinoa for so long, it takes a bit of extra work to prepare as it needs rinsing before cooking to remove its bitter coating. But the Thermomix® makes it super easy by rinsing and cooking all in one go in the simmering basket!

Quinoa is a fantastic grain - it’s gluten free, higher in protein and fibre than other grains, and is also one of the very few vegetarian ‘complete proteins’ - meaning it contains all 9 essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein that we need to eat because our bodies don’t make them).

Animal products such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy are other sources of complete protein, however it’s difficult to find vegetarian sources, and vegetarians need to combine protein sources such as beans and rice to get all essential amino acids in one meal. Quinoa makes that easy, plus it has a wonderful nutty taste and is great in salads - warm or cold!

Look at this delicious recipe I found on Cookidoo®: Southwest Quinoa https://cookidoo.com.au/recipes/recipe/en-AU/r609186

I added extra baby spinach, carrot and cucumber to up the veg content, and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds for some crunch as well! Roast pumpkin and zucchini would be great additions as well!

27/07/2025

Beautiful vibrant zucchini soup for lunch!

My sister-in-law made this yesterday and it looked so good I had to give it a try! I really love zucchini, it’s such a versatile vegetable. And I’m super thankful that I made this at breakfast time so that I still had a healthy option despite baby wanting to be carried around and wearing me out!

Watch the bread on the side, it tends to unbalance a soup meal really quickly.

Here’s the deal with soup… if it already contains something carby or starchy, leave the bread out. It’s one or the other, not all - that upsets the balance (we’re aiming for lots of colourful veg, decent protein, and a little carbs). So if the soup has noodles, pasta, potatoes, or lots of corn (corn is a grain not a veg, sorry!!), leave the bread out.

If you have room for the bread, try to stick to 1 piece, ideally something whole grain.

The one thing this meal is missing is protein. I have a few options. I could add tasteless protein into the soup, I could add a protein topping to the toast, or I need to make sure my next snack is high protein to balance things out (that’s the one I’m going for today!).

Look at this delicious recipe I found on Cookidoo®: Zucchini soup https://cookidoo.com.au/recipes/recipe/en-AU/r67066

Shoot me a message if you want to see the Thermomix® in action. Some awesome host rewards at the moment too!

26/07/2025

Delicious chocolate cake for a family birthday, decorated by the kids (pretty cakes arent my forte so it’s good to outsource!).

This isn’t a healthy recipe, but it was a delicious sometimes food!

I really like this recipe because it doesn’t contain butter (high in saturated fat) and still comes out delicious with less sugar!

I also love that recipes on the ‘Bake Play Smile’ website have conventional steps as well as thermomix steps. Here’s the link for this chocolate cake:

https://bakeplaysmile.com/favourite-chocolate-cake/

25/07/2025

Brown rice steamed to perfection in the Thermomix® - no gluggy rice here!

I know brown rice isnt the most popular option but I would encourage you to add it to your pantry for a number of reasons.

Brown rice is a whole grain, meaning its less processed than white rice and contains more nutrients. It’s also a good source of fibre and antioxidants, as well as being a low GI source of carbohydrates.

Most rice options contain minimal fibre and have a high GI - this means the carbohydrates are released quickly which is not great for your blood sugar levels or appetite control.

You might also find brown rice isn’t quite as ‘moorish’ as white rice and can cut back on your portion size. A half cup of cooked rice is generally equivalent to TWO pieces of bread. Get the measuring cup out next time and see what 1/2 cup looks like - it’s so easy to have 1 cup plus, which is 4+ pieces of bread!

You can cook brown rice just as easily as white rice - it just needs a little longer. Follow the directions on the packet. If you don’t have a thermo, I would suggest a rice cooker to make things simpler, (or hit me up for a thermo!).

Microwave options aren’t too bad either. They have a touch of vegetable oil added to stop the rice pieces sticking together, but if they help you make a healthier choice and avoid takeaway, it’s a great option!

23/07/2025

BMI is only one indicator of health, but really it was a measure designed for research of large groups of people, not as an individual measure.

There are so many other behaviours that are more important to consider that are directly linked to your health The main ones I discuss with clients are physical activity, healthy diet, alcohol intake, smoking status, sleep and stress.

And you can have a low BMI and be quite unhealthy if you don’t exercise, eat well or consume too much alcohol for example.

If your doctor focuses on your weight or BMI, use it as an opening to a conversation about your health behaviours, blood results and how well you’re feeling.

Despite the BMI scale being well known to NOT be an accurate measure of health, it is still widely used.

Many clients come to us with the belief that if their BMI is above 25 and especially above 30, they are somehow damaging their health; even when their bloods are good and they no health conditions. Often these people have tried all the diets, lost weight and regained only to end up heavier. For those with increased risk factors, the pressure to lose weight and our culture’s weight stigma can often mean their eating behaviours have been damaged through dieting. The increased shame that comes along with this also prevents them from being more active. 

It’s almost like the very people our health system are trying so hard to help, are actually being harmed.

In my 20+ years of practice I have seen hundreds of people with BMIs in the 30s (and 40s) whose blood tests are excellent, they are active enough and they eat well enough. If anything is damaging their health, it’s our culture’s weight stigma and constant pressure to lose weight. Of course some people with higher BMIs have high cholesterol or blood glucose, but so do some thin people!

Zoe & Kerrie - NonDiet dietitians and food lovers!

 

18/07/2025

Did you know you can purchase a bowel screening kit from your local chemist?

Yes it’s a free test for over 50, BUT bowel cancer is the deadliest cancer for Australians aged 25-44, so we really should be testing sooner!

A kit will set you back $40-$45 and I promise it’s super easy to complete at home. The postage is included and you receive your results by email.

I received mine today and results were clear, yay! If they’re positive, it indicates that further investigations (usually a colonoscopy) are recommended to check for abnormalities such as polyps.

Bowel cancer is often found when it’s too late. Early detection is so important! So head to your chemist to get yourself a kit, my local chemist had them behind the front counter. I recommend making it a part of your yearly routine health checks if you can!