10 Tips to Make Your Diet Stick

1. Try new foods. It’s the new year so choose one a month. Try it 10 times and you will like it. Become familiar with smell, taste, texture and flavour. The wider the range of foods you eat, the more nutrients you will be ingesting.

2. Reward and recognise your achievements. Focus on the positive. Use the strategies that kept you on track to help implement the next challenge.

3. Get started straight away. Ban procrastination. This time next year you'll have wish you started sooner!

4. Set yourself up to succeed. Identify the challenges and find the solutions to overcome them. Write down the strategies you will use. Don’t leave it to chance.

5. Choose a time and day to shop. Write it down in your diary so you don’t end up with a bare fridge.

6. Divide up tasks. Take it in turns to cook, shop and wash up so it isn’t an overwhelming task.

7. Have frozen meals ready to defrost. That way you won’t have to resort to unhealthy takeaway options.

8. Allow some treats. But don’t go overboard. Have one scoop of ice-cream rather than two, gourmet yoghurt on berries rather than cream, fresh fruit with a few squares of dark chocolate.

9. Modify your cooking methods. For example, try oven-baked potatoes brushed with oil rather than deep-fried chips. Crumb your schnitzel and brown in the pan with a little oil, then finish dry-baking in the oven.

10. Make an appointment with yourself for activity. Start at a pace you can continue with, for example, walk three days a week at lunchtime and twice a week after work rather than walking every day at 5am, which you know you won’t continue in winter.

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Gluten-free Chocolate Cake with Marshmallow Icing

Serves: 8

Time to make: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Olive oil spray
• 60g butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup gluten-free Dutch cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
• 3/4 cup low-fat milk
• Frosting
• 125g gluten-free white marshmallows*
• 1 tablespoon low-fat milk
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup gluten-free Dutch cocoa, sifted

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Spray a 20cm-round cake tin with olive oil and line with baking paper. Place butter, sugar and vanilla extract into the small bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until light and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
2. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Sift flour with cocoa and bicarb soda. Add half the dry ingredients and half the milk to butter mixture. Gently fold together using a large metal spoon. Do not over-mix. Fold in remaining flour mixture and milk.
3. Spoon mixture into cake tin and smooth top with the back of a wet spoon. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave for 10 minutes then turn onto a wire rack to cool.
4. To make frosting, combine marshmallows and milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds, stirring every 10 seconds, or until smooth. Using an electric hand-beater, beat egg white and a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. With beater motor running, slowly add cocoa to whites, beating continually until well combined. Fold marshmallow mixture into egg white. Stir until well combined and smooth. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes or until firm enough to spread.

Tips:

For best results, use regular butter when making this cake, not dairy spread. Dutch cocoa was used as it gives a strong chocolate colour but has a delicate, milder flavour. Regular cocoa will also give a great result - but read the label to ensure it is gluten-free.

*The Coeliac Society of Australia confirms that Pascall marshmallows are fine to use even though the packaging lists wheat glucose syrup as an ingredient. It is only used to line the moulds the marshmallows are made in and is not an actual ingredient in the marshmallows.

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Add Some Spice to Your Life With Moroccan Pizza

Serves: 4

Time to make: 40 minutes

High fibre, low kJ, vegetarian and high protein.

Ingredients:

• 300g pumpkin, peeled, thinly sliced
• Olive oil spray
• 4 wholemeal pita rounds
• 150g (about 8 tablespoons) reduced-fat hommous
• 3 cups button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 120g reduced-fat feta, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons Moroccan seasoning
• 4 cups rocket leaves

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Place pumpkin slices on a baking tray lined with baking paper and spray with oil. Bake for 10–15 minutes, or until tender.
2. Place pita rounds on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spread hommous on bases. Arrange pumpkin, mushrooms and feta on top, then sprinkle with Moroccan seasoning.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, or until vegies are golden and base is crispy. Scatter rocket leaves over pizzas before serving.

Tips:

When making your own pizzas, keep toppings healthy by using plant-based ingredients, such as vegetables, fruit, nuts or seeds. Stick to just one meat option, such as lean bacon or barbecued chicken – not both.

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