Eat Smart Week has four main themes:
FIVE-A-DAY FRUIT AND VEG
Many Irish people fall well short of the recommended intake of 500g a day of fruit and veg; that's five portions of either, not both. Fruit juice and smoothies count toward the target, as does dried fruit. Try adding chopped fruit to your cereal or salad items to your lunch sandwich, or whizzing up simple vegetable soups.
PORTION SIZE MATTERS
A recommended portion size of cooked pasta is 220g, about the size of a tennis ball. The recommended amount of meat is 60g, the size of a deck of cards, and the recommended portion of cheese is the size of a matchbox. Use smaller plates if it helps.
IT'S NOT JUST WHAT YOU COOK, IT'S THE WAY YOU COOK IT
One potato, chipped and deep-fried, contains about 15g of fat. The same potato, baked, contains less than 0.4g of fat. Grilling a full Irish breakfast instead of frying it saves a whopping 338 calories and 32.5g of fat. Try stir-frying with stock instead of oil, select leaner cuts of meat and drain off juices after roasting food.
SWAP AND SAVE
Given our sedentary lifestyles, most of us consume more calories than we need. An easy way to bring our energy intake into line with our energy output is to swap meals for lower-fat options that can taste just as good. A fried full Irish breakfast provides almost 70 per cent of the calories an average woman needs, and 43 per cent more than her recommended fat intake. By swapping to a cereal-based breakfast, we save over 920 calories and 89g of artery-clogging fat. By swapping a creamy chicken carbonara to a tomato-based pasta dish, we save 325 calories and 32.5 g of fat.