Nutrition, Food Science & Menu Planning Course Starter Pack

Meet Your Educator

Abby is a Registered Dietitian currently working as a Nutrition Educator for Shaw Academy in Cape
Town, South Africa. She graduated with a Bachelor of Dietetics at the University of Pretoria and
holds a Masters’ degree in Nutrition from the University of Stellenbosch and is registered with the
Health Professional Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Abby enjoys approaching nutrition in a
holistic way and believes that education is the key to improving one’s circumstances. She believes
that everyone should have access to nutrition education and uses various online and media
platforms to get her message to as many people as possible. She regularly contributes evidence-
based nutrition information in written form to various magazine publications as well as medical
newsletters and can often be heard on various South African radio platforms and occasionally
appears on local television programs.

Each module consists of:

- 8-10 lessons
- 8-10 post lesson quizzes
- 4-5 weekly assignments
- 1 module assignment

For an additional cost you can purchase the toolkit:

- The webinar slides (PDF of the presentation)

- Summary notes
- Bonus lessons in Module 2 only

Course Outline

Module 1:

Lesson 1: Body basics

Lesson 2: Carbohydrates
Lesson 3: Proteins
Lesson 4: Fats
Lesson 5: Micronutrients

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN NUTRITION, FOOD SCIENCE & MENU PLANNING

Lesson 6: Hydration
Lesson 7: Salt, seasoning & flavouring
Lesson 8: Sweeteners
Lesson 9: Food selection & evaluation
Lesson 10: Case study

Module 2:

*Same as the Nutrition Course

Lesson 1: Putting it all together
Lesson 2: Weight loss basics: part 1
Lesson 3: Weight loss basics: part 2
Lesson 4: Popular weight loss diets
Lesson 5: Fad diets debunked
Lesson 6: ‘Free from’ diets
Lesson 7: Plant-based diets
Lesson 8: Nutrition FAQ

Bonus content:

NEW content
Bonus Lesson 1: Reading a label
Bonus Lesson 2: Cereals, grains & other starches
Bonus Lesson 3: Meat, poultry
Bonus Lesson 4: Fish & shellfish

Module 3:

Masterclass series
*Same as the Nutrition Course
Lesson 1 & 2: Gut health
Lesson 3 & 4: Exercise & nutrition
Lesson 5 & 6: Alcohol
Lesson 7 & 8: Mindful eating

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN NUTRITION, FOOD SCIENCE & MENU PLANNING

Module 4:

Presented by Amanda Broderick

*Same as the Nutrition course
Lesson 1 & 2: Eating disorders & mental health
Lesson 3 & 4: Obesity & diabetes
Lesson 5 & 6: Cancer prevention
Lesson 7 & 8: Delivering effective nutrition advice

Top 10 tips for healthy eating

Healthy eating is not about strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving
yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, improving your
outlook on life, and stabilizing your mood. If you feel overwhelmed by all the conflicting nutrition
and diet advice out there, you’re not alone. It seems that for every expert who tells you a certain
food is good for you- you’ll find another saying exactly the opposite.

1. Set realistic health goals

When you start a new eating plan, it is natural to want to be ‘the best’ ALL the time. This is normal
and exciting. But beware of setting yourself unrealistic goals. In the long run, this will only serve to
demotivate you. Try your best to set small, realistic goals that you can reach. The more small goals
you reach, the more confident you will feel in tackling the bigger goals.

2. Plan your meals and always shop with a shopping list

The old saying ‘never go to the supermarket hungry’ could not be truer. When you shop on an
empty stomach, you are much more likely to make impulsive buys (and unfortunately, these often
tend to be unhealthier choices). Make it your mission to NEVER go to the shops without a shopping
list. A good shopping list is created together with a menu plan for the week (remember, fail to plan
and you plan to fail). Once again, be realistic when it comes to your menu planning. If you know
you only have 20 minutes to prep and cook a meal, don’t choose an elaborate recipe that you have
never cooked before. Similarly, if you hate cooking, don’t think that by just planning intricate
homemade meals you will suddenly turn into Martha Stewart. As a bonus to this starter pack, I

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN NUTRITION, FOOD SCIENCE & MENU PLANNING

have included a 7-day printable version of a meal planner and shopping list that you can use to get
you started!

3. Stick to a routine, eat your meals at similar times daily

Your body thrives off routine. As you will learn throughout this course, it is best to keep your
mealtimes as regular as possible. Now I am not saying that everyone needs to eat a set number of
meals (because this will depend on your personal preference and health status) i.e. 3 large meals
per day or 6 smaller meals. What I am saying is that when you determine what suits you best, stick
to it!

4. Try your best to identify hunger and satiety ques and act on them

appropriately

Most of us are completely unaware of if we are hungry or full. We can blame this on a number of
factors like a history of restrictive dieting (a.k.a not listening to our body but rather listening to
what the newest ‘diet’ is telling us is best), certain medications can increase or blunt your hunger
ques and even the fact that our fat cells can make us think we are hungry, even if we are not! For
one week, I want you to keep a record of what you eat and well as how in made you feel. On this
food record you can also jot down information like, how hungry you were before, during and after
a meal (on a scale of 1 to 10) as well as a note on your bowel movements and any symptoms that
bother you (common ones include heartburn, excessive wind, fatigue etc.)

5. Choose mainly whole, unrefined, or minimally processed foods over

highly processed counterparts

Whole foods are defined a: ‘Food that has been processed or refined as little as possible and is free
from additives or other artificial substances. A whole food diet has been linked to numerous
health benefits. Not only will you be consuming foods in their natural state, meaning that you get
the maximum amount of nutrients available, but you will also be consuming less additives.
Something I want to highlight at this point, I am not saying that you need to stay away from all
processed foods, some processing is often needed to make a food more convenient to eat. It is the

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN NUTRITION, FOOD SCIENCE & MENU PLANNING

highly processed or ultra-processed foods you want to avoid (these foods contain little or none of
the original nutrients).

6. Eat fruits and vegetables everyday

Fruits and vegetables are a valuable source of vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Multiple studies have
shown that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is conducive to good health and can help prevent
chronic disease and early death. These foods also contain special nutrients called phytonutrients
(or plant nutrients) that give us health benefits over and above those that we would expect. Each
group of phytonutrients has variety of functions and varying effects on our health.

7. Fill half your plate with vegetables at each meal (eat a rainbow)

It is important that you eat a variety of fruits and vegetables as different colours usually represent
different nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients). Vegetables are not only high in
nutrients, but they are naturally low in calories, saturated fat, and salt. When you fill up your plate
with lots of colourful vegetables, it helps you to control your portions of other foods and can
contribute to weight maintenance (or weight loss).

8. Include plant-based proteins often

Plant based proteins include (but are not limited to) legumes like beans, lentils and chickpeas,
pseudo cereals like quinoa and soya protein foods. Plants based proteins are usually a source of
protein, fibre as well as various vitamins and minerals. Because of this they are very nutritious and
filling. They are wonderful additions to any diet and have many health promoting characteristics.

9. Choose lean proteins

When choosing animal-based proteins (like poultry, meat, and dairy) aim to choose lean
alternatives. Fat is an important part of the diet, but we should strive to replace animal fats in the
diet with plant fats (like olive oil, avocado’s, nuts, seeds etc.)

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN NUTRITION, FOOD SCIENCE & MENU PLANNING

 10. Drink mainly water and limit the amount of sweetener (nutritive or

non-nutritive) that you use daily.

Many people do not drink enough water but instead drink sugar sweetened beverages, tea, or
coffee. Many of these alternative drinks contain significant amounts of sugar which can contribute
to unwanted weight gain and dental caries. If you don’t drink enough water, you may become
dehydrated and suffer symptoms like fatigue, irritability, loss of concentration and constipation.
These are frustrating symptoms to have and can easily be remedied by drinking more water. Your
water requirements vary and depend on a variety of factors like age, weight, activity levels and the
environmental condition. For most healthy people, it is unlikely that you will overconsume water
and much more likely that you will under consume. If in doubt, drink a little bit more rather than
less.

Resources:

American Dietetic Association: https://www.eatright.org/

Association for Dietetics in South Africa: http://adsa.org.za/
British Dietetic Association: https://www.bda.uk.com/
Dietetic Association of Australia: https://daa.asn.au/
Dietitians of Canada: https://www.dietitians.ca/
Indian Dietetic Association: http://idaindia.com/
Irish Dietetic Association: https://www.indi.ie/

What is the difference between a dietitian, nutritionist, and nutritional

therapist?

To understand these different terms visit this website:

https://www.bda.uk.com/publications/dietitian_nutritionist.pdf

Note from Abby

I hope that these 10 tips for healthy eating & resources have whet your appetite for your
upcoming Nutrition, Food Science & Menu Planning Course and I look forward to being your
educator over the next 16 weeks. Remember that you can contact us at
[email protected] if you have any specific questions or struggle with any
technicalities while taking this course.

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN NUTRITION, FOOD SCIENCE & MENU PLANNING