RATING: 7 out of 10

User's comments:
My lunch is a 2-minute noodles tuna salad:

• Half a can of tuna in water
• 5 olives
• 3 thick slices of cucumber
• Half a packet of cooked 2-minute noodles without the spices
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• Apple vinegar and dry French dressing mix

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Is this healthy or not?

Expert's comments:
I am very impressed at your ability to transform 2-minute noodles into a gourmet dish!

Within your meal, you have managed to include carbohydrate (starchy food, i.e. noodles), low-fat protein (tuna), healthy fat (omega-3 from the tuna, monounsaturated fat from the olives and olive oil dressing) and vegetables (cucumber, tomatoes). Excluding the spices from the noodles means that your meal is relatively low in salt, which is desirable from a health point of view.

Although your lunch is low in fibre, this shouldn’t be a major problem if you are eating fibre-rich foods at your other meals and snacks, i.e. wholegrains and cereals (oats, oat bran, brown rice, brown bread, wholewheat bread, low-GI bread, Weetbix, Nutrific, Wholewheat Pronutro, High Fibre Bran), fruits, vegetables and legumes (beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas).

Fish is an excellent source of the essential fat, omega-3. Our bodies are unable to produce the fatty acid in sufficient amounts, hence the need to obtain it from dietary means. This important nutrient has been shown to help prevent heart disease, high blood pressure and inflammatory conditions as well as being necessary for brain development and visual acuity in infants. We should all attempt to eat fish at least 1-2 times a week. Many people don’t like cooking fish at home, so eating canned fish at lunch time is a great way of including this very nutritious food.

Below is a list of foods rich in omega-3 fats:

• Sardines in fish oil
• Herring or butterfish
• Salmon (fresh or tinned)
• Pilchards (fresh or in brine)
• Mackerel
• Anchovy
• Snoek pate
• Tuna (fresh or in brine)
• Trout
• Haddock
• Omega-3 enriched eggs
• Avocado pear
• Canola or olive oil
• Flaxseed
• Walnuts and walnut oil

Other sources of healthy fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) include nuts and seeds, canola oil, avocado pear, peanut butter and soynut butter.

Tomato is a rich source of vitamin C, lycopene as well as iron. Vitamin C can help strengthen our immunity, aid wound healing, is a strong antioxidant and helps to maximise iron absorption. It is therefore a good idea to include a vitamin-C-rich food (tomato, guava, citrus fruit, fruit juice, kiwi fruit) when eating iron-rich foods (lamb, beef, ostrich, chicken, liver, egg yolk), particularly if you are at risk of or suffer from anaemia.

To complement your lunch, make sure that your other meals are equally balanced, low in fat (but still providing healthy fat), and contain fibre-rich carbohydrates, vegetables and/or fruit (you should eat five portions per day) for optimal vitamins and minerals. Ensure that you never skip a meal and should you experience dips in energy levels between meals, eat a healthy snack to keep your blood-sugar levels constant.
 

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