Going for a bushwalk? 3 handy foods to have in your backpack (including muesli bars)

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This time of year, many of us love to get out and spend time in nature. This may include hiking through Australia’s many beautiful national parks.

Walking in nature is a wonderful activity, supporting both physical and mental health. But there can be risks and it’s important to be prepared.

You may have read the news about hiker, Hadi Nazari, who was recently found alive after spending 13 days lost in Kosciuszko National Park.

He reportedly survived for almost two weeks in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales by drinking fresh water from creeks, and eating foraged berries and two muesli bars.

So next time you’re heading out for a day of hiking, what foods should you pack?

Here are my three top foods to carry on a bushwalk that are dense in nutrients and energy, lightweight and available from the local grocery store.

Leah-Anne Thompson/Shutterstock

1. Muesli bars

Nazari reportedly ate two muesli bars he found in a mountain hut. Whoever left the muesli bars there made a great choice.

Muesli bars come individually wrapped, which helps them last longer and makes them easy to transport.

They are also a good source of energy. Muesli bars typically contain about 1,5001,900 kilojoules per 100 grams. The average energy content for a 35g bar is about 614kJ.

This may be a fraction of what you’d usually need in a day. However, the energy from muesli bars is released at a slow to moderate pace, which will help keep you going for longer.

Muesli bars are also packed with nutrients. They contain all three macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein and fat) that our body needs to function. They’re a good source of carbohydrates, in particular, which are a key energy source. An average Australian muesli bar contains 14g of whole grains, which provide carbohydrates and dietary fibre for long-lasting energy.

Muesli bars that contain nuts are typically higher in fat (19.9g per 100g) and protein (9.4g per 100g) than those without.

Fat and protein are helpful for slowing down the release of energy from foods and the protein will help keep you feeling full for longer.

There are many different types of muesli bars to choose from. I recommend looking for those with whole grains, higher dietary fibre and higher protein content.

2. Nuts

Nuts are nature’s savoury snack and are also a great source of energy. Cashews, pistachios and peanuts contain about 2,300-2,400kJ per 100g while Brazil nuts, pecans and macadamias contain about 2,700-3,000kJ per 100g. So a 30g serving of nuts will provide about 700-900kJ depending on the type of nut.

Just like muesli bars, the energy from nuts is released slowly. So even a relatively small quantity will keep you powering on.

Nuts are also full of nutrients, such as protein, fat and fibre, which will help to stave off hunger and keep you moving for longer.

When choosing which nuts to pack, almost any type of nut is going to be great.

Peanuts are often the best value for money, or go for something like walnuts that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, or a nut mix.

Whichever nut you choose, go for the unsalted natural or roasted varieties. Salted nuts will make you thirsty.

Nut bars are also a great option and have the added benefit of coming in pre-packed serves (although nuts can also be easily packed into re-usable containers).

If you’re allergic to nuts, roasted chickpeas are another option. Just try to avoid those with added salt.

Handful of natural nuts with other nuts on a dark background
Nuts are nature’s savoury snack and are also a great source of energy. Eakrat/Shutterstock

3. Dried fruit

If nuts are nature’s savoury snack, fruit is nature’s candy. Fresh fruits (such as grapes, frozen in advance) are wonderfully refreshing and perfect as an everyday snack, although can add a bit of weight to your hiking pack.

So if you’re looking to reduce the weight you’re carrying, go for dried fruit. It’s lighter and will withstand various conditions better than fresh fruit, so is less likely to spoil or bruise on the journey.

There are lots of varieties of dried fruits, such as sultanas, dried mango, dried apricots and dried apple slices.

These are good sources of sugar for energy, fibre for fullness and healthy digestion, and contain lots of vitamins and minerals. So choose one (or a combination) that works for you.

Don’t forget water

Next time you head out hiking for the day, you’re all set with these easily available, lightweight, energy- and nutrient-dense snacks.

This is not the time to be overly concerned about limiting your sugar or fat intake. Hiking, particularly in rough terrain, places demands on your body and energy needs. For instance, an adult hiking in rough terrain can burn upwards of about 2,000kJ per hour.

And of course, don’t forget to take plenty of water.

Having access to even limited food, and plenty of fresh water, will not only make your hike more pleasurable, it can save your life.

Margaret Murray, Senior Lecturer, Nutrition, Swinburne University of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Procrastination, and how to pay off the to-do list debt

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    Procrastination, and how pay off the to-do list debt

    Sometimes we procrastinate because we feel overwhelmed by the mountain of things we are supposed to be doing. If you look at your to-do list and it shows 60 overdue items, it’s little wonder if you want to bury your head in the sand!

    “What difference does it make if I do one of these things now; I will still have 59 which feels as bad as having 60”

    So, treat it like you might a financial debt, and make a repayment plan. Now, instead of 60 overdue items today, you have 1/day for the next 60 days, or 2/day for the next 30 days, or 3/day for the next 20 days, etc. Obviously, you may need to work out whether some are greater temporal priorities and if so, bump those to the top of the list. But don’t sweat the minutiae; your list doesn’t have to be perfectly ordered, just broadly have more urgent things to the top and less urgent things to the bottom.

    Note: this repayment plan means having set repayment dates.

    Up front, sit down and assign each item a specific calendar date on which you will do that thing.

    This is not a deadline! It is your schedule. You’ll not try to do it sooner, and you won’t postpone it for later. You will just do that item on that date.

    A productivity app like ToDoist can help with this, but paper is fine too.

    What’s important here, psychologically, is that each day you’re looking not at 60 things and doing the top item; you’re just looking at today’s item (only!) and doing it.

    Debt Reduction/Cancellation

    Much like you might manage a financial debt, you can also look to see if any of your debts could be reduced or cancelled.

    We wrote previously about the “Getting Things Done” system. It’s a very good system if you want to do that; if not, no worries, but you might at least want to borrow this one idea….

    Sort your items into:

    Do / Defer / Delegate / Ditch

    • Do: if it can be done in under 2 minutes, do it now.
    • Defer: defer the item to a specific calendar date (per the repayment plan idea we just talked about)
    • Delegate: could this item be done by someone else? Get it off your plate if you reasonably can.
    • Ditch: sometimes, it’s ok to realize “you know what, this isn’t that important to me anymore” and scratch it from the list.

    As a last resort, consider declaring bankruptcy

    Towards the end of the dot-com boom, there was a fellow who unintentionally got his 5 minutes of viral fame for “declaring email bankruptcy”.

    Basically, he publicly declared that his email backlog had got so far out of hand that he would now not reply to emails from before the declaration.

    He pledged to keep on top of new emails only from that point onwards; a fresh start.

    We can’t comment on whether he then did, but if you need a fresh start, that can be one way to get it!

    In closing…

    Procrastination is not usually a matter of laziness, it’s usually a matter of overwhelm. Hopefully the above approach will help reframe things, and make things more manageable.

    Sometimes procrastination is a matter of perfectionism, and not starting on tasks because we worry we won’t do them well enough, and so we get stuck in a pseudo-preparation rut. If that’s the case, our previous main feature on perfectionism may help:

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  • How Your Diet May Be Causing Chronic Tightness (& How To Fix It)

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    There is often more to hamstring flexibility than just stretching:

    Three steps

    The method focuses on three areas: diet, mindset, and movement.

    Why diet? Poor gut health and inflammation, often caused by processed and fast foods, contribute to chronic hamstring tightness. The video suggests nutrient-dense meals like Greek yogurt with poached eggs. As for collagen, that is found most abundantly in the bones and skin of fish and other animals, but if you are vegan/vegetarian, fear not, you can just make sure to eat plenty of its constituent parts instead, and synthesize it yourself like any other animal. See also: The Best Foods For Collagen Production

    Why mindset? Addressing pain and other somatic (bodily) concerns involves understanding the body as a single interconnected system. So, it’s necessary to also take care of any emotional stress or other underlying conditions, as well as ensuring your hormones are all in order.

    Why movement? Machine-based training, which isolates muscles, can cause imbalances. Instead, consider functional movements like hanging and compound exercises such as Pilates or other calisthenics systems. These improve core strength, enhance flexibility, and prevent stiffness, ensuring better overall function.

    Some example exercises:

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    • Active hip abductors: target IT band and glute medius; 1 set of 12 reps per leg.
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    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

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    Take care!

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  • You can thaw and refreeze meat: five food safety myths busted

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    This time of year, most fridges are stocked up with food and drinks to share with family and friends. Let’s not make ourselves and our guests sick by getting things wrong when preparing and serving food.

    As the weather warms up, so does the environment for micro-organisms in foods, potentially allowing them to multiply faster to hazardous levels. So put the drinks on ice and keep the fridge for the food.

    But what are some of those food safety myths we’ve long come to believe that aren’t actually true?

    Myth 1: if you’ve defrosted frozen meat or chicken you can’t refreeze it

    From a safety point of view, it is fine to refreeze defrosted meat or chicken or any frozen food as long as it was defrosted in a fridge running at 5°C or below. Some quality may be lost by defrosting then refreezing foods as the cells break down a little and the food can become slightly watery.

    Another option is to cook the defrosted food and then divide into small portions and refreeze once it has stopped steaming. Steam in a closed container leads to condensation, which can result in pools of water forming. This, combined with the nutrients in the food, creates the perfect environment for microbial growth. So it’s always best to wait about 30 minutes before refrigerating or freezing hot food.

    Plan ahead so food can be defrosted in the fridge, especially with large items such as a frozen turkey or roll of meat. If left on the bench, the external surface could be at room temperature and micro-organisms could be growing rapidly while the centre of the piece is still frozen!

    Myth 2: Wash meat before you prepare and/or cook it

    It is not a good idea to wash meats and poultry when preparing for cooking. Splashing water that might contain potentially hazardous bacteria around the kitchen can create more of a hazard if those bacteria are splashed onto ready-to-eat foods or food preparation surfaces.

    It is, however, a good idea to wash fruits and vegetables before preparing and serving, especially if they’re grown near or in the ground as they may carry some dirt and therefore micro-organisms.

    This applies particularly to foods that will be prepared and eaten without further cooking. Consuming foods raw that traditionally have been eaten cooked or otherwise processed to kill pathogenic micro-organisms (potentially deadly to humans) might increase the risk of food poisoning.

    Fruit, salad, vegetables and other ready-to-eat foods should be prepared separately, away from raw meat, chicken, seafood and other foods that need cooking.

    Myth 3: Hot food should be left out to cool completely before putting it in the fridge

    It’s not OK to leave perishable food out for an extended time or overnight before putting it in the fridge.

    Micro-organisms can grow rapidly in food at temperatures between 5° and 60°C. Temperature control is the simplest and most effective way of controlling the growth of bacteria. Perishable food should spend as little time as possible in the 5-60°C danger zone. If food is left in the danger zone, be aware it is potentially unsafe to eat.

    Hot leftovers, and any other leftovers for that matter, should go into the fridge once they have stopped steaming to reduce condensation, within about 30 minutes.

    Large portions of hot food will cool faster if broken down into smaller amounts in shallow containers. It is possible that hot food such as stews or soup left in a bulky container, say a two-litre mixing bowl (versus a shallow tray), in the fridge can take nearly 24 hours to cool to the safe zone of less than 5°C.

    Myth 4: If it smells OK, then it’s OK to eat

    This is definitely not always true. Spoilage bacteria, yeasts and moulds are the usual culprits for making food smell off or go slimy and these may not make you sick, although it is always advisable not to consume spoiled food.

    Pathogenic bacteria can grow in food and not cause any obvious changes to the food, so the best option is to inhibit pathogen growth by refrigerating foods.

    Myth 5: Oil preserves food so it can be left at room temperature

    Adding oil to foods will not necessarily kill bugs lurking in your food. The opposite is true for many products in oil if anaerobic micro-organisms, such as Clostridium botulinum (botulism), are present in the food. A lack of oxygen provides perfect conditions for their growth.

    Outbreaks of botulism arising from consumption of vegetables in oil – including garlic, olives, mushrooms, beans and hot peppers – have mostly been attributed to the products not being properly prepared.

    Vegetables in oil can be made safely. In 1991, Australian regulations stipulated that this class of product (vegetables in oil) can be safely made if the pH (a measure of acid) is less than 4.6. Foods with a pH below 4.6 do not in general support the growth of food-poisoning bacteria including botulism.

    So keep food out of the danger zone to reduce your guests’ risk of getting food poisoning this summer. Check out other food safety tips and resources from CSIRO and the Food Safety Information Council, including testing your food safety knowledge.

    Cathy Moir, Team leader, Microbial and chemical sciences, Food microbiologist and food safety specialist, CSIRO

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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    We hear a lot from doctors who work with dementia patients; sometimes we hear from carers too. In this case, the author spent 20 years working for the NHS, before being diagnosed with young-onset dementia, at the age of 58. Like many health industry workers who got a life-changing diagnosis, she quickly found it wasn’t fun being on the other side of things, and vowed to spend her time researching, and raising awareness about, dementia.

    Many people assume that once a person has dementia, they’re basically “gone before they’re gone”, which can rapidly become a self-fulfilling prophecy as that person finds themself isolated and—though this word isn’t usually used—objectified. Talked over, viewed (and treated) more as a problem than a person. Cared for hopefully, but again, often more as a patient than a person. If doctors struggle to find the time for the human side of things with most patients most of the time, this is only accentuated when someone needs more time and patience than average.

    Instead, Dr. Mitchell—an honorary doctorate, by the way, awarded for her research—writes about what it’s actually like to be a human with dementia. Everything from her senses, how she eats, the experience of eating in care homes, the process of boiling an egg… To relationships, how care changes them, to the challenges of living alone. And communication, confusion, criticism, the language used by professionals, or how things are misrepresented in popular media. She also talks about the shifting sense of self, and brings it all together with gritty optimism.

    The style is deeply personal, yet lucid and clear. While dementia is most strongly associated with memory loss and communication problems, this hasn’t affected her ability to write well (7 years into her diagnosis, in case you were wondering).

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    It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

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    ❝Great newsletter. Am taking turmeric for inflammation of hips and feet. Works like magic. Would like to know how it works, and what tumeric is best combined with – also whether there any risks in longterm use.❞

    Glad you’re enjoying! As for turmeric, it sure is great, isn’t it? To answer your questions in a brief fashion:

    • How it works: it does a lot of things, but perhaps its most key feature is its autoxidative metabolites that mediate its anti-inflammatory effect. Thus, it slows or inhibits oxidative stress that would otherwise cause inflammation, increase cancer risk, and advance aging.
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    You might also like our previous main feature: Why Curcumin (Turmeric) Is Worth Its Weight In Gold

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