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Wynnie Chan

Name: Amy Wong

Age: 14

Breakfast: White bread with either peanut butter or strawberry jam; glass of milk

Lunch: Either soup noodles with black pepper steak, egg and lettuce or spaghetti with meat sauce; water

Snack: Apple or cookies; water

Dinner: Steamed fish, boiled Chinese vegetables, stir fried chicken, ? bowl of white rice, bowl of Chinese clear soup

Eating out with friends: Chicken or steak with spaghetti

Eating out with family: Pizza, cream soda at Pizza Hut

Favourite foods: Tomatoes, spaghetti

Hates: Any kind of herbs, especially garlic, coriander, ginger

Lifestyle: Goes to a dance club once a week; does sit ups and aerobics at home. PE lessons twice a week at school - learning how to play volleyball, basketball, football

Wynnie says: Amy adores tomatoes, which are notable for being high in beta carotene (the plant equivalent of vitamin A) and vitamin C.  Research shows that eating tomatoes can provide powerful protection against many kinds of cancer and heart disease.

Amy can  compensate for the lack of vegetables in her school lunchbox by munching a handful of cherry tomatoes or a beefsteak tomato during school break. Did you know that one medium tomato meets 40 per cent of our daily requirements for vitamin C?

Adding a wider variety of foods can improve the nutritional content of Amy's  diet. It's clear that Amy loves Italian food, and widening her repertoire even within this type of cuisine can help her to increase her intake of other essential nutrients.

For example, cheese is a prominent ingredient in many Italian dishes such as lasagne, gnocchi or risotto. Cheese is a rich source of the mineral calcium, which is deficient in a lot of teenager's diets.

Although Amy does drink milk, to optimise bone development, she should aim for a couple of servings of dairy foods a day, one of which could come from a serving of cheese.

She could choose  one of the above dishes, or eat a cube of cheese (28 grams)  as a snack.

There are many different ways to enjoy the humble tomato, from soup to juice to bread. Here's a recipe for a refreshing summer salad.

Ingredients:

250g watermelon, cut into bite-sized cubes

250g ripe tomatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tbsp lime juice

Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl, cover and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Share with a friend

Breakfast bonanza:

To boost the nutrient content of her breakfast, Amy could try adding a chopped banana to  her peanut butter sandwich. Bananas are low in fat, and rich in essential minerals such as potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. They also contain vitamin B6, folate, niacin, vitamin C and fibre. Vitamins C and B6 help to keep your immune system healthy, while potassium is needed to maintain fluid balance in your body as well as to help build muscle. Research suggests that potassium-rich foods may lower the risk  of developing high blood pressure later in life.

Cooking tip:

Try blanching or stir-frying your vegetables as  these cooking methods help to optimise their nutritional content.  Stir-frying  conserves vitamin C and folate (a B vitamin). Vitamin C and B vitamins are water soluble and are destroyed by prolonged heating, so make sure that vegetables aren't boiled or fried for too long.



Nutrition 4 you