Message from the VMC Medical Spokesperson

Welcome to this fortnight's edition of Heath eNews!

Heart disease remains the number one killer of Australians each year. Yet there is so much you can do to look after your heart’s health through eating the right foods, being active on a regular basis and managing your stress. It is also important to see your doctor to have things like blood pressure sugar and cholesterol checked. Learn about things you can do to keep your ticker ticking in this newsletter.

I would like to remind you about the Virtual Medical Centre member survey, which ends this Thursday. Thank you to everyone who has completed it already! If you haven't yet done so, your response will be very much appreciated. It will take less than 10 minutes to complete and there are prizes to be won, plus everyone who completes it receives a free one month trial to BigPond Movies. Find out more.

If you have any comments about this newsletter or Virtual Medical Centre, please share them with me here.

Yours in good health,

Dr Joe Kosterich
MBBS

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Ingredients
Serves 6

500g pumpkin, peeled, cut into 1.5 cm cubes
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
olive oil spray
1 red capsicum, finely chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
200g Australian reduced-fat ricotta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons grated Australian parmesan cheese
15g Australian reduced-fat dairy spread
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup Australian reduced-fat milk
extra milk, for glazing
1 teaspoon poppy seeds


Method
1. Combine pumpkin, garlic and paprika in a lined baking dish. Lightly spray with oil and bake at 200°C for 10-15 minutes or until just tender.

2. Combine pumpkin with capsicum, spring onion, ricotta and parmesan.

3. Rub dairy spread into flour until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add milk and stir to combine until mixture forms a dough. Knead lightly until smooth. Divide mixture into 6 pieces and roll each out to form a 15cm round.

4. Top each pastry round with pumpkin mixture and fold in half to form a semi-circle. Fold and pinch edges of pastry to seal and enclose filling. Brush with extra milk and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 220°C for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.


Nutrient analysis per serve:
Fat: 6.6g
Saturated fat: 3.5g
Calcium: 198mg
Fibre: 2.9g
Sodium: 359mg
No added sugar

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