All in a day's work: Mavis the retiree

Mavis is 67 and retired.

Her husband gets grizzly in winter — there’s too much rain for him in Auckland — so they treat themselves and spend 12 weeks on the Sunshine Coast in Australia. They’re over there now, in their T-shirts, enjoying the sun. The only thing she misses, she says, is Bite magazine!

At the moment her diet is full of fresh tropical fruits and fresh seafood. Mavis wants to know if there is anything you can eat to prevent a cold as her husband seems to get one every year as soon as they arrive back in New Zealand.

7–8am 2 cups of tea with milk followed by a bowl of fresh fruit (pawpaw, orange, pineapple, mango and banana with yoghurt). The first thing we do when we arrive is stock up on fresh fruit and veg — all the yummy stuff we don't get at home right now.
10am 1 banana and a Woolworths Select macadamia and cranberry bar. On the golf course — I discovered these bars here years ago, they're my favourites.
2.30pm Cup of coffee and a swim
6pm Potato chips and a glass of wine on the deck watching the surfers
7pm Roast pork, roast potatoes, pumpkin, kumara, green beans and a glass of wine. It's roast night at the surf club across the road from our apartment — $11 — good deal!

Nadia Lim’s nutrition quick fix

Unlike a lot of us back home (in the cold dark weather), you’ll be getting plenty of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin strongly linked to bone health. It is made by your body when your skin is exposed to the sun — 15-20 minutes of moderate sun exposure is enough for your daily dose.

However you can also get it from food sources such as fish, eggs and milk. Watch your alcohol intake as often while on holiday it can increase, adding extra empty calories. Catching a cold after vacation is a common phenomenon, however we’re not sure why, other than because in a plane you are in close contact with lots of people (and therefore bugs), but a healthy diet will keep your immune system as prepared as can be.