With Christmas
less than 3 weeks away I can really feel this season’s festivities kicking in
now. With work Christmas parties, drinks with old friends and more mulled wine
and mince pies that you can shake a stick of tinsel at, it’s no wonder that
most of say that we find it hard to eat healthy. Generally I am a really
healthy person and try to eat as “clean” as possible without being extreme and
still enjoying the cakes and cocktails in life.
I stumbled
across this article from one of my favourite health websites – popsugar – so want
to share with you that today! It is about eating clean but I think that these
can easily be incorporated now to help reduce some of the unhealthy habits of the Christmas season and I am hoping it
will help me stick to the healthy way of life! I have added some of my own tips too (time will tell if I listen to my own advice!)
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| picture from http://kilimattjaro.com/ |
Stop
With Processed Food
One of the
easiest ways to get started is to replace processed grub with natural,
minimally processed ingredients. Not only are these options more nutritious,
their flavors are also more satisfying. The occasional indulgence is absolutely
necessary, but cleaning up your daily diet is one of the best moves you can
make to ensure consistent weight loss. Opt for natural whole foods with
ingredients you can pronounce!
Thinking about
Christmas season… stick to this season’s whole foods, like turkey and roasted
chestnuts over processed party foods like sausage rolls.
Eat
More Produce
If you're not
sure how to snack, always pick up some produce; fresh fruit and veggies will
fill you up in a healthy way, and the fibre will keep you fuller, longer. Just
like we've got to retrain our taste buds to stop with the salt and sugar,
you'll find that your body will beg for produce once you start eating it
consistently. These are the cravings we welcome with open arms.
Thinking about
Christmas season… stock up on fruit as snacks (the classic Christmas clementine
anyone?) Try to avoid snacking on crisps and biccies and go for veg sticks and
hummus dips.
Skip
the Added Sugars
If your taste
buds have been overloaded by sugar in the past, it's high time to clean things
up. Natural sugar from fruit is what you're looking for on a clean-eating plan;
the white sugar that goes into baked goods is not. And even if you're not a
dessert junkie, you might be shocked at some of the everyday foods like
bread and yogurt that pile on the sugar! Start being fastidious about reading
labels and skipping added sugars whenever possible.
Thinking about
Christmas season… satisfy your sweet tooth with fruit or even better make some
homemade healthy sweet treats that are low in unrefined sugar. Check my blog
pages out for ideas!
Learn to Look For Salt
Learning to
relish the natural flavors of what you're eating can be a big adjustment if
you're taking on a clean-eating plan — and salt is one of the ingredients that
manages to sneak its way into strange foods like cottage cheese, bread, and
cereal. As you start to exile processed or prepackaged foods from your life,
you won't have to be as concerned about high-sodium products, but continue to
keep your table-salt sprinkles to a minimum to beat bloat and reduce
your risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and more.
Thinking about
Christmas… when umming and arghing what to eat, aim to stick to things that are
natural as processed food is full of salt.
Cut
Back on Caffeine
One cup of
high-quality coffee is approved on most clean-eating plans but it's important
to keep caffeinated beverages to a minimum. Too much coffee can mess with your energy
and anxiety levels and undo all the hard work you're putting in with your
healthy food choices. If you must, sub in your second cup for green tea to stay
on course.
Thinking about
Christmas… avoid caffeine after 4pm and try to switch to green tea . For added
antioxidants, go for matcha green tea – see my review here.
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| picture from company.co.uk/ |
Go
Whole Grain
Refined grains
are one of those sneaky products that always find a way into a grocery cart.
It's integral to look for real whole-grain products. Advertisers simply saying
that a loaf of bread is multigrain or organic doesn't make it a clean food
since many of these items are comprised of refined flour. Real whole grains
will aid in healthy digestion while cutting back on belly
bloat.
Thinking about
Christmas… when you are not eating out and snacking on canapés, then make sure
you’re eating healthy whole grains. Think filling up on porridge in the morning
and mixing cooked quinoa or brown rice into your dishes.
Seriously
. . . Read the Label
The nutritional
info on labels is some of the best defense against culprits that hinder
clean-eating success. A low-calorie number is always great to see, but knowing
to look for crazy amounts of sodium, trans or saturated fat, or ingredients you
simply can't pronounce will help you make the shift toward healthier choices —
and understand why you're doing so!
Thinking about
Christmas… if you’re unsure how healthy something is read the label first. Some
foods are obviously not idea for us, but often “health” foods are not what they
seem. Anything under 3g fat per 100g is officially low fat and ideally you don’t
want to be eating more than 25g sugar a day.
Please leave any other tips you have!
X x X
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