Making Healthy Eating Super Simple

If ‘we are what we eat’ then let’s try and be healthy, colourful, moderately sized, diverse, fresh and delicious and not fast, cheap easy or fake.

The food we eat has a huge impact on our body and minds. A healthy diet is linked to a reduced risk of illness, improved mood, raised energy levels, increased productivity as well as better quality sleep.

I don’t subscribe to any ‘fad’ diets. Paleo, Flexitarian, Alkaline, Dukan, Sugar Free, 5:2… These popular diets may in-fact have some short term weight-loss potential but at the end of the day the majority of them are inflexible, hard to maintain and restrictive. Life is too short. In-fact I have a completely non-diet approach to food and I believe this to be the healthiest way to be.

We should be able to enjoy food rather than see it as the enemy. We are being bombarded with the latest and greatest diet trends all the time and this is confusing for people. I enjoy coaching people around nourishing their bodies with real, whole, colourful, simple food. I like a diet that comprises of lots of fresh fruit and vegies, legumes, wholegrains, seafood, a little meat, nuts and seeds. I hate the idea of people depriving themselves, having a blow-out then resentfully chomping on celery for the next two days. This is total craziness. Let’s make it simple and easy, it does not need to be rocket science.

Some basic principles that are easy to follow;

Variety – Mix it up with different flavours, colours and textures. Aim to have a rainbow coloured plate at each meal.

Seasonal – Buy fresh locally produced fruit and vegetables. It is always the best choice for health and wallet.

Eat Unprocessed – Aim to buy the majority of your food fresh. Eat food the way it comes from nature as often as you can.

Watch Portion Size – Many of us simply put too much on our plate! A rough guide to the amount of food we need to eat at each meal is two fist sizes of concentrated food like lean protein or carbohydrate. You can add as many greens to that as you like.

Hydrate Regularly – Drink plenty of water.

Reduce Stimulants – Aim to cut back on sugar, alcohol and caffeine.

Remove Temptations – Just don’t buy the food you know is your weakness. Keep it for a ‘treat’.

Buy Healthy Snacks – By having your fridge full and your pantry stocked with nourishing food – you are less likely to have a blow-out.

Relax – If you ‘fall off the wagon’ – don’t worry too much about it just work towards getting back on track the next day. It suits me to be fairly disciplined throughout the week and then relax a bit on weekends.

For a busy woman who is time poor, preparing healthy meals for a family can be overwhelming and just another thing on our already ‘epic’ to do lists. If you are interested in learning how to create quick, simple, nourishing meals for you and your family please reach out and contact me.