Spring clean your food habits
As I said in my last post Why I’ve not made New Year’s Resolutions and what I’m doing instead, I spend January reflecting on the past year and what I want to achieve this year, February getting my environment and routines set up for the changes I want to make (although to be honest my environment is still a work in progress!) and now Spring is finally here, I’m ready to make some changes to my habits. It feels so much easier now the days are a little longer and the weather so much brighter.
If you’re feeling in the mood to have a bit of a spring clean of your eating habits, why not try one or all of these five steps to start with? Which you try will depend on what your ultimate goal is for your health and wellbeing so make sure you start without thinking about this!
Clean and organise your physical food prep space
Give your food prep space (kitchen) a deep clean, tidy and organise. Having a calm and fresh space to make food will help you feel more motivated. Go through your fridge, freezer and cupboards, throw out any food which is past its sell-by date and take an audit of what you have left. We often buy ingredients for a specific recipe which then sit in our cupboards for weeks, months or even years…make a note of what you have so as you move on to step 2 you can make sure that random spice mix of packet or grains actually gets used rather than being wasted.
2. Plan your meals
Preparation and organisation are always key to success. So start with writing a meal plan and then create a shopping list of the ingredients you need to buy. Try to avoid buying something very niche which will just clutter up the space you hopefully decluttered in step 1! Prioritise using up the ingredients you already have in your cupboards, dig out those cookbooks or search online for recipes using the ingredients you already have. Meal planning is one of the best ways to ensure you’re eating a healthy balanced diet. Trying to make a decision about what to eat at the end of a long working day is hard in itself, let alone then realising you don’t have the ingredients you need to cook what you want. Having meals planned and the ingredients ready to go not only avoids this kind of decision fatigue which may well leave you reaching for the take-out menu, but it can also avoid food waste - so long as you stick close to your menu plan.
3. Eat seasonally
Not only is it better for the environment to eat seasonal produce, but generally as the produce is fresher and hopefully has not been transported under harsh conditions to try and keep it fresh, the nutrient content should also be higher. I regularly share my seasonal food heroes in my newsletter so make sure you’re signed up!
Seasonal eating also encourages us to step outside our comfort zone with the types of fresh fruit and vegetables we’re consuming. Many of us will get into habits with food and find ourselves eating the same thing day in, day out but we know variety is key to boost our intake of health-boosting vitamins and minerals and keep our tastebuds interested and excited!
Why not try a local veg box delivery service to help you consume more seasonal, local, fresh produce and try some new varieties of fruit and veg into your diet too.
4. Cook from fresh as often as possible
It’s easy to become reliant on ready meals and convenience foods, but preparing food from scratch will give your body the best nourishment. Not only are nutrient levels higher, but there are fewer additives, preservatives and hopefully less sugar and salt.
Cooking from scratch doesn’t need to be a challenge or stress. Preparation is key (see point 2) plan your meals, get your shop in and make time to prepare and eat food (see point 5). Food is the fuel our body needs to function and heal, if we don’t invest time and energy in our food now we will feel the consequences down the line and see it in our skin health if you’re not already.
Batch cooking can mean you don’t have to cook every day but you still have something fresh to eat. There are some shortcuts and pre-pared food it’s fine to incorporate into a healthy diet like pre-chopped frozen or fresh vegetables or packets of cooked produce like quinoa, rice, lentils and even pre-cooked meat and fish. Try to make cooking from scratch easy for you and you’ll find it’s no more effort than popping a microwave meal in the oven and will help you feel so much better inside and out. Try one of the batch cook recipes from my website.
6. Eat more mindfully
It’s not just about what we eat but how we eat that’s important when it comes to wellbeing. It’s not great for our digestion (or waistlines) to eat quickly, while distracted (e.g. while working/on our phones/watching TV) or while moving around. Eating in a mindful way helps ensure we focus on our food, we’re more likely to chew food thoroughly to start and aid digestion and less likely to gulp down air which can cause bloating and reflux. We’re also more likely to notice the queues from our bodies that we’re full and therefore less likely to overeat.
When we’re busy and stressed we can often grab food on-the-go, or eat something quick and easy simply to satisfy our hunger, not thinking about what it is our body needs. The reality is when we’re stressed and busy our body needs a regular supply of energy and mood balancing foods that deliver the nutrition we need to better handle those stress levels. Fresh produce, is prepared with love and eaten mindfully so it’s digested and the nutrients absorbed easily to support us through the stress.
What healthy habits are you hoping to create this Spring?