The After-Christmas Detox

Is anyone else feeling the January blues AND feeling a bit bleh trying to eradicate all the extra sugar and alcohol that became the norm over the Christmas period? And does anyone else hate the word ‘detox’? Don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t over compensate in January for your Christmas diet. Achievable goals and balance are key. There’s really no point in ‘cutting’ or taking carbs and sugar out of your diet completely. Your body will want to shut down after a few days.

 

These are a few tips for getting through January, and all year for that matter, without cracking open a tin of Quality street that was left over from the festive period.

·         Be sensible. I know this sounds like an obvious piece of advice, but so many people do extreme dieting and exercise regimes that are so unrealistic, you are setting yourself up to fail straight away. Have 3 main meals a day and include nutritious snacks between each meal too.

·         Make sure each meal contains all of the essential food groups to keep you feeling fuller for longer. Include carbohydrates (some brown rice, brown pasta, whole wheat noodles or quinoa), a good source of protein (chicken, turkey, tuna, prawns, lean mince beef, lentils or beans), some good fats (cook in some olive oil, rapeseed oil or coconut oil) and include loads of veggies for all the nutrients. Your plate should be pretty much half full with vegetables, a quarter with meat, fish or beans and a quarter with some sort of carbohydrates.

·         Eat plenty of fruit. Don’t go T-Total, when you have probably had a lot of sugar over the last few weeks. You will most probably end up getting a migraine that will leave you far from productive! Fruit still contains sugar, just in a better form so consume a few different varieties of fruit with some yoghurt and nuts as a snack throughout the day. Fruit and veg is a great way to keep us topped up on plenty of nutrients at this time of year too if you’re not taking a multivitamin.

·         Add something in, instead of taking away. Do something that you love to do every day, that will give you a bit of a feel-good factor. Go to the beach for a walk if you have access to one, go to the park with the dog, have a coffee out at your favourite café (minus the cake😊)

·         Hydrate! A lot of the time, our brain tricks us into thinking we’re hungry, but a lot of the time we’re simply dehydrated. Drink plenty of water with lemon/mint/cucumber, or herbal teas.

·         Bring snacks to work. Always always have emergency snacks with you! Bring homemade (energy balls) or shop-bought (nakd bars etc) nutritious snacks to work so that you don’t run to the vending machine for a chocolate bar to have with your coffee when you’re starting to feel the 3pm slump.

·         Get as much fresh air and exercise as possible.

 

Stick to simplicity and don’t over-complicate things.

 

Happy January!

Blog - Why This Tea Full Of Antioxidants Is Your Best Friend This Winter

Lemon, Ginger, Turmeric and Honey Tea – Your best friend right now!

 

 As the weather is starting to get colder, there’s definitely a nip in the air in the mornings and evenings, that wasn’t there before. This transition period is unfortunately a great way for a cough or cold to latch on to you and hang on for dear life, leaving us feeling lethargic and bleh. And this is why hot tea with all ‘the good stuff’ is gonna be your best friend.

Lemon- we all know lemon is an amazing source of Vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. It’ll help to fight off any colds, whilst also adding nice flavour to your homemade tea.

Ginger- I literally turn to ginger for every ailment, haha! It’s my favourite and is both a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Ginger can help to ward off sickness and also reduce swelling in your glands and muscles if you’re already feeling under the weather… you know the feeling!

Turmeric- another amazingly powerful antioxidant, helping you to fight off sickness. You’ll normally find it in your curry 😊 but you will be surprised to know it goes really well in this tea too. If you see fresh turmeric in your local supermarket- grab it (it looks like a smaller version of ginger). But if you can’t find the fresh variety, powdered will work fine also.

Honey- again, another food that’s high in antioxidants. Can you see the trend yet? So, as you can see you are gonna get a massive blast of antioxidants in just one cup of this tea, giving yourself the best possible chance of staying healthy coming into the winter. Just be careful with what honey you pick. Go for local raw honey if you can, as it won’t be processed or heat treated.

 

 It’s worth noting that adding all these ingredients to your water will encourage you to drink more too- which is essential at this time of year, as we’re all turning the heating back on, so we’re dehydrated without even knowing it. Win win!

 

 I find the best way of making this tea is in a saucepan- it helps the ingredients to infuse and you can make extra for throughout the day. Fill the saucepan with water and start bringing to the boil. Add in a generous amount of all ingredients, especially the lemon and ginger. Let it infuse for a while- then drink as desired.

 Enjoy!