Picking your plate
How to choose healthier foods
Cook with basic ingredients: This means starting with whole foods like raw vegetables and fruits, proteins and whole grains. Making food from scratch means you know what you are eating without anything else added.
Choose unprocessed foods to minimize harmful fats and other additives such as colorings or preservatives, or foods containing high salt or sugar which can be damaging to your health.
Minimise sugars and sw
eeteners: Sugar adds empty calories which means it can increase your weight without giving you any useful nutrients. Swap sugar for a healthier option such as rapadura sugar, coconut sugar, honey or maple syrup.
Healthy fats: Nuts, seeds, fish, olives and avocado are all healthier options as they contain essential fatty acids important for our mental well being promoting healthy mood, a healthy stress response and to help keep our skin glowing!
Think portion size: Enjoy a palm size portion of protein per meal – lean grass fed meat or free range chicken, eggs or legumes and a small portion of whole grain carbohydrates like wholemeal pasta and rice if having and then add a wide range of vegetables at least covering half your plate to keep your gut flora happy and to provide you with all the nutrients needed for a super you!
Add vegetables and fruit: enjoy a wide variety – Eat the rainbow! At least 3 cups of vegetables daily including leafy greens and root vegetables and 1-2 pieces of fruit. Add fresh herbs to your meal to add more Vitamin C. Herbs are packed with antioxidants and phytochemicals to help our bodies fight disease.
When you are on the go and you want to make a meal more healthy – go simple, add more vegetables – steam or make some vegetable sticks of beans, snow peas and carrots. Throw on some chopped herbs for added nutrients.
Planning and making meals ahead to freeze can take the stress out of what to prepare each day. Slow cooked meats with roasted vegetables or a salad, soups or a bolognaise packed with extra vegetables can all be made in advance.
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