Opting to start with small changes could be the key to a successful route to better health this New Year, says Barbora Ormerod of The Devilled Egg…
Every January many of us feel inspired to change; to do things better this year. Unfortunately, this great attitude and mindset often fizzles out after a matter of weeks because we try to change too much, too soon.
Taking care of your body is always a good idea, but sudden and drastic changes to your eating habits and exercise routine can do more harm than good. Starting small is a better idea. For a start, it’s only natural that in the cold and wet of January our bodies crave comforting food, not cold juice or diet shakes. Adding a green juice to your existing daily diet is a great start, but switching abruptly to raw food after years of regular meat consumption will only upset the system and create a negative experience, which is why most diets fail. So at the beginning of the year, don’t focus on cutting things out altogether, but on adding more good things to your diet like fresh vegetables, whole grains, legumes, oily fish and fruits. Small, lasting improvements are much more effective than brief periods of abstinence.
Another positive step is to reduce your intake of processed foods; pretty much anything with an extensive list of ingredients and preservatives on the packet. Just don’t go there. Also, not every meal needs to have meat in it (in fact they probably shouldn’t) and eating less meat means you can buy better quality stuff. Farm shops and delivery box schemes make it very easy to find ecologically and ethically responsible produce.
One of the best general changes you can make is to cook more from scratch, because it raises your engagement with food and nutrition. It’s normal to feel like you’re too busy to cook, so just start small and take advantage of your freezer. Cook up soups, stews or other big batches at the weekend and freeze them in portions. The results are generally much healthier, cheaper and tastier than the factory-made equivalents. You can freeze pre-chopped vegetables to turn dinner preparation into a breeze – just stick them in a bag and grab them when you need them. Freezers are perfect for this, yet we often fill them up with frozen meat and ready meals instead of lovely home-cooked stuff.
All of this sounds great in theory, but it’s the busy mid-week period that usually kills our new year’s optimism. We should just accept that we’re bound to get tired and lazy sometimes, and make things easy for ourselves during the week. For example, stir fry is simple, delicious and can be on the table within 15 minutes; a healthy risotto or speltotto in 30 minutes; and a piece of grilled fish with a green salad in 20 minutes. Find a technique that works for you and create variations on that theme. Your cookery skills will inevitably improve.
And if you’re finding your healthy meals a bit bland, there’s usually a way to fix them without adding bacon or butter! Try making a really tasty dressing (three parts oil per part vinegar, plus herbs and spices) and keep it in a lidded jar to liven up all sorts of dishes. Making your own pesto is also extremely easy if you have a blender (spinach and/or rocket, plus nuts and oil) and will instantly turn a plate of pasta or grains into a tasty, healthy treat. It’s all about thinking ahead and cutting a few corners without sacrificing flavour or nutritional value, and there are countless tricks out there for those of us who really want to do things better.
Puy lentil, carrot and halloumi salad
Serves 2
-
- 250g cooked puy lentils
- 200g halloumi, cubed
- 1 bunch of small carrots
- 2 tbsp of honey
- 1 tsp of white miso
- Half a tsp of dried thyme
- Pinch of dried chilli powder (or more)
- 1 tbsp of garlic oil
- Large handful of pecans
- Large handful of chopped parsley
- Preheat the oven to 200C / Gas 6.
- In a baking dish, combine all the ingredients apart from the lentils, parsley and pecans.
- Bake for 20 minutes until starting to turn golden brown.
- Carefully add the lentils (the baking dish will be hot).
- Decorate with the pecans and parsley.
- Enjoy!