Healthy Snacking & What I Eat
I don’t know about you, but I seem to have spent an unhealthy amount of time this last week looking at my BBC Weather app, it never lets me down but sadly there seems to be a distinct lack of Suns. The upside of course is I get a little more done indoors and this week’s task was writing up my thoughts on food for a book I’m writing called ‘How to Age Well’ And yes, what you put into your mouth has everything to do with it – you can’t run a Ferrari on 2 stroke!
I’ve never been on a diet as such, but over the years naturally become more interested in the source of my food, conscious about what I eat and what I should keep away from. I can’t tell you the number of meals I’ve sat down to and someone has piped up “I’m on Keto” “Thought I’d try Macrobiotic” “I’ve gone Paleo” “I’m Plant-Based” “I’m Juicing so brought my own” Yes, that’s actually happened. But if you trawl through these eating fads, look at the essence of them, and remove labels you come down to a very simple way of eating that’s healthy and doesn’t deny you any of life’s treats and it’s this:
Eat whole foods. These are foods you can see in their original form and for, your pleasure and nourishment, have hardly been tampered with. So remove from your life as many processed foods as you can. A friend of mine Susie Cornell who’s battled the ravages of MS for years says “If it’s in a packet with lots of writing put it down” I keep my diet varied and to the best of my ability seasonal, if there is an organic choice that isn’t going to bust my budget, I take it. I am not a vegetarian or anti-dairy I don’t eat meat or dairy in abundance. I try my hardest to keep away from ‘The Killer White Stuff’, bread, pasta, rice, sugar. I honestly love them all, but if I have any one of them it’s a huge treat and maybe that’s the word we’ve all forgotten ‘Treat’. I love red wine or a small gin and slimline tonic – they are my tipples of choice. FYI a Pinot Noir packs an antioxidant punch but has a much lower sugar content than full-body reds so we could say positively healthy! As for white wines and prosecco, I think of them as a glass of sugar and if on a sunny day the Rosé comes out, I make one glass into 2 by adding sparkling water and a few cubes of ice and still enjoy it. In my kitchen, car, and suitcase when traveling there is always a vessel with literally a cocktail of nuts in. These are my friends, a small handful will very quickly remove what could be an unhealthy desire (unless it’s the shoe buying one – no nut in the world can stop that one). I totally believe in the science of good gut health. Please, if you haven’t already, research this because our gut microorganisms play a vital role in digesting the food we eat, absorbing nutrients and even controlling our mental health so they get my full attention. I could go on but thankfully this week’s magazine is packed with more amazing advice so I’m making a mint tea and am about to sit back and enjoy reading it.
Love,
Anthea X
Article originally from My Weekly!