5 “digestible” tips to reboot your health and wellbeing
Nutritionist, Vitasoy ambassador and chef from Good Chef Bad Chef, Zoe Bingley-Pullin, shares her expert tips on simple ways to achieve healthy digestion.
We often assess our health and wellbeing goals at the start of the year, but why not continually throughout the year! Our bodies, and our needs, can change, and it’s important to sometimes give things a little reboot.
Here are five of my favourite small changes you can make to your health and wellbeing to help you look and feel your best:
1. Snacking
Always carry around healthy “emergency” snacks: For yourself and your grandchildren! All of us can get hungry on the go, and nutritious snack options can sometimes be tricky to find. Plus when that hungry monster strikes, it’s often each to make unhealthy food choices. For the time poor, even a little pack of nuts or dried fruit is better than the packaged, processed options we frequently pick up out and about. For those who do have time to prep ahead, hard-boiled eggs, hummus and vegetable sticks or tasty homemade muesli bar or slice are all good options.
2. Water
Give your water a flavour boost to drink up: dehydration can actually increase energy slumps, make you think you’re hungry (when you’re not) and can impair detoxification. Not good for looking and feeling your best! If you’re struggling to remember to hydrate, drink 500mls of water as soon as you wake up or carry around a water bottle with fresh squeezed lemon to sip on the go.
3. Protein
Look for protein in unexpected places and include it at every meal: protein is so important; it helps you feel fuller for longer and can help boost your energy, so it’s vital to include it at every meal. So why not look beyond the usual meat and nut options? You can find protein in some pretty unexpected places: Greek yoghurt, quinoa and soy milk are all good sources of protein.
4. Beat the mid afternoon snack
Think outside the box for an energy hit, not towards sugary food and drink: we can all hit a mid-afternoon slump, but it’s important to note sugar isn’t always the answer. An easy way to pep yourself up is to take a number of deep breaths. Breathe in for a count of six, out for account of 12. Aim to do this six times. Not only will this increase oxygen flow to your brain and muscles, it also gives you a much-needed mini-meditation!
5. Make your food look tasty
Make your food look as appetising as you can: it’s totally ok to be a little superficial when it comes to food! No one wants to eat something that does not look appetising. Even something as simple as a breakfast smoothie can be amplified by adding some frozen berries, oats and using Coconut Milk (try Vitasoy’s Unsweetened Coconut Milk!) so that it looks more like a colourful dessert than ‘just another shake’. Make sure you use lots of colourful ingredients and present them so that everyone wants to finish their whole meal.
These are the personal views and recommendations of Zoe Bingley-Pullin and not Vitasoy. You should always contact an accredited health professional for specific dietary advice.
Related links:
Is organic meat and dairy really the best option?
The science behind why we eat too much
What you need to know about the latest diet trends