First Step into a Healthier Diet

Ok, so you want to eat healthier. Now what? So many things to learn and to incorporate into your lifestyle. Who’s advice should you listen to? What diet should you adopt? How to determine which food-style suit your needs in a way that will enhance the probability of you sticking to it without completely falling off the wagon later down the track?

Some people can change their entire lifestyle overnight, after reading a book, watching a documentary, or even after listening to a radio interview (See Matt Amsden). However, for most of us, if we want to make long lasting, sustainable changes, the best approach is to take it very slowly. Transition gradually into what would be your ideal diet.

There are many considerations to be taken. For me one of the biggest difficulties is letting go of emotional attachment to food. Mainly, eating to suppress some feelings such as frustration, disappointment, or plain loneliness. For others it might be a social challenge to join family and friends when they are eating food that is completely different to what one has set himself to eat. Not to mention the temptation that you encounter if you’re sharing a household with others that still eat all that food you don’t want to…

So here’s my advice. Only change one tiny thing at a time. Take a small step, and see if it makes you feel better. See if it’s sustainable. Stay with it until you feel comfortable to take the next step.

My recommendation for the first step is: GREEN SMOOTHIES!

Try to incorporate one green smoothie a day.

Basically, a green smoothie is a blend of sweet fruit with some green leafy vegetables.

Simply put all in a blender, add enough water to get your preferred consistency, blend until it’s completely smooth (no green bits and pieces please!) and then pour into a glass and drink.

Why Green Smoothies?

First of all – it’s easy! Very quick to make, no special equipment needed (most people have some sort of a blender at home), you can take it with you in a bottle if you’re in a hurry, and you don’t have to change anything in your lifestyle or eating patterns or habits.

Probably best to start your day with it, so have it before your breakfast. Or as a mid-morning snack.

Second reason – it’s REALLY healthy. Green leafy vegetables are loaded with healthy nutrients, however most of us don’t like their taste and we don’t eat that much of them. Or we cook them so they loose a lot of their nutritional values.

When blended with sweet fruit, their flavour is hardly noticeable, and although the colour of the smoothie might be a bit “unfashionable” to say the least, most people like how they taste like.

I’m usually keeping my green smoothies fairly simple so it takes me just a couple of minutes to prepare.

Here are two of my favourites –

Banana & Spinach: 2 ripe bananas mixed with a few spinach leaves, 1 cup of water and a few ice cubes.

Pear & Mint: 2 pears with a handful of mint leaves, 1-2 dates and 1 cup of water.

If you’re a green smoothies newbie, I suggest you start with only a small amount of greens, and add more greens gradually. It’s crucial to your success that you enjoy how they taste like!

The texture of a smoothie made out of frozen fruit is a bit more exciting, so another suggestion is to freeze some ripe bananas (make sure you peel them first! And it’s also a good idea to cut them in half); and soft pears, and use these for your smoothies.

Try and have this every day, and remember, you don’t really have to change anything else in your diet – unless you really feel like it!

Try your own combination of fruit and greens – and tell me what’s your favourite. If I like your suggestion, I might just serve it in the café… ;)

You can read some more about 'em HERE.

Comments

[Michelle]

Do you make smoothies with lettuce?