Healthy Eating Habits to Adopt This Spring

A new season brings with it new opportunities and possibilities, so why not use it to adopt healthier habits when it comes to food and healthy eating? There are many ways in which you can eat mindfully that doesn't mean restricting your current diet or denying yourself certain foods or even entire food groups. Some of these things will also help to cut your carbon footprint, so there are multiple benefits when it comes to adopting healthy eating habits this spring!

Grow-your-own fruit & veg

This is great for your tummy, bank balance and also the environment. Forget the days of driving to the supermarket for fresh fruit and vegetables, you'll simply be able to walk outside to be greeted by a whole host of newly-grown produce, all available for you to pick and consume. Not only that, but they won't be covered in harmful pesticides like they would had they been commercially grown. You'll also save a lot of money by growing your own fruit and veg, avoiding over-priced produce at the supermarkets.

If you don't want to, or you simply can't grow your own fruit and vegetables, then get yourself down to a local, independent farm shop - they'll be able to provide you with more than an iceberg lettuce and a few apples. The produce they grow is generally much bigger than the supermarket alternatives. Not only that, but you'll also be able to buy:

• Freshly baked bread, cakes, pastries and pasties
• Local cheeses and other dairy products
• Fresh bottles of fruit juice, including orange and apple
• Locally-sourced meats, both raw and cooked
• Crisps, nuts and other dried goods from local, independent businesses
• Locally sourced, brewed and distilled spirits, wines, ciders, beers and liqueurs 

Eat everything in moderation

This is pretty much something that should be done all year round, but it can be a difficult thing to keep up, especially over the Christmas and New Year period. Hence why this is something to adopt in the spring, after three or four months of eating our weight in chocolate and cheese, basically. But essentially, you should still be able to enjoy eating chocolate and cheese, but you should also balance this out with healthier snacks and meals, making for a varied diet.

Here are a few tips for eating food in moderation:

• Don't regard certain foods or food types as being off-limits
• Consider plating up smaller portion sizes
• Take your time when eating your meals
• Eat with other people, if you can
• Change up the foods you tend to snack on (e.g. if you have a chocolate biscuit as a snack one day, then choose to snack on an apple the next)
• Try to refrain from emotional eating

Spruce up your go-to, hearty winter meals

We tend to, often sub-consciously, prepare our meals in accordance with what the weather is doing. If it's cold outside, we'll opt for a heart stew or a warming casserole, but if the sun is shining on a hot, summer's day, then we go for salads and tapas. 

Try and find some middle ground when it comes to the transitional period from winter to spring. Instead of a meaty casserole, go for a roasted vegetable dish, or instead of a warming cottage pie, try your hand at a light mushroom risotto. 

See food as more than just fuel for the body

Have fun when it comes to food, don't just eat bowls of kale because it's leafy, green and carb-less - you might as well just eat a bag of air in that case. Learn to enjoy preparing, cooking and eating your food and then you'll build a much better relationship with it. 

Look into the different things you can do with certain ingredients and how they come together to create delicious concoctions and combinations. Whether that's trying a new, homemade salad dressing or baking a homemade quiche for the first time, just have fun when it comes making and consuming your food.

Opt for more veggie dishes

Going veggie for a few nights a week is a great way of getting more of your five-a-day without even knowing it. Cutting down on meat consumption is also better for the environment and your back pocket as you won't be spending £5-plus a week for a tray of chicken every month, which is a £20 saving. Cutting down on the amount of meat you eat will also help your gut to move more efficiently and effectively deal with the food you've eaten.

***

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Let me know if there are any healthy eating habits you typically adopt around this time of year in the comments below. I'll see you again really soon with a brand new blog post :)

***

WHERE TO FIND ME

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

'Like' Us On Facebook!

PREVIOUS BLOG POST

5 Tips for Becoming a Morning Runner

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Disclaimer