Phoenix Community Stores

New Year, New You!

 

We are happy to share some tips for making small changes to your diet and daily routine, which if practised with consistency over time could form new habits towards a healthier you for 2016!

 

  • Start the day in your favour

Before you hit the coffee and get caught up in who needs what when, drink two large glasses of water. As local Personal Trainer Dave Powney says “warm water can be easier to drink first thing: it will hydrate you, boost your metabolism, reduce stomach acidity and keep you regular.”

Dave also advises to eat a protein and fat based breakfast most days of the week helping continue the body’s natural overnight fat burning process. One of his personal favourites is an omelette, using a couple of free range eggs and a variety of seasonal vegetable ingredients, such as broccoli, green beans, kale, onions, then topped with half an avocado and feta cheese

 

  •  Keep drinking water

Some like to sip from a sports bottle throughout the day.  For others it works to get in the habit of drinking a large glass of water at certain points during the days, like before you eat, before you go to bed, and with your cup of tea or coffee.

Susan Gault, DNMed Elgin based Practitioner of Nutritional Medicine advises that “our bodies are made up of 70% water and so this vital element is important to the health of every cell to help support life and cleanse the body of toxins. Inadequate levels of pure water in the body will lead to an acid environment and dehydration to the cells of the body resulting in stress, headaches and low energy and constipation, so aim to drink 2 litres of water throughout the day as well as any tea or coffee”.

 

  • Watch your portion size

Susan also advises to “eat small balanced and regular meals to maintain blood sugar levels, as large amounts of food over-stress the digestive system”.  This can generally be achieved by reducing the amount of carbohydrates you eat and increasing the amount of vegetables and pulses included in your meals.

You can also try to alternate the carbohydrates in your diet; there are so many delicious innovations in crackers, cakes, breads and pastas available which are produced from grains which have a higher protein content or additional nutritional benefits to those of our traditional wheat.  As such, you will generally find that you need to eat fewer of these carbs to feel satisfied.  Visit our shop for buckwheat pasta, red lentil pasta, chickpea pasta, and spelt pasta with spirulina.

Another idea is to make the most of the abundant green leafy vegetables that we have growing in the area, to slice them into most dishes.  We recommend frying onions and bell peppers with thinly sliced curly kale adding some turmeric, paprika, salt and pepper for taste then, stirring in a tin of Whole Foods Baked Beans and adding a cup of home boiled lentils for extra protein.  Served with delicious amaranth crackers, and ground flaxseed and Engevita nutritional yeast sprinkled on top.

We look forward to welcoming you at the shop!

 

With special thanks to Dave Powney and Susan Gault for their contributions

 

Personal Trainer Dave Powney

Tel: 07738 176381

www.powneypt.co.uk

 

Practitioner of Nutritional Medicine Susan Gault DNMed

Tel: 01343 549849
Yell.com Nutritionists and Dieticians in Moray