100 ways to a Healthier Lifestyle #2

#2 suggestion for working towards a healthy lifestyle:

Give yourself some flaxseed!!

Flax seed is incredible, seriously!!

I swear by it. And my family as well! Even though most of the time, they are unaware that I add it to their food 😀 mwahaha

Flax seed is an amazing source of fibre and can be added to everything and anything without changing the flavour or texture of the food. “It may be tiny, but it’s mighty.” It is technically a grain, but has far larger amounts of fibre, antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids than any other grain. Flax seed is also low in carbohydrates, high in B-vitamins and magnesium.

A good way to add flax seed to your diet is to add it to foods you eat everyday. Ground flax seed can be added to oatmeal, smoothies, soup, yoghurt, curry, stews, cakes, bread, anything!

When using it in baking, substitute part of the flour with it. Aim for replacing about a quarter or a bit less, so that it doesn’t affect the taste, look or texture.

I love adding it to my breakfast as the fibre keeps me fuller for longer 🙂 and reduces the portion size needed to fill me up!

100 ways to a Healthier Lifestyle #1

I thought I’d start a string of posts related to changing to a healthy lifestyle. I know a lot of people consider what they eat to be healthy and balanced, but through my own families experience, I have realised that food we have always eaten and thought of as healthy, is not the best option for a ‘healthier’ lifestyle.

So #1 suggestion for working towards a healthy lifestyle is:

Eat more vegetables.

I know all the ‘experts’ say to eat at least 5 portions of fruit or vegetables a day, but what they don’t tell you is that is is better to eat more vegetables than fruit on a daily basis. That is down to all that fabulous sugar. Fruit, in moderation, will add to a healthy lifestyle. However, whenever we eat fruit, our blood sugar spikes, creating highs and lows, that with vegetables we don’t get. The blood sugar lows cause cravings for more sugar. The highs cause extra insulin to be produced. More insulin production, means the body starts to need more food (sugar) to break down. It ends in a not-so great cycle that could be prevented by eating more vegetables. Most vegetables contain a lot less sugar, and still lots of nutrients and minerals. Also, there is so much more choice on how to eat your vegetables! Fruit, mostly, we eat raw, whereas vegetables we can eat boiled, stir fried, roasted, raw, in a salad, in a curry, in a sauce, any way 🙂

I love my vegetables and would always choose to have more vegetables than fruit. Especially now that I am more aware of how sugar filled fruit is (and how bad it is for my teeth too!).

Oh, and by the way, tomatoes and cucumber are fruit, not vegetables 🙂 and so are olives! You learn something new every day!

Do you eat more fruit than vegetables? And how do you eat your fruit and veg? (Recipes/ways of cooking, etc)