Updated: Dec 6, 2020
I recently received these great tips from Bernice Venter, Dietician & fellow Geneway
Practitioner and with the holidays around the corner thought they would be perfect to
share.
As we head towards the end of the year, burnout levels increase and snacking to make it
through to the end of the day is not unusual. At the same time, for many, the beach is in
sight!
If you are wondering how to optimize your food choices in order to look and feel good this
Summer, here are a few tips that may help.
1. Replace a meal by having a protein shake for lunch.
Not only are some protein shakes balanced and nutritious, they keep you full for
longer rather than refined carb-driven meals, and help you with calorie control. If
you struggle to “drink” your meal, you can have a few starch free vegetables such as
peppers, cucumber, lettuce or tomato with it (a small salad). Your protein shake
meal should be the meal you tend to over-eat on or struggle to control your calorie
intake.
2. Find some plant-based meals that you enjoy
Have these instead of meat one or two days a week. Plant based proteins eg
chickpeas, lentils or beans keep for long in the cupboard, often coming in tins or
packets. There is a great health benefit (these have anti-inflammatory properties,
reduced calories, are a good protein source) and they are more delicious than you
think. A compromise is to have half the meat portion you usually do and add a
portion of plant-based proteins to make up your protein quota for that meal e.g
instead of a full chicken breast with your salad add half a chicken breast and add
some chickpeas to make up the other half of the protein. The same concept can be
applied in pastas, stews or curries.
3. Include more vegetables in your meals.
This one is really simple. Instead of having 2 vegetable servings, have 3, and a
smaller portion of meat. Find some recipes for vegetables that you enjoy. Vegetables
are very affordable (you can even opt for the frozen ones) and offer wonderful
health benefits as they are packed with anti-oxidants, vitamins and fibre. Vegetarian
cooking is all the rage at the moment so there are plenty of vegetarian recipes
online.
4. Pre-cut mixed vegetable packs are usually cheaper than buying each vegetable
individually.
The stir-fry and soup packs that are available give great variety with plenty of
nutrients, plus they are a huge time saver with everything already cut. Check the
prices and you will be surprised. This will especially be beneficial for small families,
couples or if you live alone.
5. Avoid buying cold drinks and sugary drinks.
These are unnecessary sugar, and offers empty calories in your diet. Make your own
ice teas. Create your own water flavours with ice, lemon, apple slices or even herbs.
Water is key!
6. Don’t buy things that you would never have bought before.
Try and stick to your normal habits as much as possible. Don’t buy any unnecessary
food or snacks. Remember, if you don’t have it, you can’t eat it.
7. Make full, nutritious meals so that you don’t constantly feel hungry and want to
snack all the time.
Rather spend time making a proper, nutrient-dense meal that is high in protein,
vegetables and even fibre. High protein and high fibre meals will improve your
satiety and help you feel fuller for longer. Don’t spend too much time on making
interesting snacks as these can easily become a full meal and lead to over-eating.
8. Make your own breakfast cereals
An easy option is by soaking oats & grated apple in milk over-night. Overnight oats is
a great alternative and requires no cooking. (You save a huge amount of electricity
by not having to cook it).
You can also make your own muesli by mixing together some bran flakes, raw oats,
cranberries, nuts and seeds and a hint of granola. Cranberries offer fibre and that
hint of sugar to your cereal so you don’t need to add honey or sugar.
9. Make use of left overs
Depending on the size of your family, making use of leftovers can minimize wastage.
Use left over proteins for lunch, blend fruits into a smoothie for breakfast or as a
snack drink. Freeze over-ripened fruit and bake with it (eg banana bread). You can
treat this one as a MasterChef mystery box challenge.
10. Food choices are always important
Remember to ask yourself am I making the most of this meal? Does this give me all
the nutrients I need? How can I prevent myself from over-eating? Is there a variety
of foods on my plate? Think before you eat, always.
Optiway is a food intolerance test that helps you optimize your dietary choices, and plan
your eating according to your body’s unique nutritional needs.
For more information go to
https://www.optiway.co.za/. For more DNA testing information visit www.geneway.co.za .
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