Hi there!
I wanted to share some tips to go: Back to Basics nutrition.
You know when you feel a little heavy like you just had too much alcohol or processed foods or takeaways and you want to take it easy on your hard-working digestive system?
Yes, that time of the year.
So I piled few tips I learned throughout the years to give you support on how to go back to basics, eating simpler, quicker, better, more nourishing and super satisfying.
Here we go!
- no packaged foods. simply enough, use the natural food packaging which is normally the veggies and fruit peel. this means that you are not consuming anything covered in plastic.
- ditch the sugary drinks. the extra sugars in any sugary drinks just add calories that you won’t need and burden your digestion. we are talking sodas but also fruit juices. very easy to buy sugar-loaded juices whilst thinking they are a good option. I also suggest limiting alcohol.
- drink 8 glasses of water a day. whether it’s a herbal tea, warm water with lemon or acv, or just plain filtered water just aim for more water. I like to divide the hours in my day in bits, like a cake, and I think that from 9 to 12 I have to drink 2 glasses of water. then from 2 to 4 another 2. It’s easy to get to a decent amount doing so!
- have 80% of whole food products. apart from supporting your local farmers market, this means to shop at a bulk food store and stock up on legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds and the little bits like dried fruits and olive oil/butter. simple but with variety and options.
- no refined foods. no refined flours or sugars, either in recipes or on their own like white flour in pasta/pizza or sugar in coffee. could also be a good time to have a break from pastry products, for as much as delish they are, they are extra sweet and keeping it basic means little process involved in food preparing. pastries can be quite a lengthy process.
- eat 80% home-cooked / prepared. keep it simple and try and empty completely your fridge week by week. in this way, you know your fresh produce has all been consumed and there is no waste.
- snack on fruits nuts and seeds. no explanation needed? but make sure when you are out and about you always carry with you a little container either with boiled eggs, sliced fruits, celery sticks, carrot, almonds, walnuts, 85% dark chocolate, berries, avocado etc.. you want to snack on the good food and avoid to drop a ton of sugar in your guts!
- load up on vegetables, min 3 per meal. fibre helps to eliminate toxic substances, so you want to make sure you have plenty at every meal. here are some good combos: broccoli + pumpkin + red bell peppers, cauli + asparagus + sweet potatoes, fennel + zucchini+carrots and so on…
Finally, needless to say, follow the seasons. You can’t go wrong with that!
Eating mindfully is the best thing we can do for our health, instead of eating in the car on the way between work commitments or swallow a cold piece of chicken on the way to the gym.
Sitting down, looking at our food and get the phone or tv away.
Put down the fork after each bite.
These tips make such a difference in your digestion!
Finally, ditch the diet. I am not a fan of the undernourished diets that leave starving and with all sorts of cravings. Food has to be enjoyed, balanced and tailored to everyone single needs. There is no one diet that fits all, no rule, no magic foods, no magic wand. There is the amazing bio-individuality that makes us the unique human being that we are.
I hope you enjoyed this and got some inspo! If you did I would love to know <3
Maddy x