It’s hard work fulfilling a career while keeping ourselves and loved ones healthy, happy and satisfied. But difficult doesn’t mean impossible so we're excited to share three favourite and easy tips to keep us smiling.
Our guest post comes from Ann Phan, founder of Naturely Shop - a marketplace for organic food, natural and eco-friendly products. Her interest in organic and healthy products started when her daughter got severe eczema. Ann helped her daughter to overcome the eczema by using natural creams, toxin-free products and eating healthier. She built Naturely Shop to help other busy women to easily find organic and healthy products online, in one place.
Tip 1: Eat More Real Food and Choose Organic
It’s true, you are what you eat, and let me reassure you that healthy eating neither means starving yourself or forcing yourself (or family) to eat anything that you don’t want. Here are some simple tips to make meals healthy and delicious.
Switch to Real Food: What is real food? According to science, real food means choosing foods that humans have access to throughout evolution. In simpler terms, processed, unnatural foods with artificial chemicals should be avoided. Feeling confused? Don’t worry, simply switch out certain items in your pantry or fridge for healthier alternatives.
Here's how:
Treat you (and family) with fresh whole fruits instead of fruit juice coming from those carton boxes.
Replace sliced white bread with a whole-grain wrap for lunchtimes.
Choose unprocessed beef, pork, chicken or fish as the main source of protein instead of cold cuts.
Tame those cravings for sweet things with dried fruits and nuts instead of ice cream or cookies.
Choose a healthy drink instead of your regular coffees or soft drinks. For example, you can take coconut water, kombucha or carob drink.
Choose Organic: Walk into almost any supermarket and you’ll see a whole section devoted to organic food. As much as I want to integrate lots of organic ingredients into my diet, I simply can’t afford to go for all-things-organic. So how do we draw the line?
I often use this “Dirty Dozen List” as a guide to buy organics selectively as this list highlights foods with the most pesticide residues. You might want to check this out and keep it in mind for your next grocery shop.
Tip 2: Cook At Home More And prioritise Mealtimes
As I become more aware of the importance of having a healthy diet, home-cooked meals definitely sound more appealing. I can have total control over the portion size and the ingredients.
According to a study by a team of Dutch and Canadian psychologists, the simple act of eating a meal together may be all it takes to bring you and your partner to an emotionally better place.
There is also research that suggests the more times teens sit down for a family meal every week, the more likely they are to have high-quality relationships with their parents.
If you aren’t a great home cook yet, don’t worry! Read on for some great tips to help you get started on your journey towards healthy cooking.
Adopt the Healthy Eating Plate: This is where I started learning about how to create healthy, balanced meals based on what nutrition experts at Harvard School of Public Health recommend. Basically, you just have to remember that vegetables and fruits should account for ½ of the plate, whole grains should contribute to ¼ of the plate and healthy protein represents the remaining ¼ of the plate.
Take your own lunch at least once a week: If you're just starting out, simply spread a few spoonfuls of hummus on a whole-meal wrap, pile in some left-over roasted chicken, a few slices of cucumber and some finely shredded parsley. Pack the wrap together with your favourite fruits and a healthy lunch is done in no time.
Need some great containers to pack your nutritious lunch? We have some reusable containers for all the family.
Tip 3: Opt for Chemical-Free And Toxin-Free Household Products
Have you ever looked at those warning signs on your cleaning products? Warning! Flammable! Toxic! Just by looking at these signs, you know they aren’t really safe. So how about switching to safer products that are simple, eco-friendly and easy on your wallet?
Below are some simple ideas for all of our DIY queens. I personally use these formulae at home so I can ensure that all ingredients are safe for my family.
Not a fan of DIY stuff? That’s not an issue because green cleaning products are now readily available (examples here). So don’t forget to check them out for your next clean.
I hope these tips will inspire you to try out some new ideas to keep you and your loved ones healthy, happy and satisfied.
Our guest post comes from Ann Phan, founder of Naturely Shop - a marketplace for organic food, natural and eco-friendly products.
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