love food – CLARE HOPKINS

I don’t believe in ‘cheat days’ but rather ‘treat days’.

Sounds like a small difference to most, however, in order to foster a healthy relationship with food it has been important for me to redefine what eating junk food means. This meant a slight change in perspective: rather than unhealthy meals being ‘bad’ and a ‘cheat’, I see them as a treat that provides balance amongst my healthier food choices.

Of course, Christmas is all about treats and enjoying lots of wonderful flavours.

I started off the day with a candy cane cookie (Vegan Shortbread recipe, shaped in a candy cane – my friend made them for me) and a T2 Choc Chip Chai.

Then I busied myself making a Bread & Butter Pudding. And of course, I ate half the batter as I was making it. I used Taste’s recipe for it. Despite my affinity for anything with chocolate, B&B Pudding is still my favourite dessert.

To make the B&B pudding a little more nutritious, I added two eggs (six eggs total), took out the pure cream, and substituted the cows milk for almond milk. If you want a dairy free recipe you could try coconut cream, coconut milk and Nuttelex as your cream, milk and butter substitutes.

I find it’s fun to ‘healthy-fy’ recipes where I can – it was still just as delicious, and reduced the richness of the pudding so I could enjoy other things!

Just before lunch, we had assorted cheeses (Camembert, Brie, Cheddar) with biscuits, salami slices, bread sticks, chopped veggies with avocado dip and tomato relish. These were savoured with mulled wine and champagne.

For the main meal, there was an array of dishes but I chose smoked ham, roast chicken and prawns, with a side of a quinoa, kale and roast beetroot salad that I tossed together.

What’s important with Christmas is your mindset. Don’t go crazy all day on Dec 25 and then try to restrict calories for the rest of the week – you’ll just end up having a crap holiday. Rather, listen to your body and eat until you are full, enjoy the treats you wouldn’t normally enjoy, and eat intuitively for the days after. Your body will naturally crave fewer calories after a full day of Christmas eating!

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a lovely day, whether you celebrate Christmas or not.

Summer or winter I love a smoothie. Having said that, I live in Australia, so winter isn’t that cold.

After lots of experimenting, I have created the perfect smoothie with ingredients that have different benefits for a healthy lifestyle.

You will need:

1/3 cup brewed green tea
Green tea is nature’s power drink. It’s packed with anti-oxidants and carries 0 calories. The low doses of caffeine stimulate your system, whilst increasing fat burning and preventing the chance of cancer, infections, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. If you don’t love the taste of pure green tea like myself, finding fun ways to incorporate it into your diet (like through smoothies) is the best way to go.

1/4 cup Natural Yoghurt
I love to add a small amount of creamy Jalna yoghurt to make my smoothie thicker. Go for the full-fat version to make sure your smoothie fills you up. Don’t be fooled by half-fat yoghurts – lower fat means more sugar making you hungrier and wanting more. Dairy-free alternatives I like are Cashew/Almond Yoghurt or Coconut Yoghurt.

A Handful of frozen blueberries
Blueberries are little bursts of nutrients, full of fibre and vitamins. They help prevent cancer and cholesterol issues and have also been shown to reduce the chance of heart disease.

1/2 a Banana
Banana’s are a wonderfully filling, low-calorie snack. They have numerous health benefits, but perhaps the most interesting is that they have been shown to preserve memory due to their levels of vitamin B6.

1 heaped TBSP of Chia Seeds
Chia seeds have dominated the clean eating space for as long as I can remember. No wonder… because they have so many health benefits. They have anti-ageing properties, they aid digestion and bone strength. As they can absorb 10x their weight in water, they prolong hydration and improve nutrient absorption of electrolytes.

1 TSP of acai powder
See more about the benefits of Acai Powder in my recent post.

1 cup of almond milk
I love almond milk! I do believe it’s an acquired taste, but once you learn to love it, you will be using milk that is 40% less calorie-dense than cow’s milk. However, if you are worried about developing lactose intolerance, make sure to still incorporate a moderate amount of dairy in your diet.

Tag: love food

Christmas: the Ultimate Treat Day

Green Tea Smoothie: the Yummy Way to Get Your Greens.