When winter strikes, we tend to find comfort only in the seasonal starches: potatoes, apples, squashes, onions, beans and carrots. That being said, we all know a plant-based diet or any diet for that matter needs to be diverse to be healthy. Choose to commit to a few or all of the suggestions below to keep yourself and your family healthy all winter long.
1.Commit to eating (at least) one meal-sized salad each week
To make sure you are getting enough servings of fresh fruits and veggies during winter, it’s important to stick to having at least one meal-sized salad each week.
2. Commit to making one large veggie-filled soup each week
Making a huge pot of veggie soup over the weekend will save you time and excuses during the week. Having soup in a slow-cooker warm and ready-to-go when you get home, ensures you actually eat it throughout the week. Need a little sustenance? Add a veggie-filled sandwich and call it a meal.
3. Commit to eating three whole grain and assorted veggie stir-fry bowls each week
Stir-fry is quick, easy and so versatile.
4. Commit to eating one fruit salad a week
Save your fruit salad for a special Sunday morning brunch side dish or after dinner dessert.
5. Commit to eating a veggie and dip plate each week
Add a healthy and hearty dip to a plate to increase your family’s chance of eating a bunch of sliced cucumbers, broccoli crowns, carrot sticks, celery sticks, sliced mushrooms and celery when its cold. Toss in some hemp hearts or ground flax to increase your dip’s nutrient content.
6. Commit to at least one serving of raw fruits or vegetables every day
Keep your home, office and bag stocked with one or more of your favourite snack-time fruits or vegetables. Apples, carrots, celery and pears are all convenient options that travel well. You can also use raw fruits and vegetables to make complete meals like pizza.
7. Commit to adding fresh lemon or lime juice to (at least) 2 glasses of water each day
Always have a few fresh lemons or limes on hand for squeezing into your water. This adds an instant dose of vitamin C, calcium and potassium. You can also use limes or lemons to make healthy breakfast staples like lemon coconut breakfast bars.
8. Commit to adding something green and leafy to one meal each day
Whether it is a piece of lettuce in your sandwich or wrap, a parsley garnish to salsa or basil in a pasta sauce. Keeping up with your fresh greens is essential to staying healthy this winter. Greens provide us with the following health benefits: they are high in antioxidants, they help prevent illness and disease and they help improve cognitive function.
9. Commit to eating (at least) four different kinds of vegetables each day.
You may have a mixed vegetable juice in the morning, lettuce and tomato on a sabdwich at lunch and potatoes and onions with dinner. The key here is to get variety each day.
10. Commit to cooking or creating one balanced meal each day
Not all of us love to cook. However, fulfilling a commitment to yourself to get an adequate amount of health-improving fruits and vegetables is a lot easier when you take full control of your meals.
11. Commit to exercising (at least) three times a week
When you exercise, you increase your circulation and your blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of finding an illness before it spreads. This includes (but is certainly not limited to) seasonal colds and influenza.
Start your personal lifestyle journey today by registering with MiLife for N$150 per month for 24 months.
Visit www.milife.na or call +264 81 829 5111 today for more information.