The mornings are lighter, it’s not dark on your 4pm snack run, and you haven’t had to wear your scarf for weeks. Hello, summer’s coming! Okay, okay, it’s a little while off yet but there’s not doubt we’re shaking off winter and fast approaching bare leg climes. Then before you know it, it will be festival season and time for string bikinis on the beach.
As excited as we are (and heck, we definitely are!), we’re wildly aware that since the second week of January (when our good intentions to be healthy wore off), we haven’t been all that good, instead numbing the pain of the cold weather with extra thick, delicious hot chocolates and wholeheartedly embracing the arrival of Creme Eggs with a 2-a-day habit.
Now, we’re not about to promote fad diets or compulsive sessions in the gym — not at all — but we are saying there are some simple, subtle day-to-day changes that we’re backing and swearing by from here ‘til the beach, because these health hacks will go a long way to get you back in summer body shape. Small changes, big results — that’s the mantra we’re using.
Limit your carbs
Hemsley+Hemsley and Delicious Ella are big fans and we are too. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: we love the spiralizer. Turn carrots, courgettes, you name it in to ‘noodles’ for a carb-free but just as satisfying meal. A dinner we’ll be serving a lot this spring is veggie bolognaise with courgettes noodles and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
**Swap your snacks **
Going on a health kick doesn’t have to mean saying no to all of your favourite things. We love crisps and there’s no chance we’re giving them up until summer just because we’re thinking about the beach, but we can choose our packet more wisely. Try Soffles, all-natural pitta chips that are made from pitta bread rather than potatoes and are baked not fried. They’re chunkier and far more satisfying than your regulr packet of crisps, lower fat, and come in delicious flavours such as rosemary and thyme.
**Go meat free! (for a week…) **
Meat Free Week is coming and you should get involved! From 23rd-29th March, top chefs including Jamie Oliver, Bill Granger, Thomasina Miers and Mark Hix are pushing for the whole nation to go veggie for a week. Australia introduced the concept where it was hugely popular, raising awareness of the amount of meat we eat and the impact this has on human health, the welfare of farm animals and the environment. Britons eat more than double the world average of meat consumption (41.9kg per person) and not enough fruit and vegetables. High consumption of red and processed meat brings health risks in the form of colon cancer and Type 2 Diabetes.
Sign up to Meat Free Week, raise money for charity and reap the benefits of all those extra veggies!
** Swap the sugar**
There’s been much recent research highlighting the health benefits of dates, which include curbing high blood pressure, boosting immune system and even fighting off cancer, hence we should be eating them all year round not just at Christmas. Belovedis a brand new health food range, which is all about the high-fibre, low GI fruit. Try swapping your regular cereal for the Date Muesli, or curb 4pm stomach pangs with a Date Granola Bar. Our favourite product is the Date Nectar, which we’ve been using instead of sugar or syrup in everything from cooking to coffee.
Switch takeaways for healthier options
Think less takeaways, more meals in — and they don’t have to be boring. If you like chips on a Friday night, have chips on a Friday night, but instead of the greasy oil-laden ones you get from the chippie at the top of the road, make your own instead. Tefal’s brand new ActiFry Express XL is amazing and makes the best chips — über low-fat ones — in minutes. And not just chips; the stirring paddle means it’s great for healthy risottos and casseroles filled with goodness too. The quickest low-fat fryer on the market, with this you can be dunking your (healthy!) chips in ketchup before you’ve even had time to dial the takeaway number.
Use your muscles!
Finally, if you’re looking to shape up for summer, remember it’s not all about your food intake but exercise too. Get. Out. More. Stand up from your desk more, take the stairs, delete Uber and walk places instead, do 20 crunches whilst you’re watching Eastenders, sign up for Zumba classes or get a swimming pool membership. We’re not saying overdo it, we’re not saying hit the gym every day, we’re just saying good diet + exercise = results.