Freer - Spring Eat. Nourish. Glow

Now that the frenzy of January diets and faddy New Year crazes have passed, you may have noticed an old bad habit or two slipping back in. Or perhaps you have still not quite let go of that good old Christmas binge, the odd tipple here, the odd cupcake there? Fifteen years ago, I would have been feeling exactly the same. For years I struggled with my own personal health, and Im a real foodie at heart, so sometimes resisting the indulgent treats was tricky, but I knew there must be a better way. If this is the case for you and your gym pass is still sitting where its been since you have bought it, gathering dust, I want to assure you that you are NOT ALONE and its nothing to worry about. If the many forms of deprivation the classic detox, the cleanse, the 5:2, the 4:3 or the Mo Farah style of training havent captivated you then fear not! We have 11 months left to enjoy natures scrumptious seasonal offerings and indulge ourselves with nutrients in a realistic, sustainable and compassionate way. And what better month to really love yourself than February? Whether St. Valentine showers you with romance or not, there is no better time, or way, to embark on some self-love than by eating nutritious, delicious healthy and real food.

How about we kick off with just two or three changes? Do you skip breakfast or drink too much coffee? Perhaps you start the day with good choices and a determination to succeed, but by the end of the day you are devouring ice cream? I want this new approach to be realistic, not an all or nothing, doomed to failure before you have even got going. Start slowly and just pick a couple of things that you know hold you back. By choosing fewer hurdles to jump, we all stand a better chance of making a clear run and thats what it is all about; I endorse consistency, not perfection.

Its true: health trends can be confusing and are ever changing. What I can reassure you about though is that any period embarked on being more conscious around food and cooking from scratch, gets valuable results. My goal is to undo the hijacking of your taste buds, to free your thought processes around food, to help you escape the ubiquitous fast and artificial foods and to guide you gently towards peace with food. Ultimately I want to help you find the vibrant health that I know can be achieved by eating and living naturally.

Lets use the remaining 11 months of the year to shift our food choices a few notches higher on our priority list and embrace being in our kitchens and preparing food from scratch. Instead of being extreme, rushed and short term, lets make our eating habits enjoyable, steady and long term!

Focusing on eating real, seasonal food does mean that there are some food groups that dont get a look in. But I prefer to focus on the positive, so rather than looking at this like a diet and chalking up a long list of foods to avoid, lets take a look at what is available to use at this time of year.

February may be short, it may be rainy and yes its pretty gloomy post dazzling December and virtuous January. The stretch to summer feels endless and the cold weather encourages us to seek comfort (usually in food). Its not the most inspiring month for sure and its our meekest season in terms of farmers produce, but its nature and it graciously provides us with exactly what we need, so ignore the weather! Februarys offerings are absolute nutritional gems.

(Not entirely local, but there are also organic oranges from Italy and Spain to tantalise our taste buds.)

Whats more this list is punchy and superior in terms of nutrients. Its just bursting with vitamins and minerals: vitamin B, vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium, phytonutrients, antioxidants, enzymes need I say more? A big health warning: these foods are like the Army, Air Force and Navy all rolled into one, in terms of self-defence from the onslaught of the winter months. Consumption of these ingredients may provide abundant energy, help you to cope better with stress, support a happy digestive system and make your skin glo w . You see, if we allow it to, nature will look after us well.

So thats all good but what should you be eating? Heres how to make your meals work for you and your health.

The first place to start is to ensure that your diet is predominantly plant based by having a portion of fruit and some vegetables at every meal. Fruits and vegetables are key sources of fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which all play huge important roles in our health from digestion to brain function, heart health and energy management so mix them up and have a variety of different coloured fruits and vegetables. However, this does not mean bingeing on fruit. Sugar is the new tobacco. We must minimise our sugar intake, even in the form of fruit, otherwise we are more likely to create blood sugar imbalances, crave sugar and produce elevated levels of insulin an inflammatory hormone that encourages the storage of fat.

Proteins help to slow down the release of sugar from the vegetables and fruits we eat so I encourage you to include a source of protein with each meal. I dont favour a high-protein diet. Despite the weight-loss claims, high-protein diets tend to be very limited in vegetables and fruits and hence their health protective benefits. But I do encourage a small portion of protein, which helps to keep us full for longer and our energy levels more stable. Protein provides essential amino acids, which help to build and repair muscles and tissues. Our body can make some amino acids but it cant make all of them and some vegetarian diets tend to lack these essential amino acids hence why I encourage the balance of both.

Its important that we chew the fat! For decades we have been led to believe that fats make us fat and are bad for us. Well, we now know that not all fats are created equally. There are certainly fats made in factories and used in processed foods that we must avoid, e.g. trans fats and hydrogenated fats, but natural, beneficial fats (omega-3 and omega-6) are essential for our bodies to function properly, such as avocado, nuts and seeds, oily fish, coconut and a little animal fat (if organic and humanly raised). This is why labelling on packaged, weight-loss marketed food is so misleading as they dont distinguish between these healthy fats and low-calorie, synthetic ingredients. I hope you will never buy a low-fat product ever again as it wont be low in the bad fats and will be loaded with sugar too. In my recipes you will see that I cook with coconut oil and encourage the use of some healthy fats in each meal.

With the main seasonal ingredients and some knowledge in place, I have put together a few suggestions to help you create your meals.