Easter is right around the corner which for many families means a day of Easter egg hunts, chasing kids and traditional fish for dinner. Easter is an important time in our calendar, for some it marks a very significant religious hall mark, and for others it may be time off work to spend with friends and family.
Regardless of what you do, chances are you are surrounded by chocolate eggs, hot cross buns and chocolate bunnies. Easter, like many other times of celebration, usually involves food and often “richer” or more calorie dense foods. Even at times like Easter though it is important that we still acquire essential nutrients from a variety of healthy foods.
How to eat healthy over Easter:
1)Have those Easter eggs and really enjoy them. After all it only comes around once a year.
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2) Experiment with new recipes and new food traditions. Who knows, you might come across some tasty treats you actually like such as chocolate bliss balls or healthy hot cross buns.
Preparing an Easter meal this Easter, you are likely planning to serve lamb, oily fish or ham ( if your not vegetarian). The International Advisory Committee-AICR) recommend avoiding processed meat, because it is a cause of colon cancer, however this might be a special occasion for you and your family when ham makes an appearance at your dinner table. Be sure to fill the rest of your plate with some flavoursome plant foods like vegetables, fruit , wholegrain and legumes.
We know one of cocoa’s most important qualities is the antioxidant effect. Unfortunately, most of the antioxidant effects is regrated by the addition of Saturated fatty acids (SFA) and sugar. However, if you are indulging in chocolate it is not all bad. Try and go for dark chocolate, as this chocolate has more cocoa and therefore higher contents of anti-oxidants. Regardless of the anti-oxidant content the most important aspect is to keep an eye on portion size.
A great way to make this portion feel more indulgent is to eat it mindfully. This means to sit down and eat your chocolate without doing other things. Mindful eating is a great practice to reduce over eating and also improve the pleasure of eating foods such as chocolate.
Indulge in some healthy, delicious and simple to prepare foods for your Easter festivities. We’ve got some great recipe ideas to help you put cancer prevention on your plate at each meal. If you’re serving Easter brunch at home try a “Cheesy spinach cake” to add colour and elegance to your table .
- Greek lamb with Orzo is a flavourful way to include plenty of plant foods with the Easter dinner main dish.
- For a stunning presentation and touch of sweetness is a vegetable dish, serve Roasted vegetable salad or roasted asparagus with garlic as a beautiful accompaniment.
Most important enjoy yourself … enjoy your time with family and friends and sharing of delicious foods. Constantly being anxious about food intake can do more harm in the long run.
However, the week after Easter might be a good time to focus on your health. If you want to know more about portion size, mindful eating and what is right and will work well for you please contact us to make a booking with our dietitian, Jeanne Fourie