Spring Clean your Diet

With Spring just around the corner everyone – birds animals, plants and people – feel the urge to get moving and start nesting in preparation for new offspring.  In humans, even if they’re not planning to have babies, this seasonal urge often leads to the frenzy of activity that is spring cleaning.

While you’re cleaning your house, why not think about ‘spring cleaning’ your eating habits?

Spring cleaning your diet is the suggestion from Pam Davis, dietitian and diabetes educator at Baylor Medical Center, Garland, Texas.

While her recommendations are especially relevant for people living with diabetes, in particular Type 2 diabetes, they are also good advice for all of us.  Following Ms Davis’ steps will have us all feeling fresher, lighter and with more energy to enjoy the longer days ahead.

Five Ways to Tailor Your Diet to Spring

1 Clean it up: Now’s the time to  change over from sticky soda drinks or sugar and caffeine-laden coffee and head for something lighter. Plain water or soda water are best. Water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice is delicious and refreshing. Herbal teas make great iced tea for hot days.

2 Clean your plate and your palate: Ditch the heavy meals and cheese-topped casseroles. Look for simpler, lighter meals using lots of vegetables,  quality protein such as fish or steak and grains like brown rice, couscous, quinoa and millet.  Remember the Mediterranean diet – it’s light, healthy and delicious, and should help with losing weight.

3 Clean it out: You’ve cleaned out the garage and tossed out all the junk (or maybe that’s still on your to-do list!).  Now it’s time to clean out the fridge, freezer and pantry. Toss anything that’s old or unhealthy, that’s passed it’s ‘best before’ or ‘use by’ date.  Don’t keep frozen meat any longer than six months.  Chances are, if you haven’t used it by then, you didn’t really want it. Label and date any of yesterday’s leftovers before you freeze them for later use.

4 Plan it out: Planning your meals helps you create more variety, organize your shopping, and means you’re less likely to go for fast food.  Sit down with your recipe book or browse recipe websites for ideas for fresher, lighter meals.  Involve the kids in meal planning – they are more likely to eat  food they’ve helped to plan.  They might come up with some clever ideas, too!

5 Cut it down: Everyone goes out for meals once in a while, and eating out should always be fun. But fun doesn’t have to equal fat.  Remember that restaurant meals are generally bigger portions than you’d serve at home, and are often high in fat, sugar and sodium. Try to split a main course with someone else at your table, or order a smaller entrée.  If the restaurant offers a half portion, that’s a great option.

Enjoy the extra energy that Spring and a fresh new diet gives!

You might also be interested in reading:

Six Steps to a Healthier You

Boost Your Health with Fruit and Veg

Adopting the Mediterranean-Style Diet