Christmas is lots of peoples favourite time of the year – there are always so many fun parties, lots of great food and quality time with the people you love. All the fun does mean it can be a bit tricky to stay healthy though, so I thought I’d share some of my tips and tricks with you. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t go out, have a glass of champagne and enjoy the time with your friends – you absolutely should, just because you want to feel good doesn’t meant you shouldn’t have a great time. There are small things you can do to keep feeling great, rather than feeling permanently hangover and sluggish! Too many people get to January feeling bloated and tired, which means they spend the whole month trying to loose the Christmas weight and it all becomes a bit miserable. So hopefully by being a bit self aware over the Christmas period you can enjoy every moment of the fun and get to January feeling great, so you don’t have to spend the whole month feeling guilty!

1. Be Self Aware

This may sound a bit silly, but just be conscious of what you’re eating. It’s so great to enjoy yourself and tuck in to a big, beautiful meal with friends – but if you know something doesn’t make you feel good, then don’t totally overdo it, enjoy it in moderation. Likewise, we’re bombarded with food at this time of year and it’s so easy to overeat everyday, so again just be aware of how much you’re eating. Enjoy a huge feast one day, but the next maybe just skip some of the canapés and enjoy your meal without all the extras. Please don’t feel guilty about what you eat, or think that you can’t indulge and enjoy – that’s all part of the Christmas fun, but just be mindful of how you feel at the same time.

It’s Organic September this month so I thought now would be the perfect time to talk about how to eat organic food for less, so that it feels manageable for everyone! I like buying organic produce but I know it can get expensive and it’s not always available, so I don’t worry about trying to get everything organic, instead I focus on the items that contain the highest number of pesticides. To help me I use ‘the dirty dozen’ and the ‘clean fifteen,’ these two lists make my shopping feel much less daunting and it works out to be much cheaper than trying to get everything organic.

The Dirty Dozen

The dirty dozen is a list that’s published every year showing the fruit and veg that contains the most pesticides, so they’re the foods that I try and focus on when I’m shopping. It includes produce with thin skins like apples, strawberries, tomatoes, spinach, celery, cucumber, bell peppers and potatoes. So whenever possible I get these organic.

The Clean Fifteen

On the other hand you have the ‘clean fifteen’, which is the list of the fruit and veg that absorb the least pesticides, so these are the ones that I worry least about. This list includes things like avocados, pineapples, sweet potato, mangoes, asparagus, aubergine and cauliflower. Luckily I eat lots of these items, which helps to bring down the cost of my shopping.

People often ask what I snack on and I think there is a common misconception that it’s really difficult to stay healthy throughout the day, especially when you are on-the-go. Although there is some organisation and preparation involved when it comes to healthy snacking, there are so many delicious, easy recipes that are totally desk draw or handbag friendly!

I know lots of people try to avoid snacking, but if you’re hungry and the snack is full of goodness then I think it’s important to start munching on something – it’s just what you snack on that matters. If your snacks consist of high amounts of added sugar then you are more likely to experience extreme high and lows in your energy throughout the day, which isn’t great for feeling happy and balanced. Whereas if you ensure that your snacks consist of plant-based protein, fat and fibre, then this will help to control your blood sugar levels over time and your energy and mood should be way better! I tend to eat something every 3 hours or so, whether that’s a meal or a small snack – this way I don’t get an energy dip, which is great.

So what are the best snacks? When I’m at home or near a kitchen then I absolutely love mashed avocado on toast (either rye bread or a good gluten free one), medjool dates stuffed with nut butter or some crudités or roasted sweet potato wedges dipped in guacamole. However on days when I am travelling around London, I need more portable snacks that are easier to carry around with me and are completely mess free – even I wouldn’t start eating avocado toast on the tube! These types of snacks are also really great to take into work with you to have on hand when you hit that mid-afternoon slump.

Someone told me that this week was national vegetarian week so I thought we should celebrate on the blog! I love being veggie, it’s awesome and so delicious, but I know lots of people are nervous of veggie meals as there are lots of preconceptions out there that a meatless meal will be unsatisfying and bland, which I promise is absolutely not the case. That being said, I’m not trying to convince anyone to become a total veggie but I thought I’d share some tips and ideas to inspire you to try to either experiment with a couple of veggie meals (if this is a new concept for you) or to inspire the people in your life to try it!

1. Focus on Presentation

We all eat with our eyes first so it’s really important that the meal looks beautiful. Spend time putting the finished dish into a bowl or plate that really shows it off – I find pasta bowls are the best way to serve food, the shape always looks great. I also try to get as much colour into every meal too as I love to eat a rainbow. If the dish itself isn’t that colourful, like a curry or stew, then sprinkle fresh herbs over the top to add a pop of green and break up the colour.

2. Sharing is Caring

If you’re trying to introduce healthy veggie meals to friends then sharing plates can be the best way to do this. Sharing food is always so fun as it means everyone gets to try everything and it’s so much more interactive! It also means that it doesn’t matter if someone doesn’t like something as there will be lots of other delicious dishes for them to love and try, so there’s no way they’ll go home saying that they hated the food!

One of the first things people seem to think about healthy eating is that it must be really expensive. I totally understand why you might think this, but I promise it doesn’t have to be pricey. I’ve been eating this way for the last few years and I spend less now than I did before I changed my diet – it all just depends on what you buy. So to help you out, I’ve shared my top tips for eating well on a budget:

Don’t Panic Over Your First Shop

When you first change the way you eat, it may seem a bit daunting and your initial shop will probably be pretty expensive as you’ll need to stock up on your new pantry staples – tahini, almond butter, tamari, quinoa etc. However, once you’ve done this you’ll be good to go for ages and if that’s too much you can slowly build your cupboards over time rather than doing it all in one go.

Buy in Bulk

Buying ingredients in bulk may take up more space but it can save you a lot of money. There are lots of sites online that sell kilo bags of nuts, seeds, grains etc at much better prices than you’d get in a shop. Places like Amazon and wholefoodsonline are great places to get started.

Don’t Get Distracted in Health Food Shops!

If you’re anything like me you may find that you get a little overexcited in your health food store and want to buy absolutely everything you see. Of course if you pick up every raw chocolate bar or bag of kale chips in the place it will be pretty pricey! So if you want to stick to your budget it can be easier to make a shopping list beforehand and be strict with yourself – only buy what’s on the list, or make it even easier and buy it online where there’s less distraction!

Be Prepared

A little planning does wonders for saving money. As I’m always cooking and recipe testing it’s impossible for me to stick to a meal plan, however, if you know your routine then this can be a great way to reduce your food bill as you won’t buy new ingredients every day.

Iron is vital as it’s main job is to carry oxygen around the body. About 70% of your body’s iron goes into the haemoglobin in your red blood cells, which carries life-giving oxygen around your body so that your tissues and muscles have sufficient oxygen. Not getting enough iron basically means that your body can’t create enough of these healthy red-blood cells, which causes you to often feel exhausted and fatigued. This exhaustion can then affect everything from your brain function to your immune system’s ability to fight off infection, so getting enough iron is really key.

There are two types of iron: heme iron, which is readily absorbed into the body and is found in meat and fish, and non-heme iron, which is not so readily absorbed into our bodies – this type is found both in animal tissue and in vegetables and grains. If you’re a plant based eater then it’s really important to be conscious of your iron intake as the type of iron we eat isn’t as easy to absorb and we need to make sure that we have enough to prevent any kind of deficiency! Don’t worry though, the great news is that there are plenty of amazing plant-based foods that are really high in iron and these sources are all delicious. Plus vitamin C helps to promote the absorption of non-heme iron, and plant-based iron sources are often super high in vitamin C as well – so it’s a double win really!

I can’t even begin to count the number of times that people have told me that I can’t get enough calcium on a plant based diet! It seems that they think the only place to find calcium is from a cow or possibly a goat. The thing that most people don’t realise is that there are actually so many delicious sources of calcium in plants and other whole foods. Plus these sources also normally contain vitamins C and K as well as potassium and magnesium, which are all really important for overall bone health.

Calcium is the mineral that we have the most of in our bodies, with 99% of it being stored in our bones and teeth and the other 1% found in our blood and soft tissues. It is vital for not only maintaining strong and healthy bones but also for regulating the way our blood clots and managing muscle contractions, including the heart. It also reduces the tendency of fat cells to store calories. So calcium helps our hearts beat and helps us to stay looking the way we want.

Calcium from milk really isn’t as great for your bones as most of us have been brought up to believe. While the calcium content of milk is high, there have been many studies that show it in fact has several negative impacts on our bodies. Calcium from cow’s milk is really hard for our bodies to absorb, especially if it is pasteurized like most of the products you can find in a supermarket. On top of that, it can actually cause calcium loss in our bones! This is because milk causes the pH of our bodies to become acidic which triggers a natural reaction in our bodies to bring the pH of our blood back to neutral. Calcium is really good at neutralizing acidity so when we drink milk, calcium is drawn from our bones in order to rebalance the acidity it causes which can result in a calcium deficit which is anything but good for our bones!

One of the questions I get most is how can you stay healthy while you travel, so I thought with August coming up this was the perfect time to answer this question so that you can enjoy your summer holidays and feel amazing at the same time!

The answer to the question of staying healthy while you’re travelling is to be super organised – I know that’s not the most exciting answer, but with a little planning it’s pretty easy to feel amazing and travel. I have a few essentials that I take with me absolutely everywhere and they keep my energized and happy so that I can enjoy my trip!

The first thing I take is a travel blender. This may sound totally mad but honestly it’s the first thing I put in my suitcase every time I go away. I find that if I have a smoothie every morning for breakfast I can get in enough goodness that I don’t have to stress about whether I’m getting enough vitamins and minerals in my life throughout the rest of my day. When I arrive at my destination I buy some nuts, spinach, bananas and a selection of berries, mango and pineapple from a local market or supermarket and then blend them up in my travel blender for a superfood breakfast every morning. If I’m going away for more than a few days then I also take a couple of boosters with me so that I can make even better smoothies, my go-to’s are normally chia seeds and some superfood powder, either something like spirulina, chlorella or a mixed greens powder – this one from Neals Yard is a particular favourite as it really has everything in it, as are these little sachets from Organic Superblends. I also take spirulina tablets with me as they’re so easy to take everyday and they do wonders for my energy, I use these ones by Organic Burst. In terms of blenders there are two that I love – either one from Tribest or from Nutrtibullet, the nutribullet is heavier but more effective so better if you’re away for a longer period of time, whereas the tribest blender is lighter but not as strong so I take that when I’m just going for a night or two. There are links to both in my shop if you want to check them out – I’m pretty obsessed with mine, it’s totally transformed travelling!

Over the last two years I’ve had so many recently asking about the basics of healthy eating, how to start, what to eat etc so I thought I’d dedicate a blog post to it to help anyone who’s just getting started! For me there are two fundamental philosophies for healthy eating – firstly, this is absolutely not a diet and you really shouldn’t think of it as one, it’s never about deprivation or starvation but instead it’s about creating a new mindset and a new way of life. It’s about embracing all the delicious foods that you should eat and all the amazing things that you can do with them – I never count calories, you simply don’t need to if you eat this way. My other guideline is to always eat pure, clean, unprocessed, unrefined and plant-based foods. This is really important as this is what enables you to live by my first philosophy – if you only eat food that your body needs and loves then your digestive system works a million times faster and more efficiently, allowing you to easily process and breakdown everything that you put into your body. This is what gives you so much energy as there’s nothing in your body to clog it up and slow it down.

So what do you cut out? This may seem like a long list but trust me the list of all the awesome things that you’re adding in is even longer! To really thrive you should say goodbye to anything refined – white rice, white flour etc, anything with chemicals, additives and ‘flavourings’ – lots of supposedly ‘healthy’ items are full of these, any refined sugars, all meat, dairy, gluten, candy and fizzy drinks. All these things are very acidic to the body, which works best when it’s alkaline, they’re also really hard to digest which means they suck your energy and slow down your digestion.

So what should you eat? All of mother nature’s goodness! Embrace all fruits and veggies; whole grains – quinoa, brown/wild rice; all beans and legumes – chickpeas, lentils; potatoes – sweet and regular; all nuts and seeds; superfoods like cacao, goji berries, hemp, flax & chia; dried fruits etc. Almond milk makes the best dairy alternative, and actually contains more calcium, while quinoa, almond and brown rice flours make the best baking materials. Honey, dates, pure maple syrup, ripe bananas and raw agave syrup make the best replacement for sugar, and are really just as sweet and cacao makes the best chocolate recipes ever while loading you up on superfood nutrition. Dried fruits dipped in nut butter make the best candy replacements and frozen blended bananas make the perfect ice-cream substitute. There are ways of making all your favourite foods healthy, you just have to learn how. But remember with everything I’ve mentioned here that if anything contains weird additives then it’s not going to have the same awesome effect on you and non-dairy milks are a great example of this, they all contain the most bizarre ingredients. So make your own it’s the easiest thing in the world, tastes delicious and gives you more goodness than you can imagine!