How to Have a Healthy Easter....Chocolate Included!
Every year I see posts on healthy ideas for Easter – I am drawn to them, it is my work after all, but do you know what….sometimes we want to have our cake and eat it too…or in this case the egg/hot-cross bun/Easter chocolate goodness thing….So here are some tips and tricks so you can have an easy, healthy Easter – chocolate included.
Plan your treats – In a world where there is no shortage of Easter temptations you need to be one smarter – they will call your name, even more so if you are sleep deprived and have cranky children (are we ever not sleep deprived with cranky children...?). So plan ahead, aim to have one treat a day and that is it. The less you buy and have in the house the easier this will be for you! You will be surprised and how in control you feel when you plan for this.
Timing is everything – The hard thing about Easter is that your treats often come in the morning which is the hardest time to have a treat as you have the rest of the day to battle your blood sugars – if you can save your treat to the end of the day it will make things a lot easier.
Home Baking – Days at home are a great chance to get in the kitchen, and I always believe that nothing can beat homemade baking, especially at special occasions. You can check out my sugar-free hot cross bun recipe but any baking will be fun and spread that good homely feel!
Enjoy your treats - Try and not just stuff a chocolate egg in your mouth while simultaneously stacking the dishwasher and holding off a toddler from getting a sharp knife. Sit down, make a make a cup of coffee (even if you only drink half of it) and savour your treat.
Quality Chocolate – Not all chocolate is made equal! The darker the chocolate the more natural the product and the less added sugar. If you can go for a good quality chocolate and the darker the better! I also have a really yummy (and healthy) homemade chocolate recipe here.
Schedule some activity – Movement will do wonder for your sanity and release good happy hormones (notice I said movement not exercise!). Try and include some each day and it will help to distract you from treat inside the house!.
Family food - Holidays are all about coming together with friends and family. Easter is a great excuse to try out a new recipe and/or celebrate with good wholesome food that everyone will enjoy as at the end of the day this is ultimately what a holiday is all about. We will be having our family lamb roast in my new cook book more ideas in there for you too!
Simple Easter food - remember that even with healthy food you can still make a lot of Easter looking options! This is half the fun I think. Like these Easter tasting pots. All you need is humus, baby carrots and parsley! (Vlog coming)
Lose the guilt – Easter is 4 days at most, if you do have an extra Easter egg or that 2nd…3rd hot cross bun it’s ok. Just lose the guilt! What will do you the most damage is to punish yourself for days and weeks after feeling guilty and eating more bad food. We have enough guilt has mums to process let’s not add Easter to that!!
Happy Easter,
xxx Dr Julie Bhosale
Plan your treats – In a world where there is no shortage of Easter temptations you need to be one smarter – they will call your name, even more so if you are sleep deprived and have cranky children (are we ever not sleep deprived with cranky children...?). So plan ahead, aim to have one treat a day and that is it. The less you buy and have in the house the easier this will be for you! You will be surprised and how in control you feel when you plan for this.
Timing is everything – The hard thing about Easter is that your treats often come in the morning which is the hardest time to have a treat as you have the rest of the day to battle your blood sugars – if you can save your treat to the end of the day it will make things a lot easier.
Home Baking – Days at home are a great chance to get in the kitchen, and I always believe that nothing can beat homemade baking, especially at special occasions. You can check out my sugar-free hot cross bun recipe but any baking will be fun and spread that good homely feel!
Enjoy your treats - Try and not just stuff a chocolate egg in your mouth while simultaneously stacking the dishwasher and holding off a toddler from getting a sharp knife. Sit down, make a make a cup of coffee (even if you only drink half of it) and savour your treat.
Quality Chocolate – Not all chocolate is made equal! The darker the chocolate the more natural the product and the less added sugar. If you can go for a good quality chocolate and the darker the better! I also have a really yummy (and healthy) homemade chocolate recipe here.
Schedule some activity – Movement will do wonder for your sanity and release good happy hormones (notice I said movement not exercise!). Try and include some each day and it will help to distract you from treat inside the house!.
Family food - Holidays are all about coming together with friends and family. Easter is a great excuse to try out a new recipe and/or celebrate with good wholesome food that everyone will enjoy as at the end of the day this is ultimately what a holiday is all about. We will be having our family lamb roast in my new cook book more ideas in there for you too!
Simple Easter food - remember that even with healthy food you can still make a lot of Easter looking options! This is half the fun I think. Like these Easter tasting pots. All you need is humus, baby carrots and parsley! (Vlog coming)
Lose the guilt – Easter is 4 days at most, if you do have an extra Easter egg or that 2nd…3rd hot cross bun it’s ok. Just lose the guilt! What will do you the most damage is to punish yourself for days and weeks after feeling guilty and eating more bad food. We have enough guilt has mums to process let’s not add Easter to that!!
Happy Easter,
xxx Dr Julie Bhosale