The holidays have come and gone, and if you’re like many people, you might have resolved to get back in shape and lose some weight.

What’s the best way to do so without punishing yourself? Here are eight tips for a healthy post-holiday diet and exercise routine.

1. Invest in Quality Food Storage

What’s sadder than tossing soggy strawberries before you get to savor the sweetness? Quality food storage containers may seem like a luxury if you’re on a budget, but they save you money in the long run by preserving what you buy at the store. If you have a bit extra, gadgets like vacuum sealers and dehydrators can help you keep garden goodies longer.

2. Learn to Meal-Prep

Fast food sings a sweet siren song when your day is long and you’re exhausted and famished. Meal prepping helps you stick to your resolution to ban junk.

It’s much more efficient to cook once per week and portion freezer meals that you can pop in the slow cooker when you get home. You’ll save money and time once you master the knack.

3. Ban the Bottle

You can’t do much worse than consuming alcohol when it comes to sucking down empty calories. What’s worse is your body prioritizes metabolizing this substance before the food you eat. Do you know how you crave a huge, fattening breakfast the night after overindulging? That’s partially because your body didn’t absorb enough vital nutrients while processing what you drank.

Excess alcohol consumption can also cause blood sugar woes. If you can’t abstain, stick to the recommended portions of one drink per day for women, two for men.

 4. Make Your Plate a Clock

Many Americans fail to get their recommended intake of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. While they may consume sufficient calories, missing out on vital antioxidants and phytonutrients can adversely affect health.

One simple solution is to treat your plate as a clock. When you sit down to a meal, fill half of it with fresh or steamed vegetables like salad greens, peas and carrots.

5. Experiment With Alternative Flour

White flour might lurk behind the soaring diabetes rate in many parts of the developed world. Manufacturing this substance creates a chemical byproduct called alloxan that scientists use to induce diabetes in laboratory animals. This stuff also absorbs quickly into your bloodstream, causing your glucose levels to spike. The combination is a recipe for disaster.

Fortunately, alternatives exist for breading and baked goods that play a substantial role in many diets. Chickpea and almond flour offer vegan protein that keeps you fuller for far longer than the white stuff. Coconut flour lends an extra touch of sweetness to many baked goods.

6. Consider an E-Bike

E-bikes combine two benefits — they help you reduce your carbon footprint while increasing your exercise quotient. If you live within a reasonable distance of your workplace, one of these devices could get you a workout while you commute.

You still burn calories even when you engage pedal assist. However, the boost from the electric motor means you won’t arrive at your cubicle all sweaty.

7. Make a Gym Date

People who work out with a partner tend to stick to their programs better than those who go it solo. It isn’t hard to see why. It’s one thing to cave to a Netflix binge when you’re alone, but most people would feel guilty if they knew they left their BFF waiting at the ellipticals.

If you have a friend who is similarly resolved to getting healthy, combine your resolutions. Your post-holiday diet and exercise routine will go more smoothly with support.

8. Begin Your Day With Movement

The first few waking minutes of your day set the tone for the next 24 hours. Why not make them active?

You don’t have to bounce directly from bed into your running shoes. Take a few minutes to perform some yoga while still on your mattress. As you breathe, visualize how you want the day ahead to go.

Get Healthy After the Holidays

If you have resolved to get back to a healthy diet and exercise routine post-holiday, you don’t even have to embark on a fad diet or spend hours doing HIIT. The eight tips above will help you make self-improvement effortless in 2022.

Do you ever feel stuck?

You know, like life isn't moving in the direction you want it to, and things aren't evolving, but you're not sure why.

Perhaps, you're eating foods that nourish you, moving your body, progressing in your career, and connecting in with loved ones. And yet, it feels like you're not truly happy or moving forward.

Can you relate?

I was there last year. 

And so, I set out on an intentional ever-evolving self-development journey. It's taken time, but I can now say that I'm committed to shifting how I process my thoughts and emotions and how I perceive the world around me.  

In saying that, it has taken time and work. Evolving is a conscious choice I make every day. At its core, this evolution has allowed me to see that I am an active participant in my life; things happen for me, not to me. Do you understand the difference?  

This radical shift in thinking takes time and means you have to change some thinking modes, priorities and habits. I know that sounds tough, but the rewards are worth it. 

I'm going to show you how you, too, can live your best life. Yes, even in the middle of a global pandemic where the sands are constantly shifting. 

Here are the ten top things that have helped me and I hope that if this resonates with you, they will help you too 🙂

1. Know Your Values

What matters most to you? 

While society has told us for so long that certain things matter, like cars, shoes and big houses, we all know the fulfilling stuff in life isn't stuff at all; it's the connection to self and love.  

So, ask yourself, what matters most to you? 

Is it your family? Friendships? Kindness? Love? Changing the world? Laughter? Meditation?

And now ask yourself: are you living life in a way that serves that purpose?

If family matters most to you, but you're constantly spending time on your phone or doing overtime at the office, are you living in a way that serves that purpose? 

While we can't always control things (and hey, I'm not going to tell you that work's unimportant), perhaps commit to one thing a day that helps you move towards that purpose.

If you do have to spend a long time at the office, but family matters most to you, why not call a relative on the way home from work? Do something each day to help you move closer to living your life aligned with what you care most about. 

2. Deal with any Unresolved Trauma 

It's so common to regret or feel shame about your past. No matter how traumatic your past was, you can learn so much about yourself and the world around you if you can process the complex emotions that you attach to past experiences.

Teaching your brain to learn from the past can help you think more clearly in the present. Sometimes our feelings and behaviours can interfere with everyday life, work and our relationships with others.

If you feel you may have some unresolved trauma in your life some of the symptoms to look out for are:

• Flashbacks of the traumatic happenings 
• Nightmares or intrusive thoughts about past events
• Feeling angry, or agitated or having outbursts for no apparent reason
• Blaming yourself or others
• Not sleeping well and feeling jumpy or impatient
• Health anxiety and putting your body under a microscope
• Going into flight or flight mode
• Avoiding people or places that trigger you
• Feeling detached from the world and dissociated and not wanting to be around people
• Avoiding the issue and using drugs, alcohol, food to numb you
• Heightened vigilance and anticipating danger

One way that you can help heal trauma yourself is remind yourself that you are safe every day, and practice creating safety in the body. Tell yourself you are not afraid or fearful. Commit to regulating your nervous system through psychology, meditation, journaling and yoga.

3. Do More of What you Love

As a kid, did you do things that you loved for the pure joy of it? 

Sport? You were there. 

Dance lessons? Of course.

Art classes? You're totally in.

Drama? Sure, why not?

But, as an adult, do you do things you love for the pure joy of it? Hobbies are linked to improved wellbeing and reduced stress.¹

So, what do you love to do for pure joy? 

If you can't think of something that you do now, is there something you used to love doing as a kid?

Perhaps it's painting, reading or writing stories? 

Or maybe it's your love of animals? Have you ever played with your dog or groomed your cute puppy? As you progress through the process, you become more aware of details, such as the fact that 100% cotton papers are excellent for painting with watercolors, or that special biodegradable dog wipes are used exclusively for your dog.

By the way, my dog Cashew gets jealous when I eat these fritters.

I've always loved gardening and find time to do it weekly. And I just started knitting a chunky blanket.

For you, it may be time to pick up a pen and write poems or book in for dance lessons again.

Whatever it is, commit to doing it at least once a fortnight. I promise once you start, you'll want to do it more. 

4. Be Present

After one of the most challenging years of my life, I committed to a daily Vedic meditation practice, and I can honestly say it's been life-changing. You can read more about my meditation practice here.

Research has revealed that a simple way to be happier and live your best life comes from the ability to enjoy and be mindful in every moment.²

Mindfulness provides a plethora of benefits, including improved physical and mental health. 

You can start right now.

Close your eyes and take five deep breaths in and out of your nose. 

Then, observe five things you can hear, five you can see, and five you can feel without judgment.

It really can be as easy as that.

5. Be Kind to You

How kind are you to you? 

I know, I know, it can sound incredibly cheesy, but many of us have learned to be self-critical in the face of challenges, and we're wired to look for things that we dislike about ourselves. However, the research shows that self-criticism can have a considerable impact on the quality of our lives and our health.

On the flip side of that coin, self-compassion and the ability to reassure ourselves can help lower our risk of depression, anxiety and stress.

Next time stress creeps in, and you find yourself being self-critical, visualise comforting images.

Other ways to be kind to yourself are:

• Take time out for yourself
• Learn the art of forgiveness
• Practice daily self care
• Give up trying to be perfect
• Follow your passions and dreams
• Tell yourself you are enough
• Recognise your achievements and give yourself a pat on the back
• Be your biggest cheerleader
• Learn how to self soothe
• Trust yourself and set solid boundaries
• Just be you!

Sometimes, life sends us curveballs that we're not prepared for (shoutout to 2020 and 2021), so it's essential to know how to realign ourselves and connect to our goals. If you find yourself talking negatively to yourself, re-focus through deep breaths, journaling or meditation. 

6. Nervous System Food

There's a sophisticated system between the gut and the brain called the gut-brain-axis, which you can read about here. If the gut is thriving, likely, the nervous system is too. Unfortunately, that does mean if the digestive system is imbalanced, you're more likely to experience feelings of worry, stress and anxiety. 

To support the gut-brain axis, cleanse your gut with Love Your Gut powder and Love Your Gut capsules. As many gut issues can be traced back to an unclean and inefficient digestive tract, Love Your Gut helps clean out the accumulated build-up of waste toxins, metals and mucous in the digestive tract. It's also anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-parasitic. You can try it in powder form here or, for easy on-the-go use, get it in capsule form here.

Then follow up with a prebiotic, probiotic, fibre and digestive enzyme formula like our Love Your Gut Synbiotic. It populates your gut microbiome with quality probiotics, feeds the microflora with prebiotics, and supports the digestive system with dietary fibre and digestive enzymes to facilitate a postbiotic environment. A healthy gut means a healthy, active brain environment!

Be sure you're consuming enough B vitamins. B vitamins help maintain a healthy nervous system and can help fight stress.³ In one clinical trial, 60 participants took either a placebo or vitamin B complex for three months. The group that took the B complex experienced lower personal strain, reduced confusion and an improved mood than the placebo group. Find Vitamin B in whole grains, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, vegetables and legumes.

Steer clear of caffeine and refined sugar, as these can elevate cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and lead to prolonged adverse effects on your physical and mental wellbeing.⁴

7. Social Connections

If we've learned anything from a certain disease (not mentioning any names) taking over the world, it's the importance of social connections. Having a sense of community is essential in making us feel happy and like we belong, plus it's integral to wellbeing and health.⁵

However, if you're on a healing or personal development journey, it's common to feel disconnected from your old friendships. If you feel like your current friends aren't supporting you, you're not alone. It's important to remember that hurt people hurt people, and healed people heal people. It's okay to let go and create healthy boundaries with people who don't support you or drain your energy. 

If you feel disconnected or like you want to strengthen different connections, consider calling a friend each day, joining a group or book club or exploring community events where you'll meet people with shared interests. 

8. Find Your Flow  

I touched on flow a little earlier, but I want to focus on it. Finding flow is a powerful way to connect with yourself and experience positive emotions.⁶

If you've never heard of flow, allow me to explain. Flow is when you are so engrossed in what you're doing and get in the zone that you stop thinking about anything else, including that negative inner-critic. Flow is mindfulness in action. You may experience flow when reading a book, writing, playing an instrument, running, doing yoga or cooking. 

Being in flow increases happiness, boosts creativity and will help you reach optimal performance. Find things that transfer your mind to a flow state to start living your best life today. 

9. Develop Routines and Positive Habits 

Do you sweat the small stuff?

I know I have.

One of the reasons we let the small stuff get in the way is because we haven't taken the chance to establish routines and habits. Routines can help us reduce distraction and accomplish what we need to do, including reading our emails, cooking and even cleaning.

Commit to a tiny ritual and stay committed to it for thirty days. After thirty days, a ritual will become a habit. It doesn't need to be significant. It can be anything from a ten-minute walk before work to five deep breaths upon waking. When you've mastered that ritual, add in another. Be patient and commit every day. Rituals take a lot of time but are the key to daily evolution. 

 If you struggle to stick to a ritual, try habit stacking. Habit stacking is when you put one habit in between two practices that you already do.

For example, when I first started meditating in the morning, my morning routine used to look like this: wake up, feed my pets, go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, go for a walk and have breakfast. So, I simply slotted a meditation practice in between two habits that I already did: brushing my teeth and going for a walk. It worked like a charm.

10.  Move Your Body

Exercise is essential for a happy and healthy life, with the research indicating it can prevent long-term illness, improve mood and even increase longevity.⁷ 

So, what exercise will you do? I like to do a mix of walking, yoga and Pilates, but find what works best for you and commit to moving at least three times a week. You'll notice the difference.

It's Time for You to Live Your Best Life

Living your best life requires knowing what matters the most to you and reflecting this in the way you live each day. With intention, the small changes you make can have a life-altering difference. 

I'd love to know: which of the ten pieces for living your best life resonates the most? Let me know in the comments below.

Resources: 

¹ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2863117/

² https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5755604/

³ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6770181/

⁴ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4668773/

⁵ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0004867417723990

⁶ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551835/

⁷ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470658/

Every day, we shower and brush our teeth (hopefully), but we tend to forget that our insides sometimes need a bit of cleaning up too.

That’s why I’ve created a FREE one-day liver and kidney cleanse for you all.

It’s packed full of tips to improve your digestion, inspiration and delicious recipes to supercharge your health and purify your body from the inside out. 

But, before we dive in, it’s essential to know if cleansing is suitable for you. 

Is A Cleanse Right for You? 

Anyone looking to support their health and improve their skin will benefit from a one-day cleanse. 

A cleanse is particularly beneficial if you do or have any of the following: 

• Consume refined sugar, fried food, and processed food
• Drink too much alcohol
• Regularly use pharmaceutical medication, such as antibiotics
• Live in an urban environment
• Drink unfiltered water
• Smoke cigarettes or are exposed to passive smoking
• Suffer from colds, influenza (a cleanse can help temporarily alleviate your symptoms including congestion, muscle aches and pains, or a fever) 

Those who also experience the following symptoms will benefit from doing this one-day cleanse:

• Digestive issues, including constipation, bloating, flatulence, and diarrhoea
• Frequent colds or the flu for long periods
• Skin changes, including acne, flaking, rashes, pimples, dry, dull-looking, and dehydrated skin
• Frequent headaches or migraines
• Tiredness, insomnia, and lethargy

If you’re nodding your head at any of the above symptoms, you will benefit from this special one-day cleanse. 

Hey Lee, why is it essential to cleanse? 

I never thought you’d ask. To talk about the importance of cleansing, we need to do a mini biology lesson on the liver.

Think of your liver like your internal washing machine. It has two cleaning cycles or phases – phase one and phase two. These phases detoxify and help excrete toxins, chemicals, pathogens and hormones from the body. 

During phase one, your liver converts toxic chemicals in the body into less harmful chemicals. 

During phase two, we need to bring in the washing detergent, also known as sulphur-containing nutrients. Sulphur-containing nutrients include broccoli, kale, cauliflower, St Mary’s thistle and dandelion. These nutrients help convert toxins into less harmful substances and make them ready for elimination. The liver then sends these processed chemicals to the pathways of elimination – which include the bowels, lungs, or kidneys to be excreted. 

If sulphur-containing nutrients are the washing detergent, gut-healing products, like Love Your Gut Powder, are fabric softeners; they help smoothen things out (see what I did there?).

A healthy gut promotes the elimination of toxins and effectively cleanses the body in several ways. It helps ease the burden on the liver by neutralising chemicals and toxins. It also promotes elimination through the bowels, one of the body’s main elimination pathways. 

By doing this cleanse, you may experience clearer skin, more energy, a sharper mind, reduced inflammation and alleviated digestive issues.

Follow this cleanse with my NEW! Love Your Gut Synbiotic powder which populates your gut microbiome with quality probiotics, feeds the microflora with prebiotics, and supports the digestive system with dietary fibre and digestive enzymes to facilitate a postbiotic environment.

So, let’s shower your insides with some TLC.

Here are the top eight essentials to do for your one-day cleanse: 

1. Try to minimise your exposure to toxic chemicals found in your home, foods and environment, as much as possible. While it can be challenging to avoid these toxins entirely, there are a few simple ways to limit your exposure.  
2. Organic food is excellent for reducing your toxic load, but if you’re not opting for organic, make sure you wash your veggies in filtered water and apple cider vinegar to reduce your exposure to pesticides.
3. Speaking of filtered water, avoid single-use plastic water bottles as these can potentially leach harmful substances. Aim to drink filtered water only.
4. Review your skincare – commercial beauty and personal care products often contain toxic ingredients. Where possible, choose organic and natural skincare and beauty options. 
5. Avoid gluten, refined sugar, caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes, fried, burnt, or charred foods.
6. Include as many different coloured vegetables as you can, and focus on the sulphur-rich vegetables, including kale, rocket, Brussels sprouts and collard greens. These naturally help the liver. You’ll find loads of veggie-rich dishes in the meal plan below.
7. Drink herbal teas, including dandelion, licorice and fennel tea – these are all rich in antioxidants and help fight inflammation. 
8. To help supercharge the cleansing process, Love Your Gut Powder is a must. Love Your Gut Powder, made from organic food-grade Diatomaceous Earth, clears harmful bacteria from the system, eliminates parasites and worms from the body, and keeps the bowels clean. Love Your Gut Powder cleans and detoxifies the body, reducing the load on your liver. To take Love Your Gut Powder, start by taking one teaspoon a day (1.8gms) and continue with that.  When taking Love Your Gut Powder, be sure to drink lots of water. 

I know the word cleanse can bring on a few nerves for some, so I’d like to assure you that the meal plan is full of delicious and nourishing recipes that you’ll love. 

Breakfast

Microalgae Green Smoothie

Start the day with my favourite gut-friendly green smoothie. Thanks to the frozen banana and blueberries, this mid-level greenie packs a green punch but is irresistibly sweet and creamy. If you’re a newbie to taking Love Your Gut Powder, this smoothie is an excellent place to start. 

Or try my Basic Green Smoothie

Lunch 

Kale and Blood Orange Salad

This salad is an easy way to get in your antioxidants, show your liver some love and give your gut microbiome what it truly desires: fibre. Plus, it looks fabulous if I do say so myself. You can find the recipe here.

Sunflower Falafel Balls

While deep-fried falafels don’t usually fit into a cleanse, these falafels have a gut-healing twist. These baked falafels are created with cashews and sunflower seeds, making them satiating and full of omega-3 fats to reduce inflammation. Find the recipe here.

Afternoon Snack

Cozy Green Soup

There’s no afternoon snack quite like a zucchini soup; it’s delicious, filling and feels like an afternoon hug. This flavoursome anti-inflammatory green soup is a quick and easy one-pot dish filled with nutritious veggies and delicious spices. While the herbs are excellent for brightening the flavour, they also contain potent plant compounds that help reduce inflammation. Get the recipe here.

Dinner 

For the fish eaters:

Gut-Friendly Salmon Chowder

Holy mackerel – this salmon chowder is good. It’s a comforting dish that’s bursting with flavour, protein and anti-inflammatory fats. It’ll leave you feeling satiated, without any digestive discomfort. Make sure you use wild-caught salmon and avoid salmon that shows signs of browning and bruising. You can fish for the recipe here.

For those who prefer a plant-based option: 

Bohemian Baked Vegetable Bowl

Who doesn’t want to finish a cleanse with a big bowl of goodness? This bowl is the perfect way to get in all of your colourful vegetables, increase your nutrients and reduce inflammation. It’s packed to the brim with greens, roasted vegetables, roasted nuts and seeds, plus a drool-worthy tahini dressing. Get the recipe that will bowl you over here.

If you’re not feeling well during the cleanse, I recommend the following: 

• Make sure you’re drinking at least 2-3 litres of filtered water.
• Rest when you need to.
• Reduce your exercise intensity and opt for moderate exercise if you feel up to it.
• Eat your last meal early so you can go to bed early.
• Speak to your healthcare practitioner. 

So, there you have it. The liver and kidney one day cleanse.

Let me know how you go with it in the comments below. 

 

The world seems to move faster these days and if you feel that way too, then it can be difficult to find the time to prepare healthy foods. So, how can you live healthy when you’re on a hectic, packed schedule? These are the options that we recommend you consider. 

Ten Minute Meals 

A great way to get everything that you need from your diet without putting too much pressure on your schedule is by focusing on quick, time friendly, ten minute meals. This might sound like microwaveable junk, but there are actually quite a few different types of meals that you can cook for yourself in under ten minutes.

One great example would be stirfrys. You can put whatever you like into a stir fry which ensures that they never feel dull or boring. 

Prepared Food Delivery Services

Perhaps you are interested in more wholesome meals but you don’t have the time or even the energy to prepare them? If that’s the case, then you should think about exploring a food preparation delivery service. As the name suggests, this means that your food comes ready and prepared to be booked.

You won’t have to slice it and dice it or measure out the different quantities. That’s all done for you and this can work like a subscription service where food is delivered to your home each week. It’s great for busy working professionals who want to ensure that their family are getting full, nutritious meals. Also meal delivery services are great.

Make Smoothies

One of the easiest ways to ensure that you are eating well even when there’s a mad rush to get out of the door each morning is to make smoothies. Smoothies allow you to pack everything you need from your diet into something that is easy to digest which can be consumed readily throughout a busy day. You can even make smoothies for the kids to take with them to school or for you if you are spending the day at the office. You can get all the produce you need for a top homemade smoothie from a fruit and vegetable shop. Then, you can use a few guides online to make some delicious treats that you are sure to love. Additionally, taking ImmunoG PRP from NuMedica can complement your smoothie routine, providing essential nutrients and supporting your immune system for added health benefits throughout the day.

Slow Cooking 

You might also want to consider using a slow oven to prepare food that takes longer to cook. A slow cooker will allow you to throw all the ingredients together at the start of the day and leave them cooking while you are at work. This is a great way to ensure that healthy options like a casserole is available for you and the rest of the family when you get in at the end of the day. It also saves you from eating too late in the evening. 

We hope this helps you understand some of the steps that you can take to fit a healthy diet into a busy or hectic lifestyle. Exploring the right options here will guarantee that you do get everything that your body needs even when you feel as though you are constantly in a rush. 

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a brand-new player, hosting Christmas lunch or dinner can be a little stressful.

If you’re two steps away from choosing which restaurant will be catering your Christmas table, hold your metaphorical horses. I’ll be sharing three Christmas salads that are fit for a king and queen. 

Firstly, choosing what to cook, can be challenging when almost everyone you know has an allergy or some sort of dietary restriction. And then, you need to consider how to make your table look beautiful and feel merry.

But fear not, hosting a fabulously festive Christmas lunch or dinner need not be stressful or take up too much room in that lovely brain of yours. With the right plan, and a little help from me, you can put in less effort and still pull off a memorable and delicious event.                                                               

Let me help you cruise through the planning so you can focus on enjoying the party you and your guests deserve.  

Before we get into what food to cook, it’s essential to set the stage with a beautiful tablescape.

Choose and stick to a theme to make sure your table looks cohesive. I love a garden theme and love to use flowers and pots on the table as a decoration. Like any good Instagrammer, I use upcycled jars to place things like dressings and toppings on the table, too. 

One of my other favourite ways to decorate the table is letting the food do the talking, and by that, I mean providing the colour. Spreading citrus fruit, pomegranate, and pumpkins on the table is an excellent way to bring vibrancy to your table naturally. If you need some more tips on creating a tablescape, this blog here is for you as it has all the tips and tricks and ins and outs.

To ion out any bad vibes, make sure to light candle.  I often use my negative ion candle. Negative ion candles purify the air, elevate serotonin levels and look absolutely stunning on the dinner table, making it an essential piece of the Christmas table puzzle. 

Now, let’s get onto the delicious part, the food.

These days, one main meal never fits all, especially when you’re cooking for a few. You might be catering to a vegetarian, flexitarian, dairy-free, grain-free, vegan, keto, or carb-free crowd, making it almost impossible to choose what to make.

Do yourself a favour and take the pressure off by choosing one main meal and letting the sides do most of the heavy lifting. It’s the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure meal and great for when you’re hosting a bunch of people. I mean, why fuss over a big roast when everyone loves the sides? There, I said it; because let's face it, someone had to!  

My foolproof Roast Turkey with all the Trimmings plus a Homemade Cranberry Sauce and Christmas Stuffing Balls, is here if you want a main on the table that feels traditional but is surprisingly easy to make.

Every holiday main deserves a salad by its side.  

Having mix-and-match salads will ensure your meal is family-friendly and scalable. There are a few different options here, but you can pick your favourites and leave (or should I say leaf) the rest behind. 

1. Kale and Blood Orange Salad 

This Kale and Blood Orange Salad is a one-stop shop for all your antioxidant needs. In this tasty salad, I’ve paired the green goodness of kale with a unique crimson coloured orange that brings a delightful twist to the old green salad. Plus, it’s full of fibre that your gut microbiome will love you for, especially after one too many pieces of Christmas cake. For more gut-loving goodness this holiday season, don’t forget to stock up on Love Your Gut Powder.

2. Kaleslaw with Creamy Dressing

My Kaleslaw with Creamy Dressing is light, healthy and full of serious flavour. It’s fibre and sulphur-rich, making it a liver-loving food that supports our natural detoxification pathways. 

It’s sweet and tangy and goes well with just about anything. Oh, and don’t be fooled by the dressing name – it tastes like a traditional creamy dressing but is packed full of whole food ingredients, like sesame seeds, sugar-free mustard and cashews.  

3. Eggplant, Pomegranate and Minted Quinoa Salad 

Eggplant has vitamins and minerals in spades. It’s rich in manganese, folic acid and all-important thiamine, the mineral that helps convert blood sugar into glucose for energy. Eggplant also contains a rare antioxidant known as nasunin. Found under the eggplant’s skin, nasunin protects brain cells from free-radical damage.

I hope you’ll love this wise salad, and the colours inspired by the three wise men, a perfect nativity scene for your Christmas table.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini (courgette), sliced
• 1 eggplant (aubergine), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, whole
• 80 ml (21/2 fl oz/1/3 cup) cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, plus extra, for drizzling
• Celtic sea salt
• 270 g (91/2 oz/1 cup) cooked quinoa
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1 bunch of mint, leaves only, plus extra, to serve
• 1 bunch of coriander (cilantro), leaves only, plus extra, to serve
• 1 pomegranate, seeds only
• 2 avocados, peeled, stones removed and sliced into wedges
• 4 small spring onions (scallions), chopped 
• 125 g (41/2 oz/1 cup) slivered almonds

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6).

Place the zucchini, eggplant and garlic on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and roast for about 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, place the quinoa in a bowl with lemon juice and zest and olive oil. Combine well.

Place in a salad bowl with all the other ingredients and serve topped with extra mint and coriander leaves.

After the year we’ve had, Christmas is the perfect time to spend time with the ones you love the most and enjoy the festivities.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Lee xo 

If you love training, you’ll know that there’s nothing more important than the food you put in your mouth. What fuels you matters. 

However, if you’re serious about getting fit, you can’t just chow down on empty calories and expect that to get you to where you want to be. Instead, you must eat consciously, providing your body with the nutrients that it needs to rest and repair after training. 

The problem is this: most pre- and post-workout meals focus too much on macros, and too little on taste. And there’s no real reason for it. In fact, many of the ingredients that make food taste great are also highly beneficial for your health. Take herbs, like basil and parsley for instance. There’s no reason why you can’t add them to your meals for flavour. Not only do they taste great, but they also support your recovery too. 

As a rule, recipes for fuelling your workouts must follow some basic criteria. These include: 

• Being quick to make
• Containing enough energy to help you recover from training
• Taste delicious 
• Use a variety of ingredients so you don’t get bored
• Easily eaten the next day

Check out the recipe ideas below. 

Roasted Chicken And Veg In A Pan

Roasting isn’t something you should reserve for Sundays only. Instead, you want to be doing it every day of the week – or as much as is convenient to you. 

Why is roasting so good? Two main reasons: first it makes food taste great. And second, it’s easy. You just chop up some meat and veg and throw it in a pan. 

The veg you choose is also something that you can vary from day to day and season to season. Mixing things up a little helps to keep it interesting. Roasted veg tastes good reheated in the microwave, retaining all its rich flavours the next day. 

Chickpea And Vegetable Stew

If you’re looking to make a quick recipe that will provide multiple meals, then look no further than chickpea and vegetable stew.

This dish contains both beans and greens and, again, allows you to experiment. The basics are always the same: curry powder, stock and chickpeas. It’s then up to you which vegetables to add to it. Practically any veggies will do, particularly cauliflower, spinach and potato. If you want it to taste more like Indian authentic curry, add garlic and onion. 

Wholewheat Gnocchi And Mushrooms

You might find it challenging to locate wholewheat gnocchi at the store. But if you can, you’re in luck. It’s one of the most delicious foods out there, particularly when you combine it with the right ingredients. 

Mushrooms are a great food to eat while you’re training because of their high protein content. Fungi are different from regular veg and offer an alternative protein source to meat.

To make gnocchi with mushrooms, begin by boiling the gnocchi in water. Then fry mushrooms in butter and combine in a bowl with fresh chopped basil, capers, fresh chopped parsley, olive oil, salt and Parmesan shavings. 

Stir Fried Tempeh With Peanut

Continuing the veggie theme, we have stir-fried tempeh with peanut sauce. Again, this is something that’s incredibly easy to make and, if you store it correctly, actually tastes better the next day. 

Start with a big block of tempeh – which is just packed, fermented soybeans. Chop it into cubes and cook it in the pan over a medium heat until you warm it through. Then add any other vegetables you want to eat with the dish – pak choi, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cabbage, bell pepper – and anything else you think that you might need. 

Then move onto making the peanut sauce. The trick to making a great peanut sauce is to include all the essential elements – sweetness, fat, acid and salt.

To do this in a healthy manner, combine dates, peanut butter, rice wine vinegar and miso in a high-powered blender with some water. Chop all of the ingredients finely until they create a sauce. Then simply boil some noodles and rice, and serve. 

Steak Fajitas With Chilli And Lime

If you’re looking to tone up but also need plenty of protein to fuel your workouts, then you’ll want to try delicious chili and lime fajitas.

Start with a beef joint and pop it in the oven for the required time (based on the weight). When, once it finishes cooking, take a sharp knife and cut it into slices, with the middle hopefully being a delicious shade of pink.  Then fry some peppers and onions with lime and chilli and serve in tortillas with a sauce of your choice. 

Mushroom And Asparagus Tofu Pie

If you currently take Saxenda, this mushroom and asparagus tofu pie is your friend. Unlike conventional pies, it doesn't contain large globs of fat. Instead, the bulk of the pie is just bean curd from soy. 

Making this type of pie is incredibly simple and something that anyone can do. Start with a wholemeal pie crust base and fold it into your pie tin. Then put your tofu in a blender until you break it down into chunks that you can spread. Add mushrooms and asparagus shoots to the base already in the tin and then cover with the tofu mixture. Cook in the oven until golden brown.

Greek Pasta Salad

Greek food is delicious. But it is also a great cuisine for using up all your leftovers. 

To make a Greek pasta salad, take all the opened olive, pepper and sundried tomato jars from your pantry and cut up these ingredients. Then find any cooked pasta you might have lying around and put it in a bowl. Mix all of the ingredients together, adding herbs where appropriate. You can also add little pieces of chopped meats, including chicken and beef. Then drizzle with olive oil and crumble feta cheese on top. 

Baked Sweet Potatoes With Chickpea Filling

Baked potatoes and beans are a classic lunchtime staple – easy for practically anyone to make in a few minutes. Unfortunately, it’s not super high in nutrition. The beans provide protein, but other than that, it is somewhat lacking. 

The trick here is to keep the same easy format, but slightly change the ingredients. Swap out the regular white potato for a sweet potato instead. These offer more vitamins, minerals and nutrients, and have a lower impact on blood sugar levels. Also, get rid of the tinned beans in sugary tomato sauce and replace them with chickpeas in a homemade tomato sauce instead. It’s incredibly easy to make and guaranteed to power you through even the most gruelling workouts. 

Slow-Cooked Casseroles

If you work during the day, it can sometimes be challenging to prepare meals from scratch when you get home in the evening. There’s so much chopping and washing up to do. 

Fortunately, you can get around this by putting your ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning before you go to work. By the time you get home, you’ll have a delicious meal waiting for you. 

Slow-cooked casseroles are easy to serve up. You can either put potatoes in with the meat and vegetables, or you can bake them separately once you get home. 

If you decide to slow cook, don’t forget to use a good stock. You might also want to add some butter to keep it rich and delicious. Herbs can help infuse the gravy and make the dish taste even better when served. 

So, which of these recipes will you use to fuel your workouts? You can try these gummies too. 

Let me know in the comments section below 🙂

Lee