7. What about little treats?
First and foremost, eating should always be something we enjoy, which is why it isn't necessary to give up all culinary pleasures to eat in a healthy way. When we impose restrictions, we become obsessed with them, which only increases our desire for these foods.
The thing to remember is: every food has its place.
No more forbidden foods
Of course, if you want to lose weight, eating a bag of chips every night is probably not the best strategy. But you won’t gain weight by eating just ONE piece of chocolate cake during a birthday party. The message: adjust how often you eat sweets, and how much you have.
- Take time to savour and enjoy each bite. This means you are likely to eat less.
- Put the amount you want into a plate or small bowl rather than eating it straight out of the package. This will keep the bottom of the cookie bag out of sight. Studies show that, given a larger serving, we consume about 30% more calories than we normally would.
- Alternate your favourite indulgences with treats that are healthier...and just as good for your morale! For example, you could occasionally replace regular chips with pretzel sticks, oven-baked tortilla sections with salsa, or light butter-flavoured popcorn.
Do you have a sweet tooth?
Rediscover fruit to tantalize your taste buds and your waistline! There's a huge variety of fruits available, offering a multitude of ideas for healthy snacks and desserts.
- Jazz up your traditional fruit salad by adding exotic fruit juice (like lychee or passion fruit juice), a cinnamon stick, star anise and/or freshly chopped ginger.
- Turn fresh or frozen fruit into a quick coulis. Puree fruit in the blender. Serve it with plain yogourt or a homemade muffin.
- Make your own frozen yogourt by combining equal amounts of vanilla yogourt and frozen fruit in the food processor.
- In the frying pan, sauté a few pieces of fruit for a reinvented sundae (e.g. apple, pear, strawberries) and place the pieces on a little scoop of ice cream.
- Savour all kinds of fresh fruit with chocolate fondue, made with milk.
Do you believe you have a healthy weight and healthy eating habits? Find out with My Healthy Weight Assessment!
