Pick Healthy Chocolate
If you have a soft spot for Dairy Milk Buttons, try Ombar Mylk Buttons instead. These use raw cacao, organic coconut palm sugar and good bacteria for healthy digestion, so these treats are a much healthier alternative. In a similar vein, instead of naughty chocolate truffles, try Sweet Virtues — raw cacao superfood truffles that are a great healthy option.
Image: Courtesy of Jax Coco
Join the Coconut Oil Craze
You’re probably sick of hearing it, but yes, coconut oil is good for you. You can pretty much use it for anything — cooking, baking, beauty, you name it — but the effective use for your health and body’s sake is to use it instead of olive oil. We use Jax Coco Oil for all of our frying and sauteing.
Image: Courtesy of The Foraging Fox
Consider Your Condiments
Ketchup makes lots of things so much better, but it’s easy to smother it over everything before realising it’s actually packed with sugar. For a healthier option that does the same trick, try The Foraging Fox Beetroot Ketchup. It uses way less sugar and goes with everything.
Image: Courtesy of Lucy’s
…And Your Dressings
You go for the healthy option by making a salad for dinner, then laden it with Caesar salad dressing. You may as well have had the chips. Cut serious calories by opting for a lighter salad dressing — we can’t stress the importance of reading the label on the bottle here since dressings vary hugely. Lucy’s Dressings are about to launch a range of “SLIM” natural food dressings, including Light Asian, Light French and Light Raspberry, which are all perfect alternatives.
Image: Courtesy of Lalani & Co
Swap Your Latte for Matcha Tea
Can’t get up without a coffee? That’s fine. But that mocha you’re having to get you through the first hour of work, not so fine. If you still need a caffeine kick when you get to the office, try matcha. It’s a super pure type of green tea, which comes in powder form. You consume the leaf, not just the brew, and it’s particularly wondrous as it has the same amount of antioxidants as superfoods do. We get ours from Lalani & Co.
Image: Courtesy of Soffle’s
Like Crisps? Pick Good Ones
If you’re a crisps fan, it’s hard to kick the habit even though you know they’re not the best for you. We’re saying don’t cut them out completely. Eat in moderation and pick wisely. Scrubbys are low-fat vegetable crisps made with root vegetables baked with olive oil. They boast 30 percent less fat and 18 percent fewer calories than most regular crisps. Alternatively, try Soffle’s — all-natural pitta chips that are made from pitta bread rather than potatoes and are baked not fried. They’re not low-calorie, but they are lower in fat than most crisps, and far chunkier, which will keep you satisfied for longer.
Image: Courtesy of BeLOVeD
Swap Out Sugar
There’s been much research highlighting the health benefits of dates recently, which include curbing high blood pressure, boosting the immune system and even fighting off cancer, so we should be eating more of them. They’re also high in fibre and low GI. BeLOVeD has date muesli and date granola bars, but our personal favourite is the date nectar, which we’re using instead of sugar in everything from cooking to coffee.
