How to stay healthy during the festive season

teresa cutter - The Healthy Chef

 
What I love about the festive season is being able to create spectacular recipes infused with aromatics and spices that dance in your mouth at every bite. My recipes during this season tend to feature lots of fresh seasonal wholefoods with gorgeous colours and are reminiscent of long summer days with family and friends.  
 
As much as I enjoy food, I enjoy entertaining, and the festive period is a time when there is such an abundance of decadent food that staying healthy can be a challenge. 
 
Here are my top tips to help you moderate your intake and get the right nutrition this festive season:  
 
1. Eat how you would normally eat
 
Be mindful about the amount of food you are actually eating during the festive season. A Christmas party is not an excuse to pile your plate with lots of food or go for second rounds. Stick to how you would eat every day and you will save yourself unnecessary kilojoules to your otherwise healthy diet. 

2. Focus on plant-based meals 
 
When I cook or eat, I keep it simple and adopt the “less is more” principle.  I focus on salads made of fresh vegetables, leaves and herbs that only the need a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. For example, my Roasted Pumpkin with Tahini Yoghurt is the perfect Christmas inspired vegetable dish that is rich in wholefood goodness.
 
For dessert, I rely mostly on fresh summer fruit that include piles of dark ruby cherries and mango cheeks caressed with a squeeze of lime. By focusing on lots of plant-based dishes, you’ll be getting lots of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre your body needs for optimum health and wellbeing. 
 
3. Don’t go hungry at a function or party 
 
Don’t go starving by the time you arrive at a function or Christmas party. One of the most likely reasons you can overeat or make poor food choices is that you didn’t get the chance to eat a nutritious meal or snack beforehand. A good option is to whip up a protein smoothie using nut milk, frozen banana, Healthy Chef Protein, berries and ice. Protein is essential to regulating the appetite, which means you are less likely to go out of control and binge on foods you wouldn’t normally eat.
 
4. Enjoy your favourite foods in moderation 
 
Indulge in your favourite treats now and then, and make healthier versions of your favourite recipes. These little tips will help to keep you sane and able to sustain a healthy lifelong diet. I like to make my healthy Baked Christmas Pudding which looks spectacular at the Christmas table and will avoid all those blood sugar and insulin spikes that come with eating traditional or store-bought desserts! 
 
Recipe: Healthy Baked Christmas Pudding
 
This is a beautiful baked and partially steamed pudding that is scented with everything that is magical about Christmas. Orange and spice infused with notes of vanilla bean and apricot dance in your mouth and what I love about my pudding is that it's unbelievably light, making it the highlight of any Christmas gathering. This pudding is also flourless making it gluten-free and I've used the delicate crumbs from blanched almond meal in place of the usual flour mixture. The almond adds texture and moisture surrounding the plump moist fruit perfectly and it's a tad different to some of my earlier versions, as I've soaked some of the fruit in a little orange juice overnight. I've also used fresh pitted dates in place of dried dates, that seems to add more depth and deliciousness. You can enjoy this pudding warm with the perfect custard or at room temperature with a dollop of Greek Style yoghurt.  
 
 download the recipe

Focussing on the wellbeing of your clients
 
TAL is committed to the long-term health and wellbeing of your clients, in addition to the financial support provided at claims time. The Health Sense discount rewards your clients for following a healthier lifestyle, offering new Accelerated Protection customers a discount of up to 15% on Life Insurance, Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) and/or Critical Illness Insurance for the life of a policy if their Body Mass Index (BMI) falls within the Health Sense range of 19.0 - 28.0. 
 
For more information on TAL Health Sense, visit our website, contact your local TAL Sales team or the Adviser Service Centre.
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