5 easy ways to keep healthy during the festive season

The festive season is upon us and after such a challenging year we all deserve to celebrate with friends and family.

Celebrations however can often mean overindulging in lots of less than nutritious food and drink. Let us share our five easy tips to keep healthy during the silly season!

1. Balance it up the party table

Bring some balance to the usual heavy festive feast by providing some nutritious party food to your next celebration that is anything but boring! Our delicious Christmas tree pizzas will bring some fun to the table. Or try get the kids to make a reindeer, Santa or snowman out of our easy banana pikelet recipe.

Finally, a party table is not complete without a platter of bright and colourful fruits such as delicious watermelon slices and fresh seasonal berries.

2. Go easy on the booze

There’s no easy way to say this but drinking alcohol can increase the risk of developing cancer. Cancer Council recommends people drink less alcohol to reduce their risk of cancer, which can be difficult over the festive season.

Luckily there are lots of alternative non-alcoholic drinks out on the market these days. Try to schedule in alcohol-free days each week, alternate alcoholic drinks with water and make sure you eat some healthy options to slow your drinking pace. Read our tips on cutting down on alcohol.

3. Add more vegies and fruit to your day

Make sure you are getting enough vegies and fruit in your diet.

Vegies and fruit are important for health and should form a major part of your diet – especially during the party season. They are a great source of fibre, vitamins and minerals. They also contain antioxidants and phytochemicals that help protect cells against damage and support your immune system.

Check out the Healthy Lunch Box website for hundreds of recipes that will help boost your vegie and fruit intake!

4. Slow down and chew!

Did you know that it takes 20 minutes for your brain to send out signals of fullness?

Digestion and how our bodies understand we have had enough food starts as soon as you put food in your mouth. The receptors in your mouth respond to taste and texture of the food and can send signals to the brain telling it that ‘I like it, give me more’, however it’s not until the food reaches the stomach that the gut starts to release hormones that send signals to our brain that we are in fact full.

These signals can take up to 20 minutes to reach the brain! Therefore, it’s important to chew your food well and take your time to enjoy your meal or snack and allow body to tell you when you’ve eaten enough.

5. Set aside time each day to keep active

Keeping active throughout festive season is important not only for your physical health but for your mental health too.

The key to keeping active is to set some time aside each day to go for a walk, kick a ball around or whatever activity you find fun!

Always make sure you are SunSmart before you head outdoors !