Herbal Teas & Hot Soups – 5 Rules For Healthier Food Post The Winter Party Season

Winter has come and with it come a number of parties. It also brings in unhealthy food habits. But fret not, follow these 5 rules for a healthier you!

Weight gain during the winter season seems like a mandate. During winters the intake of lip-smacking delicacies seems to be on a rise while your physical activity schedule goes for a toss. You are also likely to witness weddings, a bunch of parties to ring in Christmas and the New-year.

Not to forget the cold weather compels you to reach out for some hot and warming comfort foods namely burger, pizza, fried chicken, and fries. While it might satisfy your hunger and make you feel good and happy for the time being, you would most likely, gobble up infinite calories. You might not realise it, but it’s a huge cause of weight gain during the cold weather. But fret not! Keep the following tips in mind and you are good to go.

Befriend the fruits and veggies!

Eat fruits and veggies for good health! Fruits and veggies don’t just fill you up, they are a storehouse of fibre and a great source of antioxidants too. What’s more is that they have a great dose of nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium and folic acid.

Stock up on fruits rich in Vitamin C like oranges, sweet limes, grapefruit, and guava. These also help in keeping the cold and flu at bay.

Now, if you are planning to go to a party, eat a bowl of salad or stir fry before you leave. Or if you are at a wedding, try filling up only half your plate with salads, minus the fatty dressings. This will help you in two ways- it will fill you up and also ensure that you don’t end up overeating.

Eat at least two servings of fruits every day and every time you feel like snacking, munch on a fruit. You could also add fruits to a bowl of oatmeal/sugar-free muesli or to a bowl of yogurt.

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Drink lots of water and herbal tea

Drink enough water and have herbal teas. Water is necessary if you want to detoxify your body and maintain healthy weight. It helps you in staying full for a longer duration and avoid overeating during any meals.

Drink at least 12-15 glasses of water per day. If you are bored with the idea of having normal water, add some cucumber slices, lemon, mint leaves, and ginger. Not only would it taste great, but will also help you lose weight.

Add on a few herbal teas like chamomile, peppermint, and lemongrass tea to the daily diet and reap numerous benefits. Herbal teas don’t have caffeine and give a calming and soothing effect. This would not enable a good sleep but also aid in better digestion.

Say no to refined and packaged food

Stay away from refined and packaged foods. While refined foods might look tasty and tempting, they will take you away from your weight loss goal. Refined food like cookies, cakes, pastries, pasta, burgers, bread, doughnuts, and pizza are loaded with refined flour (Maida) This can lead to a spike in insulin levels and speed up the process of fat storage in the body.

On the other hand, packaged foods such as Maggi, soups, gravies, sausages are loaded with preservatives. They also have excessive amounts of sodium consumption of which can predispose you to various health issues.

Rather than consuming these foods, go ahead and consume foods loaded with fibre. Eat brown rice, oats, quinoa, barley, buckwheat or broken wheat. These will not only help you stay full for longer but would also maintain the blood sugar levels to optimum. So the weight would stay in check and the winter season would pass easily without any weight blues.

Say a resounding yes to proteins

Eat a protein-rich meal for a healthy you! Always aim at consuming a meal that is high on fibre, has moderate proteins and is low on fats. Proteins help in curbing sugar cravings, and aid in maintaining one’s weight.

It also balances the blood sugar levels well. Additionally, food with high proteins have a lower GI and help you lose weight further.

Eat more food like paneer, Greek yogurt, soy, lentils, beans, chicken, fish, eggs, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, almonds milk, soy milk and walnuts. Any of these, if consumed daily, will give you the required dose of proteins.

Protein is enough to give you a feeling of fullness and protects you from going overboard where food is concerned.

Have soup before each meal

Imagine, a hot bowl of soup in the cold winters! Make it a habit to consume a bowl of veggie soup before your lunch or dinner. This would not only fill you up but will also make sure that you eat minimal food. It will also help  manage your weight and increase your veggie consumption during the day. But make sure that you do not add butter or heavy cream to the soup.

Prepare a fresh soup using carrots, tomato, cabbage, and beetroot and add in some crushed ginger, garlic, black pepper, and mixed herbs. This soup is excellent for weight loss and at the same time would protect you from cold and flu. You can also make a soup of your choice by adding kidney beans, sprouted moong, paneer or dal to an existing vegetable broth.

Enjoy it warm! It shall soothe your throat and help you in manage the cold weather well.

Always remember, the right kind of food can set everything straight. Hence, eating healthy food during winters will help keep weight gain and winter related health issues at bay.

Picture credits: Pexels

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