It’s that time of the year again. Everyone is already bemoaning the extra pounds the holidays seem to inevitably bring as we go into the season of indulgence and excess, only to immediately follow with resolutions for the New Year to be better to ourselves, to lose weight, to get healthy, to bounce back from the holidays.
What if, as we go into the holidays, instead of thinking about the resolutions we will be making on New Year’s day, we’re living the resolutions we made at the beginning of the year and actually dive into the holidays with a healthy mindset? Believe it or not, it’s not that hard; we just need to re-calibrate how we eat a little. A great thing to do is to anticipate the big days of eating ahead and start our day with a healthy smoothie, rather than a big breakfast. I have smoothies all the time in the morning (or even as a mini-meal) and find them to be a perfect way to start the day.
One of my go-to breakfast choices is a smoothie made with plain or berry flavored kefir, blended with frozen blueberries, some kale and/or parsley, a little almond butter, almonds, some coconut oil and ginger. It’s got just enough natural sweetness, with a good dose of healthy proteins and fats to keep me going all morning. Starting your day off with a smoothie is an easy way to start your day on a healthy food and will help guide you toward healthy decisions for the rest of the day. Blend one up the next time you’re feeling a little discouraged – you’ll be surprised at how great you feel immediately!
– Chef Seamus Mullen
Read Chef Seamus Mullen’s other blog posts, and find his recipes, here.