You CAN have TOO much of the Healthy Stuff too!

10 August 2015

I absolutely love browsing through all the gorgeous healthy recipes that are available on social media. Instagram in particular is the most wonderful platform for sourcing delicious and super healthy recipes for any occasion. But we need to be attentive to the word occasion. Yes, I said occasion. What many of us don’t realise is that even the healthy stuff has calories, and some of these can be very calorie dense too! This means that while they are absolutely a much better option for us, we still can’t go overboard.

We need to apply moderation and balance to everything we eat…YES EVEN THE HEALTHY STUFF. If you feel like enjoying a healthy cookie or cake, by all means go for it! But remember it is still a healthy treat…keyword here treat…as in not every day and not in large quantities. Healthy treats are wonderful swaps that we can have instead of our greasy or sugary favourites. These are much better for us in that the ingredients used are nourishing, and can be effectively used by our bodies. But they are still far higher in calories and often natural sugars; therefore we need to keep our consumption of these low.

Often, when the word “healthy” precedes a recipe, we falsely believe that we can consume as much of it as we like – but as with anything we eat, we need to ensure that we engage in portion control.

Here are some tips that I apply myself when enjoying healthy treats: 

1. As a rule of thumb, try limiting your healthy treats to one portion 4-5 times per week. See the key here is that you can enjoy these nearly every day, but in small portions.
2. If you can, try to make the healthy treats yourself. That way you have control over exactly what ingredients are going into your treats and how much of each. For some great recipe ideas check out my healthy treats to see just how easy it can be to make these delicious snacks.
3. Read the ingredients of any store bought healthy treats to make sure you are not being deceived by healthy claims. Remember just because something says its gluten free does not mean it’s an ideal choice either. The gluten is being replaced with something else, so be sure to check exactly what is being used. You will be surprised at how many not-so-good ingredients get put in some of these seemingly healthy treats. Also look out for preservatives and sugar content of store bought treats.

Being healthy is all about being well informed, nourishing your body optimally, sticking to wholefoods and keeping balance and moderation in the forefront.

Yours in Health Always,

Cara-Lisa

xoxo