I don’t think words like ‘cream meringue’ or ‘steak and chips’ go down well at this time of year? It’s all dry this and vegan that, resolutions that won’t be kept, detox that is totally redundant and only gym memberships aren’t selling, for obvious reasons.
Why we always have to swing from one extreme to the other is beyond my comprehension. From bingeing to detox, from the excess of Christmas/holiday season to going vegan in January and giving up booze.
I’m not going to state the obvious: that we should be moderate at all times, to neither overindulge nor excessively abstain. It is obvious, it is sensible but not many of us are able to always be super-disciplined so it would be quite pointless to advise it. And anyway hey! you need to let yourself go once in a while.
But having put on two or three pounds over Christmas really doesn’t mean you have to go the whole hog in the opposite direction. It will only trigger the yo-yoing and seesawing of your weight, energy levels and mood.
Instead of trying to switch to unattainable and dubious eating habits, just eat less. Drink only occasionally. Give away the Christmas chocolate backlog. Go easy on cheese. It really will be more effective in the long run than dry Veganuary. Plus, with the latter, please note: trying to go vegan from full-on turkey with stuffing and pigs in blankets will probably mean you reach for those awful, dodgy vegan junk foods which are far worse for you and the planet than a roast chicken.
Some recipe suggestions then, based on what I have been doing at my mealtimes since the bathroom scales on 1st January showed a hike of almost half a stone. For breakfast, it’s overnight oats or just a boiled egg when I’m not feeling hungry. It could also be oat or millet porridge if I need warming up.
Salads don’t seem a very January thing but if you have comforting leek and potato soup for lunch, I’m sure you’ll enjoy a smoked fish salad with roasted turnips. Arbroath smokies are particularly good if you can get them. Or else make chicken under the skillet with winter rainbow salad on the side.
If you want pasta, make it vegetarian, like pasta with red pepper sauce or herby courgette pasta bake. Ditto rice: brown rice with mushrooms, no meat. Simply avoid the full works of meat or fish, vegetables and a carb filler. That’s the strategy that always works for me.
Eat lots of fish. Salmon with blue cheese will take care of some cheese surplus making it into a main course rather than all-hours snack. Sticky mackerel is another good idea, and you can serve the fish with beetroot salad or sesame roasted broccoli.
For snacks and sweet treats, if you must have them, try making carrot cake energy balls – very good before a yoga session.
Hope this year is going to be good for you all. As I have no idea what it means these days in general, I’ll narrow it down to good cooking and delicious food. Happy New Year!