As a plant based eater for many years, I have ups and downs with my diet, even though I do know better I still get it wrong sometimes.
I still work full time, and on many occasions I get home desperate for something to eat, but too tired to cook from scratch. So my freezer had some ready made burgers, and sausages which I always referred to as emergency foods, but I realized I was getting in to a habit of eating these a little too often.
I signed up to blood sugar monitoring in November 2023, along with blood tests and stool samples to find out how I respond to various foods, what spikes my blood sugars, how well I cope with clearing fats from my blood, and how healthy my gut microbiome really is and now I am continuing to use the app that goes alongside the testing, I have been reminded and reeducated on the importance of cutting out highly processed foods.
To combat the urge of running to the fridge or freezer for something easy and convenient, I now food prep at the weekend for the week ahead. Meals, Desserts and cookies. I have the usual fresh, frozen and tinned vegetables, beans etc. And a healthy meal is usually just 10 minutes away. A healthy cookie keeps the crazy FEED ME! gremlin sat on my shoulder, at bay until i can sit down with my meal.
Anything you pick up from the supermarket, look at the ingredients label. If it has several words you do not recognise or cant pronounced then it is processed. Probably has loads of added sugar because they have removed fat, or high salt, or flavourings that you would never use in your own kitchen.
Of course there are some things in your kitchen and diet that have been through processing. Milk, biscuits, crisps, bread, chocolate, some protein powders. And I’m not saying it all needs to go. But if it is something you can cook for yourself, try to find time to do so. Batch cook/food prep is my new habit for 2024!
I will be posting recipes over the next few days.
Vegetarian and Vegan Nutrition 