Kiddipedia
All commentary to be attributed to Marianne Hudson, MACROS Dietitian and Food Specialist
With Easter just around the corner, you’re likely already planning the long weekend activities, and no doubt your holiday will be featuring chocolate and treats of some sort. But how can you ensure you and your family maintain an enjoyable healthy balance without overindulging?
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Choose Quality Over Quantity
This is a great strategy for ensuring you don’t deprive yourself, and that you don’t go overboard. If you’re feasting with family over the Easter Holidays, prioritise the foods you want to eat most, rather than trying to taste everything. Choose good quality foods that will provide both nourishment and enjoyment, and take the opportunity to enjoy the food you’re choosing to consume in controlled amounts, especially when it comes to treats. Dark chocolate is a great choice for those who like it – not only is it higher in antioxidants, and lower in sugar than milk and white chocolate, but due to its richness, it can also leave you feeling more satisfied with smaller amounts.
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Eat More Mindfully
Take the time to focus on the foods you’re consuming. I love the Japanese term “hara hachi bu”, which loosely translates to stop eating when you’re 80% full. This can help you to eat more mindfully by focussing on internal hunger and fullness cues, and can ensure you don’t overdo it. Avoid distractions such as phones and ipads during meal and snack times to allow yourself and the kids to enjoy what you’re consuming mindfully.
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Fill Yourself With Nourishing Foods
Don’t skip meals in favour of less healthy snacks and treats – stick to your regular eating routine if possible, and have a good family breakfast including a source of protein to ensure you keep satiated throughout the day. This can mean you’ll be less inclined to over-indulge or become ravenous in between meals. Eggs are a great breakfast option for Easter, not only are they on theme for the kiddies, but they’re a great source of protein and can be paired with other healthy ingredients like grainy toast and avocado to keep everyone energised throughout the day.
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Balance Out The Indulgence
Choose healthier meal and snack options where you can, and encourage the family to go for an evening walk after all festivities – to really increase that energy expenditure. Plan social events around movement or the outdoors to ensure you’re keeping physically active during this period, maybe a picnic is on the cards (should La Nina cooperate). Offer kids a variety of foods including fruits, vegetables and salads to ensure they’re getting some nourishment between the egg hunts.
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Create Healthier Treat Alternatives
If you’re looking for some other sweet treats to whip up over the Easter break, I find that chocolate coated fruit is always a hit! It means you’ll still get some nourishing fruit in, but with a little indulgence. Get the kids involved in preparing healthier Easter treats like bunny shaped oat biscuits and pancakes, or wholemeal hot cross buns! They can be topped with nut butters for a high protein and delicious alternative to butter. Bliss balls in the shape of eggs are another fun idea! They’re relatively quick and simple to throw together and you can get creative with the combinations of dried fruits, nuts, grains, seeds and cocoa powder.
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Plan ahead
Most of us will be out and about over the long weekend, seeing friends, or catching up with family, which makes it hard to stick to a routine. I recommend stocking up your fridge with plenty of healthy snacks and ready-meals for the moments when you’re hungry, but don’t have time to cook. Having something on hand when you get home can mean that you’re less likely to reach for the takeout menu. Meal delivery services like MACROS provide fresh, well balanced, Dietitian-designed meals delivered straight to your door. This is a great option for anyone feeling strapped for time and looking to balance out the treats and keep on track with wellness goals. MACROS also offers a family plan, which works well for busy households of 3, 4 or 5. This option allows you to mix meals to cater for different taste and dietary requirements, as well as the pickier palates when it comes to your little ones.
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Be kind to yourself
Don’t forget, healthy eating is about balance and having a good relationship with food, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you find that you’ve eaten way more than you planned to. Food should be about enjoyment and nourishment, and it’s what you eat on most days that counts, not what you do over the annual Easter long weekend!
ABOUT MARIANNE HUDSON
Marianne Hudson is an Accredited Practising Dietitian & Exercise Physiologist with over 10 years of experience in the health and food industries. Marianne is passionate about evidence-based nutrition, food innovation and individualised health advice, all of which is a valuable part of her current role as MACROS Lead Nutritionist.
Marianne graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Science (Nutrition) (Honors), and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise Sports Science). She has worked as a Clinical Dietitian & Exercise Physiologist providing tailored health and lifestyle advice, and more recently in the food industry, specialising in new product development, nutrition communications and food labelling. For more hot nutrition tips, be sure to follow Marianne on Instagram @foodforfight. Apart from weekend brunching, baking, and sipping tea, you’ll find her navigating farmers markets and supermarket aisles in search of the latest food trends and local produce!
ABOUT MACROS
MACROS ready-made meals make healthy eating easy and delicious for every Aussie. Nutritionally-balanced and portion-controlled, MACROS meals are dairy-free and cater to a range of dietary requirements, also offering pre-planned guides to help you achieve your wellness goals ie. choose from the ‘balance’ ‘sculpt’ ‘gain’ or ‘weight loss’ plans.
Whether you’re looking to sort healthy work lunches, are too busy to cook of an evening, or need that extra boost to help you achieve your fitness goals, MACROS has a plan for you with meals that start at $9.40 each.
