The most wonderful time of the year??

I have mixed feelings about this time of year. On one hand, it’s my birthday and Christmas next month, lots of time off, lots more opportunities to see my friends who live far away, and lots of opportunities to wear boots, scarves and hats On the other hand, the darker evenings make me sleepier earlier, I get very little actual daylight (probably an hour per day) and the weather is even more rubbish.

I have huge dark circles under my eyes and I’m constantly tired, so I decided that an overhaul of my food intake is required to lift my mood and my energy levels. I ate even more crap than usual in September and October, purely because I have no motivation to cook (I could do with a personal chef!) and it just seems easier to pick up the nearest thing from the fridge or cupboard (or takeaway, heh). But yesterday I got some great warming home-cooked meals in the freezer courtesy of my lovely parents, and did a big food shop. It’s not like I eat THAT badly, but just seeing all the lovely different colours of fruit and veg and lots of healthy, energising things to eat like fresh fruit smoothies and organic chicken, gave me that much-needed cooking motivation again.

Last night I had a tuna and rice dish with half the plate full of salad. Breakfast today with porridge, and for lunch I had a lovely cheese-topped sub roll with low-fat cheese and salad. I was naughty and had a Krispy Kreme, but I’ve also had plenty of fruit and a packet of wholegrain bites. I prepared a vegetable and chicken curry last night, which I put in the slow cooker this morning before I left for work. It’s going to be lovely for dinner with rice and salad, and there will be enough left over for lunch or dinner tomorrow too. I love my slow cooker because my favourite part about cooking is chopping fruit and veg, so I can do that bit and then chuck it all in the slow cooker and leave it till it’s done. As our kitchen is tiny, it also means I can cook my food without needing any space or appliances that other people may want. Plus it’s lovely to get in from the cold and have the lovely smell of ready-to-eat food without any work required.

I love food too much, but I’ve steadily developed a much healthier relationship with it over the years. Having said that, I would more than happily eat myself to death if I were the last person in the world – and enjoy it! At the moment my plan is to stock up on lots of fresh, natural vitamins from fruit and veg, with white meat, eggs, cheese and beans for the protein intake. I’m not going to restrict carbs in any way; I want my eating to be sustainable and I don’t want to feel deprived. A few years ago I had the light bulb moment of only eating things which fuel my body and provide nutritional benefit in some way – it’s simply a waste of time to eat anything else and there are plenty of other things in life to treat yourself with. Since then I’ve slipped back into my old ways (I’m even worse in some respects because I never used to eat butter in any form). Whilst I have renewed my gym membership, I’m not getting up early to work out, I only have a half hour lunch break instead of an hour, and I no longer have a walk up/downhill to get to work. That combined with lots of free food at work has not proved to be a good thing over the past eighteen months!

But I know that it’s all about getting into routines and good habits, and having healthy, effortless food around – which doesn’t have to be impossible even when you spend a lot of time working, share a small kitchen with limited space, and hate cooking. Positive thinking If you have any tips at all, please leave a comment – any suggestions would be great!!