Urban Remedy's 'Healthy Holiday Guide'

10 tips to keep you healthy over the festive season...

1. Start your day with a glass of warm water and lemon

2. Get some exercise first thing, before the festivities begin

3. Stock your pantry and fridge with yummy, healthy snacks – think brown rice cakes, kale and veggie chips, olives, raw nuts, veggie sticks, healthy dips, avocado...

4. Find healthy versions of your favourite treats. For example, dark chocolate sweetened with stevia instead of sugary milk chocolate...

5. Stay hydrated, particularly when you are drinking alcohol!

6. Avoid sugary alcoholic mixers – skip the soft drinks and opt for soda or mineral water with fresh lemon or lime instead

7. Give your body a rest between big meals. For once, skipping a meal is actually OK. Don't be tempted to pile food on top of food on top of food.

8. Make time for yourself in the busy Christmas schedule. Take 10 minutes to go for a walk, listen to some music, read your book...

9. Practice giving the best gift of all – love. Take the time and energy to be there for your loved ones!

10. Write a list of 3 goals for 2013. Not 30, just 3.

For those of you wanting to book in a January cleanse, we sell out up to 10 days ahead of schedule in peak season so get in fast!

Our January 2013 dates are live on the ordering page here.

Happy holidays!

Mini Detox Menu (for between cleanses)

This week we’re dishing up a yummy ‘Mini Detox Menu’ to keep you healthy, clean and glowing between cleanses. Enjoy!

Breakkie

• Bircher muesli or raw muesli with sheep or goat’s yoghurt. Add fresh fruit and raw activated almonds if you’re feeling hungry! Sheep and goat’s dairy are better tolerated than cow’s dairy as their protein-fat structure is easier to digest.

• Dandelion tea or a dandelion latte (if you’re lucky enough to have a good coffee shop that does these!) instead of coffee. Green or white tea OK too. Dandelion helps cleanse the liver and purge toxins; green and white are packed full of antioxidants!

Lunch

• Mixed bean and/or lentil salad with spinach leaves, diced tomato, haloumi (or goat’s cheese) and avocado. Season with olive oil, squeezed lemon, fresh herbs (we like basil), rock salt and ground pepper.

• Peppermint or ginger tea (drink an hour after lunch to avoid diluting digestive enzymes) to soothe a bloated tummy and ease digestion.

Dinner

• Oily or white fish in a pine nut and herb crust or baked in foil with fresh herbs and organic butter. Serve with a bitter greens and beetroot salad. Bitter greens include chicory or endives, rocket, watercress, mustard greens etc.

• 2 squares of dark chocolate – we like Loving Earth as it is raw and sweetened with agave

• Fennel tea to combat bloating and fluid retention

Snacks

• Detox juice: choose either apple/pear + green veggies or beetroot/carrot/ginger 

• Celery and/or carrot sticks with hummus or fresh guacamole

• Raw activated cashews or almonds

• 1 or 2 pieces of fresh fruit

Super healthy snacks

We have placed main meals under the microscope in our last three blogs on breakkie, lunch and dinner. Now it’s time to address the pivotal issue of what we do in between the three biggies, when our tummies are rumbling, our blood sugar has dropped and our minds are wandering towards the full range of Cadbury’s in the nearby vending machine.

What to do?
As with most things nutrition, there are varying schools of thought. Some say snack throughout the day and some say don’t snack at all. We sit somewhere in the middle – and there is a way to find healthy snacks when the next meal is just too far away!

Here are some yummy, super easy snacks for you to try:
• Carrot or celery sticks with hummus
• Carrot or celery sticks with guacamole
• Celery sticks or apple slices with ABC spread (or peanut butter if you’re feeling a bit indulgent!)
• Plain bio yoghurt with 10 raw almonds and a handful of berries or ½ a piece of fruit
• A lump of cheese with a handful of grapes or a sliced apple (the fat stops that dreaded sugar spike)
• A handful of raw nuts – try mixing almonds, brazil nuts and cashews for complete protein
• A protein ball containing mixed nuts, seeds etc

If you’re really hungry or have skipped a meal:
• Avocado and sliced tomato on one slice (or two) of sourdough toast
• A mini-salad with tinned salmon fillets, a small can of mixed beans, a ¼ of an avocado, diced tomato and diced cucumber
• A small bowl of additive-free soup (we like 'Pitango')
• Two boiled eggs or a small can of salmon for a protein fix

Mars Bars no more! We hope you enjoy some of our healthy alternatives.