healthy eating 19 | The Health Sessions

How to Effortlessly Eat a Balanced Diet

Do you mindlessly gobble down the same old boring breakfast before rushing out the door each morning? Or are you stressed out every night wondering what you should have for dinner without falling into a rut?

So many of us have virtually the same meals day after day. And even if you do make a conscious effort to mix up what you’re having for lunch, you still might not be eating a huge variety of foods. Most food products you find in the supermarket contain the same handful of ingredients – wheat, soy, corn and sugar.

But eating a lot of different foods is crucial to obtain all the nutrients you need for a healthy body and mind. A balanced diet ensures you get the entire range of vitamins and minerals, without consuming too much of one particular nutrient. Because the same rule applies to both fast food meals and uber-healthy foods: “The dose make the poison.”

Even eating big ass salads and huge amounts of steamed broccoli on a daily basis for many years could potentially lead to health problems, when small amounts of harmful compounds in dark leafy greens and cruciferous veggies build up over time. (You’d need to consume huge amounts of one vegetable over a long period of time before this would happen, but you get my point.)

Coming up with new recipes every day can be an overwhelming challenge. Luckily, there are two strategies to effortlessly eat a more balanced diet without stressing out:

21 Simple Habits to Kickstart a Healthier Lifestyle

You can feel this growing sense of excitement bubble up: It’s time for a fresh start, with a healthy new lifestyle to unleash your full potential.

Inspired by all the success stories about former coach potatoes who ended up running a marathon in one year, you go all in. You work out at the gym five days a week and you start a juice fast before definitely cutting out all sugar, gluten, dairy, alcohol and caffeine all at once.

At first, the positive effects of exercising and healthy eating rub off on the rest of your life. You wake up early and refreshed and you have no trouble saying “no, thank you” to that piece of chocolate cake on birthday parties.

Until after two or three weeks, life suddenly throws you off course. After being up all night with your child, you’re desperate for another shot of caffeine, and you miss your yoga class because you’re so swamped with work. When you finally get home at night, you feel too tired to cook up a healthy bowl of quinoa with grilled vegetables.

Of course you’ll jump back in the saddle tomorrow, but you can’t shake that feeling that you’ve somehow failed. It starts to feel like a lot of effort to keep up this perfectly healthy lifestyle, and the next time life gets in the way of your resolutions, you automatically fall back into your old routine of crashing in front of the TV with a microwaved meal after a stressful day.

Does this story sound familiar?

A total transformation of your health surely sounds appealing, but too many drastic lifestyle changes at once usually isn’t the recipe for longterm success. Research shows we only have a limited amount of willpower each day. So when you want to improve your health, it’s much easier to focus on creating small, doable habits – those automated, healthy behaviours you do without thinking about it.

Start small: pick one tiny health habit at a time, until it’s a natural part of your routine.

To help you kickstart a healthier lifestyle without too much stress and effort, here’s a list of 21 simple habits that can make a big difference.

Hot off the Grill: 10 Healthy BBQ Recipes

Healthy BBQ Recipes | Salmon Skewers — Salmon Skewers from Sprouted Kitchen

As temperatures are rising and the sun is (finally!) shining in the Netherlands, everyone is gearing up for a summer full of al fresco dining with family and friends. And as much as I enjoy catching up with my loved ones in the garden, I’m not a huge fan of greasy pork sausages and fatty potato salads that are often served at barbecues. So I drew some inspiration from my favourite food blogs and found some amazing recipes that are perfect for the grill. They are easy to make, fresh and tasty, and above all: 100% guilt free! Enjoy!

12 Timeless Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle

In a world that constantly changes, what’s considered a healthy lifestyle seems to differ from time to time and from culture to culture.

Over the past decades, we’ve seen countless of diet and exercise trends, from high-tech fitness and low-fat diets, to bootcamp-style workouts, Zumba and juice cleanses. People are not just keen to try out cool new workouts and meal plans, but these trends also reflect the medical knowledge and technology of any given period.

It makes you wonder: Is there any health advice that passes the test of time? Today we’re going back to the basics with 12 timeless tips for a healthy lifestyle.

Read more >

40 Delicious Ways to Eat More Vegetables Every Day | The Health Sessions

40 Delicious and Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables Every Day

Your mother, doctor and diet books have all been saying it for years: eat your vegetables.

We all know that greens are packed with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that boost our health. Research has linked eating plenty of vegetables to a lowered risk for heart disease and cancer, better weight management and even happiness.

But often a busy work – and social life get in the way of eating those five servings a day. Not to mention that eating 200 grams of vegetables on a daily basis can seem like a lot to chew on.

And it’s not just you. Studies have shown that only 1 out of 10 British and American adults eat the recommended amount of veggies a day.

So how can you add more green to your diet?

These 40 delicious ideas will show you how you can easily slip in more vegetables, even on days when you have little time to cook.