What would be 5 top tips for shrugging off the xmas excess and getting back into healthy eating
The festive season is a time of the year where people often find themselves over indulging in too much rich foods and drink and neglect their daily exercise routine. Once Christmas is over and the New Year arrives everyone is ready to shed those extra Christmas kg and set their health and fitness goals for the New Year. Here are 5 of my top tips to start the New Year feeling energized, healthy and Gorgeous!
1. Get Moving: Get your body moving and being active daily. Now the festive season is over and the start of the new year is here, its the perfect time to review and refresh your daily exercise regime. Set yourself 30 minutes plus a day to be active (schedule it in your diary so you have a plan for the week, this will also hold you accountable). With the warm longer days over summer its the perfect time to get outdoors and exercise; go for a run, power walk, join a bootcamp, paddle board, do yoga outside, swim, cycle. I also recommend exercising first thing in the morning, you get it out of the away and can get on to enjoy the rest of the day. Exercising first things also helps revives up your metabolism, gets your digestive system going and releases those happy hormones and vibes. I suggest you find exercise and activities you enjoy, work out with a friend or in a group. This will keep you motivated, committed and inspired.
2. Get Fresh: Now is the perfect time to truly make the most of all the gorgeous fresh fruits (summer fruits and berries) and vegetables that are available to us. Use all these whole food produce to create fresh salads, nutritious smoothies and natural juices.
Salads: Be adventurous with your salads. Salads can become a powerhouse of goodness. Add a variety of greens (they are the foundation to amazing health)-kale, spinach, rocket, cos lettuce; add chopped seasonal fruit, seeds, nuts, super grains such as quinoa, buckwheat, herbs such as parsley, mint, coriander. The options to create fresh, nutritious salads are endless.
Try the Reveal Yourself Super Kale and Micro Green Salad:
Ingredients:
3 large bunches of kale leaves (can add a mixture of kale and spinach leaves)
1 handful of fresh parsley chopped
1 handful of fresh mint chopped
1 baby beetroot grated
1-2 small radish sliced thinly or grate
1 avocado chopped
1 cup of fresh micro greens
1 Tbsp of dried cranberries
2 Tbsp of pumpkin seeds
Dressing:
1 pitted prune
Juice of one lemon
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar
Himalayan pink salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
– Wash, rinse and de-steam kale leaves. Chop kale leaves and place in salad bowl
– Add all dressing ingredients into a blender and mix. Pour over kale leaves and massage into the kale leaves for about 1-2 minutes.
– Finely chop parsley, mint and add to kale leaves. Add in grated beetroot, sliced radish and micro greens. Finally add pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries
Mix all together and serve
Smoothies: Start making healthy, nutritious, refreshing smoothies. Smoothies are a great chance to add extra vitamins, minerals and antioxidants into your diet. Add superfoods such as chia seeds, coconut oil, organic protein powder, bee pollen, nut milks, coconut water and superfood powders (maca powder, camu camu, acai, maqui, raw cacao…). All these nutritious extras will help you feel energized, stabilize sugar levels, keep you fuller longer, detoxify your body, aid in digestion and put an extra spring in your step. Instead of the traditional smoothie in a glass, try making smoothies bowls (these are my favourite). Its like having dessert for breakfast (or lunch) and you can top your smoothie bowls with all your favourite superfoods.
Start your morning with the Reveal Yourself Antioxidant Smoothie bowl:
Ingredients:
1/2-1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup blueberries
1 serving of acai puree or 1 tsp of acai powder
1/2-1 cup frozen banana
1 Tbsp melted organic coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut water
1 tsp camu camu powder
1 tsp maqui powder
1 scoop of organic protein powder (optional)
Toppings: Your choice of your favourite superfoods- chia seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, bee pollen, almond flakes, cacao nibs, homemade muesli….
Directions:
Add all ingredients into a blender, mix until thick. Pour into a bowl and top with your favourite superfoods
Natural Juice: Invest in a slow juicer and starting making your own natural juices. Juicing is a fantastic way to get extra vegetables and fruits into you diet. Juicing provides nutrients and vitamins to your cells and feeds your body with live foods. Its is also very gentle on your digestive system.You will notice your energy levels increase, your sugar cravings diminish or completely disappear. Your skin and hair will also majorly benefit from juicing.
Try the Reveal Yourself Green Me Up Juice:
Ingredients:
1 large handful of kale leaves
1 large handful of spinach leaves
2 celery stalks
1 green apple
1 lemon
2 carrots
1/2 cucumber
Directions:
Add all ingredients into a slow juicer
3. Hydrate: Keep hydrated throughout the day. You should be drinking at least 2-3 litres of water per day. Water is one of the most essential requirements to a radiant and healthy you! Start each morning with a big glass of warm water, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar. This will activate the liver and bowels, detoxify the body, start the metabolism and aid in weight loss. Try my detox water; its refreshing, detoxifying and perfect on those hot summer days. In a big glass of filtered water add 2 sliced strawberries, squeezed lemon juice, slices of orange and lemon, frozen blueberries and raspberries, mint leaves, ice and a tsp of cinnamon.
4. Get inspired: Purchase a couple of whole food recipe or e-books and get back into the kitchen. Start creating nutritious recipes that are packed full of whole food ingredients. Make your own healthy snacks such as bliss balls, homemade muesli bars and granola bars, scroggin mix. Making your own healthy snacks will ensure you don’t make bad choices in your day. They will keep you fuller longer, control blood sugar levels throughout your day and keep you energized.
Try the Reveal Yourself Vanilla Bliss Balls (one of my favourite snacks)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cashew buts
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup almonds
1 1/2 Tbsp organic natural peanut butter or almond butter
1 Tbsp organic melted coconut oil
2 tsp organic vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Add all ingredients into a food processor and blend until comes together
Roll into balls
Store in air tight container in the fridge
Your food, how it looks and the ingredients you use is very much reflective in how you feel. Meals you create should look colorful, vibrant and packed full of nutritious whole food ingredients. I truly believe in the saying “ you are what you eat”. My philosophy is all about nourishing our bodies from the inside out; “ we should wake up every morning with a spring in our step and feel energized and radiant throughout the day”. The foods we eat and lifestyle we live play a critical role in ensuring we perform at our optimum and have a daily ‘SPARKLE’.
I created the Reveal Yourself Recipe e-book to provide people with easy, nutritiously dense and especially tasty whole food recipes for the whole family.
Only $14.99 http://revealyourself.co.nz/?page_id=1131 (this could be one of you new healthy recipes books for the new year)
5. Spring Clean: Do a spring clean of your pantry and fridge. Eliminate or completely get rid of all processed and refined foods. Give your fridge and pantry a thorough clean and restock with lots of fresh, nutritious whole food ingredients. I also suggest creating a health shelf in your pantry. Fill glass jars (label each jar) with all your healthy supplies of seeds, nuts, coconut oil, whole/super grains (quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth), unrefined flours such as spelt, buckwheat,coconut and nut flours, super foods such as cacao, spirulina, camu camu, maqui, acai. This creates easy access to all your healthy goodies and you can clearly see when you are running low or out. Now every time you open your pantry or fridge you will be inspired to create healthy meals with all the gorgeous whole food ingredients and of course using your new recipe books.
2. How was 2014 for you? What were your biggest learnings in 2014 and what is on your bucket list for 2015?
2014 was such a big year for me, a year of growth, development and learning both in my business and personally. A big part of last year was developing and expanding my business Reveal Yourself. I started 2014 creating a website www.revealyourself.co.nz and rebranding the look and image of Reveal Yourself. It was important to me that people had a place they could go for inspiration, motivation and tools to assist them on their own health and wellness journey’s.
I went back to studying, enrolling in Well Park Collage and doing a paper on the foundation of holistic nutrition. This was certainly a challenge, but one I thoroughly enjoyed.
I started the Reveal Yourself Clean Eating events. Each event sold out and it was very exciting to see so many people wanting to learn about my story, Reveal Yourself and how to be happy and healthy through eating clean. I loved being able to get up in front of a large group of people and share my passion of clean eating, whole foods and demonstrating my favourite recipes.
I published my first recipe e-book. The Reveal Yourself Recipe e-book allowed me to share all my favourite whole food recipes that I make for myself and my family. I sold over 200 copies in the first few weeks of my e-book being launched. I created the Reveal Yourself 7 Day Cleanse, which has become one of my favourite products. It was important to develop a cleanse that not only focused on weight loss and detoxing but gave people the tools and guidelines to begin their clean eating journey and create lifetime healthy habits. I set up a private support FB page for people doing the cleanse to join. This has created a forum where people on the 7 day cleanse can be inspired, motivated and share their own personal transformations. http://revealyourself.co.nz/?page_id=965
At the end of last year I got to go on a yoga retreat in Bali, Escape Haven. This had been on my bucket list for quite some time. The retreat Escape Haven lived up to everything I imagined it to be and it truly was a beautiful experience for both my body and soul.
2014 has certainly also been a year of personal growth. I really started to embrace and develop my purpose and passion within my business and myself. Understanding that I have a gift to share with people and not being scared to try new things and step outside my comfort zone (i.e speaking in front of a big group of people). I learnt during my time in Bali to be more present and enjoy the NOW. Life moves so fast and sometime we don’t stop to appreciate whats right in front of us. Its about being grateful for all the beautiful people, things and opportunities in our lives (being present and grateful). My biggest learning was to stop sweating and stressing about the small stuff. We can and especially as women get so bogged down on the little stuff that have not much meaning or purpose in our lives; yet can rule the mind, cause a lot of stress and distract us from what makes us truly happy. So I am learning to calm that noisy inner voice. Each day I mediate for 15 minutes, get out in nature- smell, hear and see all the beauty that is around me, nourish and care for my body and mind. These daily rituals ensure I stress less, stay more present, enjoy the now and are more productive, loving and happy as a mum, wife and within my business.
I am excited about 2015, I have set lots of wonderful foundation last year for my business and personally. I am looking to develop a whole food product range (that I have been working on) that will provide healthy snacks for families- Reveal Yourself Whole Foods. I want to create seasonal cleanse e-books and a new recipe book (healthy breakfast and snack ideas). To continue to educate and inspire people on clean eating and healthy living. My goal is to also take a group of inspiring ladies to a yoga retreat,and do some teaching on this experience. Commit to yoga classes at least 2 times per week and sign up for a 5km run.
Bio
My name is Christina Leon. Over 3 years ago I began my own personal journey of losing over 25kg and regaining my health back. Through this wonderful journey I developed the Reveal Yourself philosophy; creating products, tools and guidance to help people not only lose weight but to fully regain their own health back through clean eating and lifestyle. Reveal Yourself is all about ‘Revealing Your Best Self’.
I truly now believe in the old saying “you are what you eat”. The food we put into our bodies is not only reflected in our physical state (skin, nails, hair and body shape) but our mental and emotional state. Its about nourishing our body from the inside out. I realized that we needed to stop thinking that feeling tired, stressed and over weight is normal, its NOT! Normal is feeling energetic, healthy and happy everyday. When we nourish our body with the right foods and treat it kindly we naturally feel how our body should always feel- AMAZING!
I am a mum, wife, business owner and I have a passion for life! My mission is to inspire and educate as many people as I can to live a passionate, healthy and happy life through clean eating and healthy living. I feel blessed that I have found my true calling in life and I love that it affords me the opportunity to share my passion and journey with so many people.
Chrissie xx
www.revealyourself.co.nz
https://www.facebook.com/revealyourself