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Strike for Healthy Nutritional Goals
 With a few simple changes in your diet, you stand to gain detoxification and
a boost in energy levels. Lay down your nutritional goals and keep them in mind,
to achieve a healthy acid/alkaline balance within the body. It is always better
to eat a more alkaline diet because high acid levels can upset the healthy
functioning of the body. Through an analysis it was found that women generally
tend to eat more acidic diet, build up of which can cause stress, disease,
inactivity and poor diet.
breakfast goals
 A healthy breakfast kick-starts the metabolism. Try to include wholesome,
nutrient-rich, easily digestible foods as they will boost your energy levels and
help to fuel your body for the rest of the day. Avoid eating cooked food for
breakfast (except porridge) and, whenever possible, go for foods in their
uncooked, raw state - cooking tends to either add fat or destroy nutrients. Try
to avoid wheat and don't become reliant on toast or breakfast cereal, although
they are fine a couple of times a week. If you buy breakfast cereal, choose a
variety that is low in sugar and salt, and preferably organic.
Most important of all, vary your options. If you eat the same breakfast cereal
every day, the body is not challenged and cannot absorb nutrients from it in the
same way. Smoothies are a healthy breakfast option: simply blend the ingredients
to make drinkable consistent.
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Try to eat breakfast portions of fresh vegetables every day.
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Drink at least 1.5 liters of water everyday.
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Eat four pieces of fruit every day.
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Eat three portions of fresh vegetables everyday.
Water
 Drinking more water enables the body to function more efficiently and can
even help shed weight as it enables the body to flush out retained fluids. The
1.5-2litres (21/2-31/2 pints) of liquid that you need to drink every day should
be almost exclusively water, although you can include herbal tea and diluted
unsweetened fruit juices. Tea, coffee, sweetened juices from concentrate, fizzy
drinks and alcohol do not count as water.
Fresh fruit and vegetables
 Packed with vitamins and minerals and essential to the healthy functioning
of the body, fresh fruit and vegetables are easy to digest and energize and
detoxify the body as well as boosting the immune system. Remember not to cook
the goodness out of fresh produce, and to buy organic whenever possible.
Healthy breakfasts
suggestions
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Wheat-free muesli- Use organic rolled oats for half the
mixture and add natural unsweetened puffed rice, sesame seeds,
almonds, sunflower seeds, linseeds, dried apricots, raisins and
dried banana to make up the other half.
Fresh fruit- Try melons, strawberries, bananas, blueberries,
Kiwis and peaches: eat fewer oranges and grapefruits as they are
more acidic. Add yoghurt, it preferred, but no more than twice a
week.
A detox smoothie- Blend fresh melon, kiwi, pineapple juice
and ice.
An energizing smoothie- Blend fresh pear, apple, kiwi, carrot
juice and ice.
 The
perfect breakfast smoothie- Blend fresh strawberries, banana,
pineapple juice, orange juice, a little low- fat plain yoghurt and
ice.
Wholemeal toast- Spread with a little butter (not margarine)
and honey or jam. Aim to eat butter no more than twice a week
Porridge- Make with organic rolled oats, if possible.
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LUNCH GOALS
 Take time out at lunchtime and relax while you eat. Chew your food thoroughly as
this breaks it down earlier in the digestive process and enables the body to
extract more nutrients from it. Try not to drink too much with your meal as this
flushes the food through the body more quickly and prevents the body from
digesting it as thoroughly. Drink most of your water mid-morning and
mid-afternoon.
Lunch should be the most filling of your daily meals. At this time of day, the
body is in full swing. A good lunch raises the metabolic rate and provides the
body with energy it needs to sustain it for the remainder of the day. Try to eat
complex carbohydrates such as rice, root vegetables, couscous and pasta as they
are slow releasers of energy and ensure that you won't experience energy highs
and lows during the afternoon.
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Eat lunch every day, and eat it halfway through the day at regular
lunchtime, not midway into the afternoon
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Limit lunches containing wheat to two per week
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Limit intake of tea and coffee to two cups in total per week.
 Tea and coffee
Both tea and coffee dehydrate the body. As one of the main aims of the detox
is to keep the body well hydrated so it can function at optimum efficiency,
drinking large amounts of tea and coffee will not help achieve the desired
effects. Substitute herbal teas or, ideally, water.
Healthy lunches suggestions
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Rice salads- Easy to prepare yourself: boil the rice with a
little stock; add fresh herbs and chopped vegetables such as
peppers, broccoli and mushrooms.
Sushi- A healthy option, increasingly popular and even sold
in some supermarkets.
Raw vegetables with dips- Try carrots, celery, cucumber,
broccoli and cauliflower, for
example; experiment with dips such as hummus and tzatziki; beware of
reduced fat varieties - they may still be high in fat.
Fresh salad- Experiment with leaves and vegetables of
your choice; try adding pumpkin or sesame seeds; avoid cheese or
mayonnaise dressings.
Couscous salad- Make your own: add any combination of
sliced grilled chicken breast, chick peas and vegetables such as
steamed or grilled courgettes, aubergine, onion or peppers and fresh
mint.
Wholemeal pasta salads- Try cooked pasta with vegetables
such as broccoli, spinach and mange tout, and fresh herbs.
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 What makes a healthy lunch?
Fat content should be no higher than 15 per cent, of which saturates should
make up no more than 5 per cent of the total calories.
All too often we reach for convenience food at lunchtime, and the obvious
choice is the sandwich. The sandwich can be a healthy option, but look out for
the following.
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 The bread- Go for organic wholemeal bread, although rye bread is
a tasty wheat-free option. Wholemeal bread is the least processed and the
least acid-forming, and is less likely to give you a sugar rush, which means
you won't need a snack in the afternoon.
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The filling- Avoid cheese and hidden calories in the form of
mayonnaise, butter and margarine. Try a salad filling with fish or chicken.
DINNER GOALS
 The earlier in the evening you eat, the better. This allows the body time to
digest food properly, while you are awake and active. If you eat and go bed soon
after, it does not have enough time to digest what you have eaten before
resting. Food sits in the body overnight, then passes out without being properly
digested, or it can hang around too long in the body as undigested waste.
When you can't eat early in the evening, make sure that the later you eat, the
more alkaline the meal, as alkaline foods are easier to digest. If you know that
you are going to eat less than two hours before going to bed, have a meal that
does not contain meat, wheat or dairy products as these acid-forming foods are
more difficult to digest. This way you are working with your body to give it
what it needs when it needs it.
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Try to eat as early in the evening as possible, preferably at least two
hours before you go to bed your evening meal and aim to make it less
starchy.
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Make sure that only one of your meals each day contains wheat products
such as bread, pasta and couscous.
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Increase the intake of dark green vegetables.
Less wheat
 Wheat is not the most digestion-friendly food and by now you should be
adjusting to eating less of it, replacing it with more fresh fruit and
vegetables. Begin to phase wheat out of your evening meals now and experiment
with replacements such as wild rice, millet, lentils and barley. These have a
cleansing effect on the body because of their high fibre content and are an
excellent source of protein, which the body needs to maintain and repair itself.
You can also buy wheat-free pasta and bread.
Eat your greens
 Children are told to eat their greens and the same applies to adults.
Vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, kale, courgettes and asparagus all have
antioxidant properties, as do red peppers and carrots.
Antioxidants are our first line of defence against ageing, heart disease, cancer
and the harmful effects of stress. They neutralize free radicals, unstable
substances that occur in the body as a by-product of oxidation, which can cause
damage, especially to cell membranes.
Size is important
The body needs more energy during the day, when you are active, and less
energy during the night, when you are asleep. Alter the size of your meals
accordingly: make breakfast and lunch your bigger, heartier meals and keep your
evening meal simple and more alkaline-based (see panel for suggestions). Try to
include protein, vegetables and occasionally some carbohydrates. Enhance the
flavour of food by experimenting with fresh herbs and spices rather than cooking
with fat and oil. Remember that the fat in fish is good for you as it contains
selenium, an antioxidant, which can help control cholesterol levels and may also
help protect against cancer.
Healthy dinners suggestions
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 Grilled or steamed fish- Oily fish high in Omega-3 fatty acids are
best: try trout, salmon, sea bass, tuna and mackerel.
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Seasonal vegetables- Eat them raw, steamed or roasted.
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Vegetable risotto- Try mushroom, courgette or asparagus, but do not
include cream or cheese
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Stir-fries Vegetables- such as mange tout, bean sprouts, carrots,
onion and peppers can be combined with prawns or skinned chicken
breast: use a small amount of oil and cook quickly to ensure the
vegetables stay crunchy.
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Beans and lentils- Try bean soup or dahl.
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Frozen yoghurt and sorbet- These are good low-fat dessert options.
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Fruit- Try fresh fruit salad, poached pears or baked apples instead
of desserts made with lots of sugar and cream.
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