We see so many articles about super foods and how amazing they are for our skin, we’ve even posted a few ourselves. But really the concept of super foods all boils down to the fact that nature simply provides the best ingredients for our body and skin. There’s nothing miraculous about them, they’re just the foods we should be eating. No shop-bought ready meal will ever replace what nature can provide for us. Processed foods are full of extra sugar, salt and preservatives – plus things you’d never use when cooking for yourself like binding and bulking agents. With this in mind, we’ve put together some advice for you to get back to basics with your food, to help you cut out those heavily refined convenience foods, to give your body and skin the nutrition they need.
Swap pre-made sauces, curries and soups for homemade
This is one of the easiest switches to make because not only do homemade soups, sauces and curries taste a thousand times better, they can be made in bulk and frozen for future convenient use! If you aren’t used to cooking, these types of meals might seem intimidating, but as soon as you get the hang of the basics you’ll be flying. Chopping and sautéing vegetables, measuring herbs and spices, tasting as you go, these are things that come naturally after just a little while of cooking from scratch. And you can rest easy, knowing that your food is free from added sugar, preservatives and hidden flavourings.
Swap fizzy drinks for carbonated water with lime
There’s no denying that sometimes an ice-cold fizzy drink is irresistibly refreshing. But even just one can of your favourite pop may contain more sugar than you should be consuming in a day. Carbonated water, served cold with a squeeze of lime, perhaps even some cucumber, mint or a couple of crushed raspberries, will provide you with all of the delicious refreshment, but none of the sugar and chemical flavourings.
Embrace wholegrains
Pasta, rice, couscous and bread are much more nutritious in their wholegrain versions. The added fibre is important for overall health, and they contain more trace vitamins and minerals than their white, refined counterparts.
Bake your own treats
It’s almost impossible to find pre-made baked goods that have anything nutritious in them. But at home there are so many different things you can do, from baking with wholewheat flour to using apple sauce and mashed banana as sweeteners, adding fresh fruit into cakes, or even making your own chocolate mousse out of avocado and melted dark chocolate.
Fix up your breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal you eat, so it should be the first place you adopt a more natural diet. If you eat breakfast cereal or instant porridge, you’re likely to be eating more refined sugar and preservatives than you realise. Switching to a sugar-free instant porridge or wholefood cereal will help. Ditch sweet breakfast items like muffins and pastries – try wholemeal toast with avocado instead. And always eat a piece of fruit with your breakfast.
These are just a few practical ways you can get more high-quality nutrients into your diet – following these tips will help your body and skin to look and feel as good as possible.
