Winter weight is something that creeps up on you and makes it’s presence known one day when you walk by a shopfront window. Winter has finally hit and the chilly mornings make it almost impossible to bounce out of bed. It’s time to crave carb-based comfort food and be more sedentary, which inevitably leads to putting on a few winter kilos. Traditionally this is what happens, with gym memberships spiking in September as everyone realizes the reality of their waistline.
I have some easy, tasty and calorie friendly swaps you can make in the kitchen to ensure you stay healthy this winter.
Swap 1
Make zucchini noodles instead of using wheat based spaghetti. 2 cups of pasta contain around 90g carbohydrate and 480calories, compared to 2 cups of zucchini noodles at 12g carbs and 70calories. Get yourself a spiraliser for around $10, as making zoodles is effortless and calorie friendly.
Swap 2
Take a healthy twist on an iconic Australian dish – Shepherd’s pie. Instead of white potato, butter and cheese on the top, opt for cauliflower puree with fetta cheese. With 1 cup of cauliflower containing only 15 calories, it makes for the ideal swap for potato.
Swap 3
Say no to hot, fried chips and make some baked crispy sweet potato chips instead. Traditional hot chips contain 300calories per 100g serve while the same amount of sweet potato only has 90 calories. Plus sweet potato is rich in calcium, fibre and beta carotene. Simply cut sweet potato into strips, toss in coconut oil, rosemary and sea salt then bake on a tray lined with baking paper for around 40 minutes.
Swap 4
Reach for a kiwi fruit instead of an orange. With over 93mg of vitamin C per 100g kiwi fruit contains almost double the amount of vitamin C than oranges. Research has shown that two kiwi fruit a day improves irritable bowel syndrome, particularly effective for constipation, due to the great fibre levels.
Swap 5
Ditch the potato crisps in the afternoon and choose popcorn instead. With only 40 calories in every cup, popcorn will satisfy that crunch craving without impacting your waistline.
Follow our easy to implement food swaps to make sure your winter weight stays healthy!
