By Kezia Kent

The winter season is usually the time of year when excuses start of “It’s too cold”, “I’m going to wait until it gets warmer”, “No motivation when it is so cold” start becoming first priority instead of following a balanced way of eating and sticking to an exercise regime.

So instead of becoming a weight gain victim in the last few weeks of the cold, here are a few tips to follow to make sure you don’t fall victim to the winter weight blues.

Kezia gives us some tips to eat healthily while traveling

Whether it is travelling 8 hours to get to your holiday destination or if it’s travelling for work purposes, many of us find it difficult to stick to a healthy way of eating while travelling.

Traveling definitely has an impact on stress and energy levels if you don’t plan ahead of time what it is that you will be eating.  So here are a few tips to help keep you healthy while travelling.

Many of us have gotten so used to overriding our bodies natural hunger cues and instead of listening to our body’s messages we just keep on eating large portions until the food on our plate is finished.

Firstly let me dispel the difference between a portion and a serving.  A serving is the amount of food recommended on educational material (nutritional label) and a portion is the amount of food you choose at a specific mealtime, which is normally more or less than a serving size.

So, if you still struggle to listen to your body’s biological messages why not try Kezia's tips to help shrink your portions.

Watching your waistline over special holidays may be expected, but what about all the other social events throughout the year that may cause havoc to our waistlines?

Going out for dinner, birthday parties, work events and catch-up drinks with friends.  These are all occasions which we don’t prepare for and many of us tend to over eat and over indulge at these events. 

Here are Kezia's tips to help prevent you from overeating:

Bikini season is just around the corner and now is the time to get your diet right so you can look your best on the beach! Here are some tips to get you going:

v     Eat small meals throughout the day

Yes, you’ve heard it before, but it cannot be emphasized enough that eating 5 to 6 small meals a day will keep your hunger levels at bay, your energy levels up, your metabolism stoked and your training fuelled. Meals should be spaced between 2.5 and 3 hours apart. Similarly, do not skip any meals, as this will cause your metabolic rate to slow down and your body to be more likely to store fat.

Women have very specific needs and therefore it is important for all women to ensure that they get a variety of nutrients. So, here are the nutrients you need to make sHere are those nutrients, which are particularly important for women:

Calcium

• Prevents osteoporosis and maintenance of bone health
• Found in: Dairy products, tofu, fish with edible bones (e.g. kippers)

Folic acid

• Essential for women of child-bearing age to prevent neurological defects in the child
• Found in: Avocadoes, Green leafy Vegetables

See Kezia's tips on incorporating more exercise into your day for Madiba Day.

67minutes seems to be the phrase that is on everyone’s mind in July.  So before you think that we going to suggest 67 fruit portions or 67 calories per day, lets puts more emphasis on our health to allow us to take part in the 67minutes for Madiba Day.

67minutes  of exercise on a regular basis.

The health benefits of regular exercise and any physical activity are hard to ignore:

1.       Controls weight

When you exercise or do any form of physical activity you ‘burn’ calories, and the more intense the exercise the more calories you ‘burn’.  This will allow you to prevent excess weight gain or help maintain a healthy weight.

Are you a Baking fan?
You'll be happy to know that you need to give up your favourite hobby. Here are Kezia's tips for some healthy substitutes for common baking ingredients

Sugar substitute               Unsweetened Pureed Apple

Best with:            Cakes and baked goods. 

How to:                Cut the sugar amount in half by adding the same amount of pureed cooked apple plus an extra 1/3. Eg. If recipe calls for 1 cup sugar, you can use ½ cup sugar and about ¾ Cup pureed apple (½ cup +1/3).  Keep in mind that you will need to cut down the recipe’s main liquid by about ¼ for every cup of apple sauce added.

 See below for Kezia's recipe for a pizza base made of cauliflower that still looks like a pizza and tastes just like a pizza. AMAZING!

Ingredients for crust: (Makes about 3 pizza bases)

1 Medium Sized Cauliflower

1 cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese

2 Whisked Eggs

Garlic seasoning, salt and pepper and a bit of Italian herbs.  (Season to your liking)


Directions:

·         Preheat oven to 180C and ‘Spray and Cook’ a baking sheet / pizza pan

·         Put the cauliflower through the grating attachment on a food processor. Resulting in small pieces like grated cheese. (Roughly makes 6cups)

·         Pour ‘riced’ cauliflower into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients

·         Mix together with your hands, making 3 balls. Dough may be ‘wetter’ than normal, don’t be alarmed.

·         Press dough into a circular shape on baking sheet and bake in oven for about 15min.  You can flip the base after this time and bake for a further 15min to get a crispier base.

·         Take it out and add your pizza toppings (Tomato base, pineapple, mushrooms, peppers etc.)

·         Put back in oven to bake ingredients onto pizza

See below for a clip from Lila's appearance on the Dr Mol Show on 31st May 2013