Hey y’all!

Whoa! What a week! I can’t believe it. You prepare weeks and weeks for Pesach and then – bang! – it’s over. If you’re like my family, who’s pretty strict and keeps processed foods to the minimum, then you’ve been eating quite healthily  for the past week.

So now it’s back to real life. The pasta, candy and baked goods reappear. You’re pretty used to veggies and fruits by now but will your good habits stay? Well. Probably not. But if you follow these four simple rules, you can change it to a ‘probably…YES!’! Here are four basic tricks to keep you on the straight and narrow path of … eating habits:

First and foremost is portion control. Even if you’re eating extremely healthy, too much is never great. There’s a limit to your stomach’s capacity! A great trick is to use a small plate in the first place, that way you can take a second helping and it will  feel like more but it’s actually only one portion.

Here’s a zanier one: Indulge! Don’t say: “I’ll never ever eat a chocolate bar again.” Theoretically, it sounds great, but it really isn’t. The odds are against us. We’re not angels. “Forbidden waters are the sweetest.”  Instead, tell yourself that if your careful the entire week, you’ll have one on Shabboss.

Experiment! If you’ve got a choice between two foods, choose the healthier one. If possible (doesn’t work in all recipes), instead of using margarine when you bake, switch to oil. Canola oil is best for baking. Once you’ve got the oil down pat, put half oil and half apple sauce. In a recipe which calls for white flour, put half whole wheat and half white. You get the idea! To be honest, you really can’t taste the change.

Last but not least: Exercise! Not only will it firm your muscles and speed up your metabolism (the amount of calories your muscles burn), it will make you more conscious of what you eat. “I just ran for an hour, worked so hard and I’m wasting it all on a … lollipop?!” A great start is a half hour daily walk.

The result? You’ll look beautiful, feel beautiful, and be beautiful.

Good luck!

Tonni

Oh, and keep up those veggies ;)