NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT DURING THE SILLY SEASON

What does the silly season mean to you? Does it equate to excess sugar, wheat and dairy, and an increase in alcohol consumption and overall nutritional loss? Let’s take a look at some simple yet powerful ways to boost your nutritional requirements during the silly season.

DRINK WATER
Start with water. The heat of the summer months requires an increase in the amount of water you need to drink. Start the day with freshly squeezed lemon in water and keep well hydrated at all times by sipping on water regularly throughout the day.

DRINK YOUR GREENS
Green smoothies have no dairy and are jam packed with nutritional support. When you are in a rush and don’t have time to eat properly, you can relax knowing you are getting your fill of greens and fruit by blending them together with water, yes, more water for you!

Try this simple recipe:
Baby spinach leaves Banana Water or coconut water and coconut flesh Ice Blend and serve. Use about half a packet of fresh, washed baby spinach leaves, one large banana and then enough water for about 2 cups for your first green smoothie. The colour is emerald green and makes for an incredibly healing drink. Experiment yourself with the amounts you like, and add a range of different greens to a smoothie and different fruits as you go, finding your favourites along the way. Add things like freshly squeezed lemon juice, ginger, watermelon, mangoes and cucumbers and more for added nutrition. Yum!

NUTRITIONAL TREATS
No one needs to suffer from high sugar, empty calorie treats anymore, not when there are so many scrumptious alternatives that are so easy to make in such little time, and are so good for you too. Put simply, consider maple syrup, rapadura or agave syrup instead of sugar in simple treats.

Rapadura is unrefined, evaporated sugar cane containing molasses and is rich in iron and calcium. Agave is a sap from the agave plant, where the sugars release slowly and is mild in flavour. Agave comes as a syrup, and rapadura, agave and maple syrup can all be found in health food stores.

Use nuts like almonds, ground to a flour, instead of wheat. Almonds are high in fibre and healthy fats. Cut open a coconut and use the coconut flesh instead of other flours, and the juice as the liquid in your recipes. Coconut oil can be used in green smoothies, in baths, or eaten alone, and even used as a massage oil, hair oil and for swishing in the mouth and spiting out into the garbage (don’t put that stuff down the sink). Coconut oil is antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiviral and anti fungal. It boosts immunity and helps increase metabolism and weight loss. Add it to protein balls, cacao balls, and in raw cake recipes as well.

During the silly season, it is easy to turn to raw vegan desserts for added nutrition. In the heat of summer, you’ll want something light yet nourishing to feed your body. My favourite recipe is a Strawberry Pie from Wendy Rudell’s The Raw Transformation. Blend together soaked and washed almonds, medjool dates and shredded coconut. Push into a springboard pan as your base, then fill with blended and mixed together strawberries, dates and psyllium husks. Add on top blended and mixed macadamias, cashews, coconut water and agave syrup, then decorate with freshly cut strawberries for an impressive and nutritionally supportive pie.

Rudell also has some great recipes for easy sorbets, like strawberry, banana and agave mixed together, or mango, banana and honey sorbet. Mix, freeze and enjoy. Her ice-cream ideas of fresh fruit blended with cashews and coconut water then frozen are also delectable. There are so many simple ideas like this for summer, offered in many raw vegan cookbooks and online.

Try:

• Making cacao balls treats by mixing cacao butter, cocoa powder, goji berries and agave. Roll together and refrigerate to set. This is a yummy chocolate alternative;

• Push an almond into a medjool date and eat when you have a chocolate craving;

• Eat fruit high in water content if your dietary requirements allow;

• Freeze freshly squeezed juices as ice blocks for hot days;

• Prepare extra green smoothies a day ahead. Drink one, refrigerate one, so you always have that nutritional support on hand;

• Make protein balls with nuts, seeds, dates, fruit and coconut oil to have on the go.

ATTEND A NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT WORKSHOP
I am running nutritional support workshops during the silly season with the Arbonne nutritional range of pure, vegan, natural nutritional support. Please call me to book into a session, or gather some friends and host one at your place, and I’ll come to you. I can even combine it with yoga and meditation session on the day.

Have a ball during the silly season, and use the hotter months to boost your health habits with simple, delicious, healing alternatives that are quick and easy and a lot of fun! Your body and mind will thank you for it!

Kylie Terraluna is a yoga, health and lifestyle feature writer and health journalist. Kylie teaches private yoga and wellness coaching sessions, with home visits along the hills to hawkesbury region and sometimes beyond. She also runs private retreats. Kylie is the Health & Wellbeing feature writer for the Hills to Hawkesbury Living Magazine. For more, visit kylieterraluna.com.au.