As we press through the first few weeks of the new year it is an opportunity to reflect on how we can feed ourselves in a healthy, pragmatic and cost-effective way. A good, balanced diet (where you don’t forget to eat a meal) is one of the most basic things you can do to set yourself up for success. Here are four ways to feed your career by making sure that you’re properly fuelling your body.
Eat Breakfast
This sounds simple, but too many people think breakfast is two cups of coffee or nothing at all. Ensuring you have a decent breakfast (ideally with some protein) will really help you hit the ground running. For me, that’s some toast with cheese or pâté. John doesn’t think this is healthy and suggests I add in some fruit or yogurt. Time will tell if I follow his advice. Regardless, make sure you’re eating something – your body, and your mind, will thank you.
Pack Snacks
No – I’m not recommending you eat three bags of Kettle chips every day. I’m talking about healthy/tasty snacks which can keep your blood-sugar up and your focus constant. After all, how are you going to work at 100% of you’re hungry and tired? Some of my favourites are granola bars (great to hide in your desk for when hunger strikes), almonds (so tasty and so healthy) and if you have a fridge, some hummus and carrots. For some more ideas courtesy of the BBC, click here.
Drink Water
Drink it like your life depends on it. Because it does. Remember that time in the afternoon when you felt a bit sleepy and just all-round shitty? You had trouble focussing. Time for a coffee right? Wrong! Think about hydrating yourself with a glass of water. Did you know the average adult is supposed to drink between 9-16 cups per day? Are you even close to that? I didn’t think so. An easy tip is to have a bottle nearby that’s juiced up – adding some lemon or lime makes ordinary tap water just a little more awesome. You can also go the carbonated route with a SodaStream so you feel like you’re drinking something fancy. Ultimately, whenever you’re feeling tired, groggy or in need of a break, treat yourself to a glass of water. If you get on the Waterworld bandwagon, you can expect a variety of benefits. Read them all here.
Cook with Whole Ingredients
When you get home or are preparing lunches for tomorrow, try to avoid processed food. Generally this stuff is just jammed with all sorts of garbage. Instead, think about some quick and easy recipes (like tuna melts, basic pastas – try making your own sauce – or just about anything involving chickpeas). There’s lots of great recipe books out there to help you get up to speed. Some of my favourites are Thug Kitchen (if you can handle profanity and want to take your vegetarian cooking to the next level, this one’s for you), Tyler Florence’s the Ultimate (home-style, simple recipes) and recipes from the guys from SortedFood (step by step easy to make recipes which have accompanying YouTube videos). Great thing about whipping up a meal from one of these cookbooks is it’ll leave plenty of tasty, healthy and whole leftovers for lunch the next day.