Spring time = spring thyme!

As you enjoy the smell of fresh flowers this spring, also spring into action to implement a new strategy in your cooking. Jazz up your favourite dishes by infusing them with more flavour if you want to savour the taste without adding the extra calories or sodium. Stock up on fresh herbs this season!

Fresh oregano goes great with pasta sauce. You might wonder what desperate dieter would make pasta! However, opting for a whole grain variety and loading your sauce with fresh mushrooms, carrots, onions and garlic with fresh thyme, oregano and fresh tomato sauce is a smart choice. This is the kind of meal that is packed with superfoods that will keep you satiated for many hours without leaving you craving empty calories. Just one serving of fresh foods prepared with fresh herbs will keep your taste buds very happy. This freshness keeps you feeling vibrant, healthy and able to stay active even after you eat your meals, because you are not consuming artificial processed foods that are laden with high calories and sodium, not to mention harmful chemicals.

Your kitchen herb garden

It is so much fun to take it a step further and bring spring right into your kitchen and try to grow these herbs in cute little pots on your window sill. Just looking at them and smelling their aromatic fragrance is soothing and a great reminder that you are eating from the earth that God so richly blessed you with. There is nothing more healing than grabbing a bunch of fresh mint to put in your tea or to chop into your tabouleh salad. It brings new meaning to the expression “give yourself a hand” when you grab a handful of those fresh herbs, giving your immune system a boost. With all the bugs you can catch eating salads in restaurants, you would be doing yourself a favour to eat these at home and lower your risk of getting sick.

Our body is like a garden

Be intentional about watering and caring for your herbs just as you would care for a tree that you want to grow. This is also a good reminder for us dieters that we really do have to be intentional about caring for ourselves. It does not just happen on its own. We have to take responsibility to care for ourselves and do the watering and the pruning that a good gardener does to keep their garden healthy and vibrant. It takes time and commitment to take a multiple of correct steps in order for your garden to flourish, so is the case with our bodies.

If you want your herbs to do well, where you place them will matter as some of them will need some sun. The same is true for us, because where we place ourselves at certain times of the day matters. For example, I know that if it is past seven at night then I need to keep myself as far away from my kitchen as possible or I’m going to get a major snack attack! I have learned to use that time to get busy reading, writing or taking a walk. As soon as that critical time passes then I am fine because the cravings only last for short spurts and my mind gets busy thinking about something else. The trick is to get distracted with something other than food! Just as we grow those herbal gardens to lighten our cooking, so too must we grow our mental gardens and spring into fresh thoughts. This way, we lighten our mental loads and reduce the mental fog we all fall victim to when we succumb to our bad eating habits. 

Fellow dieter, let April shower you with new possibilities! Treat your kitchen and your mind like fresh soil that can help you grow stronger and healthier each day you choose to intentionally invest your time and effort into them!

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine