DIET TIPS! Eat Well, Live Well. #Health&Fitness

• Eliminate BAD foods from your diet. Define "bad"? Anything processed should go. Soft drinks, processed sugar, junk food (potato chips, candies) are just a few examples of what you should avoid. Some people claim that occasional indulgences are necessary for the soul. True, I believe in enjoying foods you truly like. However, I believe that instead of occasionally pigging out on your favourite junk food, try replacing as many of your favourite snacks as possible with cleaner, healthier counterparts. This makes for an overall improved diet that is better for you in the long run.

• Replace soft drinks with tea and water. I do not drink tea on an empty stomach, only after meals. I like to have a sachet / 2-3 cups of green tea every morning and the brand of green tea I like (OJK) contains chlorella, which is supposedly good for you. Green tea contains a lot of antioxidants and has purportedly great for metabolism-boosting properties. I also have either non-caffeinated teas or herbal teas at night just to wind down. The tea flavours I opt for are usually caramel, vanilla, mint and I like green tea based teas best. I personally do not fancy Chai, Chamomile, Earl Grey and am on the fence regarding English Breakfast. (Perhaps I will post an entry solely on teas soon!) Water is very important for you to hydrate your skin from inside-out as well as to flush out toxins from your body. I have no qualms about drinking plain water (and I do drink a lot of water!) but if that sounds too boring for you, add some sliced fruit (cucumbers, lemon, lime) into your water to spice up your H20. My take on drinking lemon water every morning before food? No. Lemon is acidic and it is, in my opinion, unwise to consume anything acidic on an empty stomach. If you want, sip it alongside breakfast.

• The right way to drink juices & smoothies. It is alright to have a juice/smoothie in the morning on an empty stomach IF you put in the right fruit. Avoid acidic fruit (lemon, lime, oranges, grapefruit, pineapples, etc) and opt for sweet fruit (apples, berries, bananas). Use A LOT of veggies in your juice/smoothie and LESS fruit - 3/4 veggies and 1/4 fruit form the perfect morning juice/smoothie equation. Veggies that are fantastic for juicing are celery, kale, spinach, cucumber. Go for organic veggies because ain't nobody got time for pesticides! You can toss in a little ginger, garlic or cayenne pepper to spice things up too. Cayenne pepper also helps to kickstart one's metabolism. You can also add a tablespoon of chia seeds in for additional health benefits. I personally hate having bananas in my juices/smoothies - I prefer consuming them whole. Also, I have juice/smoothie anytime I like in the day and night. Just note that you should consume juice/smoothie either 1-2 hrs before your meal or 1-2 hrs after so the fruit does not interfere with the digestion of your food. When drinking, do not immediately swallow the juice but swish it in your mouth a little to let your saliva mix with the juice.

• Cut down on caffeine. This may be a challenge as I know people who need at least one cup per day to survive. As long as you do not reach a point where you feel like you need to RELY on caffeine to go about your life, you go drink your one cuppa coffee daily and be on your merry way! I preach limiting coffee to a maximum intake of one cup daily. Teas do contain caffeine so I'm not saying that I completely eliminate caffeine from my diet, but the caffeine amount in teas are way lesser.

• Replace processed sugar (e.g. white sugar) with manuka honey. I know some critics argue that honey is also bad for you because it contains fructose, but I would rather consume raw and natural manuka honey over calorie-free sweeteners like Truvia and Stevia. Not all honey is as good and beneficial as manuka honey so do not go thinking any honey is fine! Manuka honey also comes in different grades (and therefore different prices) so do your homework and pick the grade that you and your budget feel most comfortable with.

• Replace junk food with cleaner bites such as greek yogurt, tortilla chips (go for brands that are not prepared with bad oils, additives), kale chips, rice cakes with nut butter, fruit, edamame, etc. I like to have Fage Total 0% Greek Yogurt, mixed with two teaspoons of manuka honey and one tablespoon of chia seeds, some times tossing fruit in, before bed just for the extra protein kick before I sleep. I consume a substantial amount of fruit every day (What can I say? I love my fruit!). I know some people mentioned that eating fruit past 2pm makes you fat. I am unaware as to how accurate this statement is but I am not concerned about it. Ultimately, I am looking to eat well and live well so weight loss is not my goal. I have fruit anytime I want, even at night before I sleep. Fruit is whole, natural, unprocessed and so I consider it healthy and clean. I sometimes have certain fruit (grapes, strawberries, bananas) dipped in raw cacao just to make them yummier. As mentioned above, have fruit either 1-2 hrs before your meal or 1-2 hrs after so the fruit does not interfere with the digestion of your food. Edamame is another yummy snack that provides a bit of protein kick. I boil them and have them straight up without adding salt or anything.

• Sweet Potatoes VS White Potatoes. There is an entire debate surrounding this for as long as I can remember. I certainly DO NOT avoid white potatoes but admittedly, I would go for sweet potatoes if I could choose. Here's a helpful infographic for you to compare between the two potatoes: http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2013/03/white-potatoes-vs-sweet-potatoes-which-is-healthier/

• ALWAYS check the ingredients list. Seems like a hassle but it will do you good. I typically try to avoid any snack that has too many chemical-sounding ingredients in them. Packagings attempt to fool buyers that their snacks are "healthy" or "organic" but you will know for sure how accurate the claims are till you scan the ingredients list for yourself. SHOP SMART.

• Please do not deprive yourself. If your sweet tooth acts up, give it a little something to tide over. Everything in moderation is key. My choice of sweet treats are frozen yogurt (my kryptonite!), ice-cream, raw cacao. Whenever I have froyo, I go for these toppings - marshmallows, gummy bears, mochi, strawberries. These toppings are not the healthiest but I figured since I am having a "sweet" treat, why not? They satiate my sweet tooth. I do have ice-cream sometimes too - not as often as froyo though. There have a couple of ice-cream parlours in Singapore that I patronise but if I were to buy a pint home, I would go for Ben & Jerry's. Take note that 100% raw cacao is not sweet at all so I usually melt my 100% raw cacao to serve as a fruit dip. I like my raw cacao's percentages above the 70% range. Singapore bans gum but you can always opt for chewing gum as a calorie-free sweet treat.

• Who doesn't enjoy seeds, nuts and nut butters? I like almond butter and peanut butter. I tried macadamia butter once and hated it. I have nut butters with rice cakes (as mentioned prior) or bananas. I tried almond butter with sweet potato once and that works too! For nuts and seeds, I like macadamia nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds. I am on the fence with walnuts and sunflower seeds. Nut butters are healthy fats but everything in moderation so do not go too crazy! Stop at 1-2 tablespoons of nut butter per day.

• I do not cut cereal out of my diet. I try to go for gluten-free cereal. However, my all-time favourite "clean" cereal is Mallow Oats by Mom's Best Cereals. It's not the cleanest for sure but it beats Lucky Charms. I have my cereal either with unsweetened almond/soy milk.

• Oats are fantastic for you - lowers cholesterol, keeps you full, good complex carbs. I had oats for breakfast every weekday morning from primary school till junior college (more than 10 years of my life right there). I love my oats and I do still have them now. I used to have my oats plain or with raisins, but now I like them with chia seeds and some fruit like grapes. I have the Oats Quick version that cooks just by adding boiling water, because I CANNOT COOK anything to save my life.