New year's resolutions - AnnaTheApple

I’m not one for big resolutions with the new year but I do feel the need to clean my eating up just a teeeeny bit after all the leftovers and chocolate have been on the heavy side for the last few weeks.

So here’s an article to help give some good directions on some more balanced snack ideas…

Everyone loves a sweet treat, especially as a pick me up during the cold winter months. But, if cutting down on sugary snacks is one of your resolutions for the new year, then you may be on the lookout for healthier alternatives. Trying to curb your snacking can be tough, especially as everyone is spending so much time at home and within easy reach of the fridge right now! If you need some inspiration for tasty, yet healthy alternatives to your usual snacks, then why not give some of these a try?

Seeds

Seeds are an excellent choice of healthy snack to satisfy your hunger between meals. One of the best varieties of seed to snack on is pumpkin seeds. They may be small, but these tasty seeds make a perfect snack choice to keep mid-morning hunger at bay. Each seed is packed full of protein, fibre, plus omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Vitamin B2, folate and calcium are all also contained in pumpkin seeds.

One of the best things about seeds is that they have a long shelf life, so if you are someone that often shops for health foods, but then ends up binning them because they have gone off before you have had a chance to eat them, seeds are an ideal choice.

Berries

Sometimes you need something sweet to satisfy your cravings. Berries are the perfect choice to relieve your urge for a sweet snack and are packed full of flavour. Choosing strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or a mix of each will help you get your five-a-day while satisfying your sweet tooth. These berries are full of antioxidants as well as flavour, which provides many benefits to your overall health. Antioxidants help to reduce inflammation levels in the body and also help to lower bad cholesterol.

Yoghurt

Some yoghurts are full of sugar, and fat-free varieties that are promoted as ‘diet’ foods can contain sweeteners. To avoid yoghurts that are not as healthy as they seem, it is well worth reading the ingredients list carefully and opting for natural yoghurts. Choosing natural yoghurts containing live cultures can provide benefits for your digestive health. Many people believe that these live cultures can improve the balance of good bacteria in your gut.

Smoothies

If you want to pack as many nutrients as possible into one serving at snack time, then preparing a smoothie is an excellent way to do it. Making a fresh smoothie at home enables you to fill it with many of the healthy options listed above. Adding yoghurt, berries, and seeds to your smoothie will help to fill you up and makes a perfect snack for any time, whether you are working or out and about.

Hummus

Hummus is the perfect way to enjoy a tasty and filling snack. One of the best things about hummus is that it is easy to make yourself, and is also really versatile. Use hummus as a spread, or as a dip for crudites to help you get your five-a-day.

What are your favourite snacks?

Do you like to snack between meals or just have big meals?

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?

Someone at work asked me what my New Year’s Resolutions were. I jokingly replied, “to run a marathon”. They laughed, they know my marathon addiction well.

But it did get me thinking about my plans for 2018. What would I like to achieve, races I want to run, and ultimately the memories I’d like to make. For me, life is all about those life experiences, good times and memories. So what’s on the horizon for me?

Run some more marathons

What a surprise, eh? I plan on doing three… if all is well of course and I’m not injured. I’d love to run more than three but I think I’ve been very lucky this year to run as many as I have and I shouldn’t think this is the norm (I’ve run five marathons this year! For me this is insanely good).

Dubai Marathon

This is literally right around the corner of course. Friday January 26th. I’d LOVE to get close to my PB or even beat it (3:24:06) but I really don’t want to stress myself out and put pressure on myself. I’ve said this many times before but I don’t run marathons to achieve a certain time. I run them because I love the whole experience. That said, if I could be the shape I’m in or better beforehand then naturally I’ll be running faster than I previously have anyway so who knows what will happen. I certainly won’t be busting my guts for over 3 hours. That’s not how I roll.

Brighton Marathon

A jolly down the beach! This is what I intend for this marathon. Lots of my club will be doing it so they’ll be a fun atmosphere and I love Brighton. I’ve never done this marathon but I know it’s a good one for supporters as the course loops back on itself a few times. Also my best friend’s hubby will be attempting his first marathon so they’ll be there 🙂

New York Marathon

Continuing my goal to do all the six Marathon Majors (I’ve done London, Berlin, Boston, Tokyo and still need NY and Chicago). If everything goes to plan I will be joining some other lovely bloggers on a trip to the big apple for this one.

Run a sub-20 parkrun

I say parkrun and not 5k because there really isn’t a chance in hell I’d sign up to do an actual 5k race. My PB currently stands at 20:06 but that’s from 2015. My closest attempt has been 20:18… can I crack it? I don’t know. Originally I was hoping to do this before the end of the year but, again, this is putting nasty pressure on myself for what is essentially a superfluous and pointless goal (no one but me cares about, it won’t make me a better runner, etc. etc.). I was on the ball with my speed workouts but then did a marathon and the fire has somewhat died a bit. I’ll have a crack at a few speedy parkruns and get back on to the speedwork next week but I’m not going to ruin myself over it.

Run a few more half marathons

My second favourite race distance. I have a few in the plan already and I’m quite excited. I have the Jersey Half Marathon in June (more on this later) and the Reading Half Marathon in March. I’ve done the Reading Half twice before and hadn’t really considered running it again until I got offered a blogger place, which obviously peaked my interest again. Reading is fairly near to me to make it quite a nice race to get to and it’s relatively flat. But most importantly it has a fantastic atmosphere and great support all round the course. It’s a huge event with I think around 15,000 runners. Yes it is running around Reading (not exactly the most scenic of the British towns) but it’s a great event with a stadium finish. After a few year’s break I’m ready to give it another stab.

As part of the Reading Half Marathon, I’m also taking part in the training day on Saturday 6th January. The training day (which you can be a part of too if you sign up! Check out their Facebook post for more info) has quite the line-up of exciting stuff for the day:

A group workout with the Townsend Twins
Pacing advice from Reading Half Marathon Pace Co-ordinator and fitness coach Ali Galbraith
A group run (to practise those pacing lessons!)
An injury prevention talk and cooldown from Jim at Berkshire Physio (I am MOST excited about this)
A Q&A at the end for any specific training/injury queries

Places are limited though, so you’ll need to be fast if this takes your fancy!

Parkrun Alphabet Challenge

This will be ongoing as I’m not sure if I’ll be able to finish it next year (due to that pesky Z being in Poland…) but it’s definitely going to be a focus for me. I hope to have ‘K’ ticked off in January and ‘J’ ticked off in June – which is the main reason I’m doing the Jersey Half Marathon, purely to get that J. It’s just time really for me to get around the place. But I do have a few friends to call in on to tick some off!So they’re my running plans for the year. Personal plans? Oh it might be nice to have a bit more success with dating but ehhh who knows. My motivation has dipped to a real low right now regarding that. I’m just busy with life and unless it happens organically (a word I detest) I’m actually going to have to put effort into it…more than I have been. It depresses me when I think too long about this situation, so I shan’t.

I think the MOST important goal is to have fun, enjoy life, run all the marathons and eat all the food.

What are your 2018 goals?

Do you have any races lined up yet?

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?

Tag: New year’s resolutions

Healthy Snack Inspiration for the New Year