Forget calorie counting. This year let's start counting nutrient rich foods instead.

The ‘New year, New me’ diet culture that comes around and brings up a lot of emotion for so many of us has either begun already or it is about to for you. Here at Dreamland wellness club our focus this year is nutrient-rich foods being implement into your eating patterns and exploring your inner chef because let’s face it after the year we have had we have realised the importance of the small things like a home cooked meal for our family to enjoy. Hand in hand with the health of ourselves and loved ones becoming important to us more now than ever. So, let's forget calorie counting and start counting the nutrient rich foods we use instead because food should make you feel full, energised and mostly happy.

Here are some of the main nutrient-rich foods that can be easily added to your existing eating pattern.

• Brightly coloured fruits and 100% fruit

• Vibrantly coloured vegetables and potatoes (You should eat a wide variety of vegetables each day)

• Lean meats (Unprocessed, gently cooked meat is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat.)

• Fish and Seafood (Especially rich in omega-3 fatty acids and iodine, two nutrients in which most people are deficient.)

• Beans, lentils and nuts.

• Whole-grain and fibre-rich grain foods

There are so many nutrient-rich foods so please do your research to find out which ones you like best or work best for you. I am not a qualified nutritionists nor offering nutritional advice just simply sharing my own experiences, opinions and thoughts.

This year every time you have the thought of ‘oo I fancy that’ and typically would order it from a takeaway you should try to cook it yourself. This way you can control what is going into the meal and you will be more aware of what you are putting into your body. So maybe by challenging yourself to cook you start implementing nutrient-rich foods or looking for nutrient-rich recipes to try yourself at home. This is not about counting calories or getting into your head about the food you are eating. It is just about getting the most out of what you eat feeling full and energised from the food you are eating and hopefully getting a sense of pride from creating a tasty meal for yourself or your family.

For me personally, I have been in a cycle of just grabbing a bag of crisp, throwing something in the oven or even the microwave and then wondering why I am feeling sluggish, tired and lacking in energy. Here is the thing there is nothing wrong with microwaving yourself a meal if you have cooked and prepped it yourself prior and it is full of nutrient-rich foods instead of processed foods. Same goes with the oven instead of buying a pasta bake from the supermarket, for example, why not make one freeze it yourself and then throw that one into the oven because this way we know we have filled it with nutrient-rich foods.

I know this all sounds extremely time-consuming prepping and cooking your own meals, right? But honestly, the benefits really outweigh the time it takes. I work full time and run a business so feeling energised has become more important in my life, but time has also become tight. So how do I manage? I will be putting aside Sunday evening to prep my lunches for work during the week and I have planned a two-week food dairy for different dinners on different evenings. This way I can make sure I have all the ingredients I need in the house and will be aware of the prep and cooking times for each dish, meaning I can plan my evenings based around that. As each month comes to an end if there is a new dish I have tried out and like I will revisit my food diary and add/change things just to stop me from getting bored of the same old dinners.

Here is my two-week dinner plan to give you some ideas for dinners.

This is a blank template ready for you to print and get started with your own dinner plan.

SUSTAINABLE TIP: Print the planner out in A3 and laminate it. That way you can use white board pens to keep it updated and wipe clean each month if any meals change.

Here are some dishes I have created over the Christmas break: (All recipes coming soon to the blog)

Here is my Cauliflower and Potato curry recipe :

Serves 4, Vegan

Ingredients

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1 large onion (chopped)

- large piece ginger (grated)

- 3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)

- ½ tsp turmeric

- 1 tsp ground cumin

- 1 tsp curry powder, or to taste

- One can chopped tomatoes

- 1 cauliflower (cut into florets)

- 2 potatoes, cut into chunks

- 1 small green chili halved lengthways (optional)

- squeeze lemon juice

- handful coriander, roughly chopped, to serve Method. Step 1: Chop onion and put into the pan with the 2 tbsp of oil, cook onions until they are soft (5-10 minutes). Add in all the spices, ginger, garlic and tin of tomatoes, stir well and let sit in the pan for a further 2 minutes. Step 2: Add the potato and cauliflower to the pan, stir well covering the cauliflower and potato in the sauce that’s been made. Put a lid onto the pot and leave to cook for 40 minutes. Step 3: Boil some rice and serve with the curry.

Dreamland hope you have a healthy, happy and soulful new year and we want to remind you YOU MADE IT. Yes you made in through a pandemic and have become the strongest version of yourself, so be kind to your mind, body and soul this next coming year.

Love R, x