Words by Sasha Nugara

For me, lockdown will always signify an unprecedented amount of binge snacking and stress eating. Those early, uncertain days were passed with films and chocolate as I lost all motivation and any concept of the word ÔÇÿhealthÔÇÖ. Now that lockdown is lifting and uni is looming, I am all too aware of the consequences my mental and physical health has faced and IÔÇÖm ready to kickstart a new and healthy beginning!

“Meat, carbs and snacking are my weaknesses“

One of the methods I find best for dieting is not to remove unhealthy food from my diet but to try and replace them with a healthy option. Going cold turkey from your favourite meals and snacks can be extremely challenging, so, I find closely substituting them a lot more realistic. Meat, carbs and snacking are my weaknesses so I have listed a few different methods I use to try and combat these addictions, starting with meat.

I absolutely love a juicy burger, but all that red meat can take its toll and I find a falafel burger a delicious and healthy compromise. You can buy them everywhere, but, if you have a blender, they are also ridiculously easy to make. 

Put in a blender; 400g can chickpeas – rinsed and drained, 1 small chopped, 1 chopped garlic clove, handful of flat leave parsley or curly parsley, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, ┬¢ tsp harissa paste or chilli powder, 2 tbsp plain flour. Once well combined shape into four patties and simply fry in sunflower oil. To reduce the carbs, I like to serve with some homemade buckwheat flour and yogurt flat breads, but you can serve in a burger bun to channel a traditional burger! They go well with a tomato salsa or a beetroot tzatziki, which is a great way to pack in some more veg!

“Many people (including myself) are reluctant to give up meat completely”

Red meat is well known to negatively affect your diet and although meat free swaps can be successful, many people (including myself) are reluctant to give up meat completely. Swapping beef mince for healthier minces such as pork and turkey can make extremely successful bolognese and burgers with a lot less calories and fat. This is a more simple and subtle swap than a meat free one and itÔÇÖs extremely effective to help regain any loss youÔÇÖve made to your physical and mental health from a lockdown binge.

My diet is extremely carb based and IÔÇÖm forever looking for ways to reduce my pasta, rice and potato consumption. Replacing some of these with grains such as cuscous, bulgar or quinoa can help fill you up whilst also adding some variety to your diet. Adding a small amount of olive oil, salt, pepper and some herbs to these grains creates a simple but effective dressing, turning it into a tasty, healthy and substantial side dish. Equally, you could use the grains instead of rice with a curry to partially reduce your carb intake.

Similar to swapping a beef burger for a falafel burger, IÔÇÖve enjoyed swapping a regular pizza for a cauliflower pizza. This not only reduces carb intake massively, but it also increases the amount of veg you can sneakily slip into your diet. Although it sounds complicated to make, this recipe is not too difficult to follow, as long as you have a blender and a clean tea towel.

Heat your oven to 200C and remove the leaves from one 750g cauliflower and trim the stalk end, then cut into chunks. Blitz half the cauliflower in your blender until finely chopped, like rice. Chuck this into a bowl and repeat with the other half of the cauliflower. Tip the cauliflower in a bowl, cover with cling film and microwave for 5-6 mins until softened. Tip onto a clean tea towel, leave to cool a little then scrunch up the tea towel and squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the cauliflower. Transfer this to a clean bowl and stir in 100g of ground almonds, 2 beaten eggs, 1 tbsp of oregano and plenty of seasoning. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and grease with oil. Mound the cauliflower mix into the centre of the tray, then use a spoon and your hands to spread out into a 30cm round. Make it a little thicker at the edges to create a crust. Bake for 15-18 mins until golden brown and starting to crisp a little at the edges. You can then top the pizza base as you would a regular pizza with a tomato sauce, cheese and any topping you fancy (a great opportunity to bump up your veg intake even further). Once topped, turn the oven up to 240C and put the pizza back into the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes and the cheese has melted to your liking. Then enjoy your pizza guilt free!!

“If a kale chip is too much for you, going for an oven baked crisp option is still making a positive healthy change!”

Snacking is probably my biggest downfall ÔÇô especially when it comes to crisps and chocolate. If I end up with a big bag of crisps or a packet of M&Ms next to me, I really struggle to stop myself devouring the entire thing. When it comes to food like this, itÔÇÖs difficult to replace it with something healthy that is equally as moreish and enjoyable. There are certain fruits that I find are a decent replacement and can do the job such as purple grapes and pomegranate seeds. Their size makes it easy to slowly pick at them as you watch tv and their sweet sharp flavour is reminiscent of sweets. Kale chips are easy to make and are very healthy, but they are extreme and donÔÇÖt necessarily have the same effect as a regular crisp. If a kale chip is too much for you, going for an oven baked crisp option is still making a positive healthy change!