Going Healthy After a Lockdown Festive Season

For many people diagnosed with Coeliac disease, weight loss is a common symptom. Once diagnosis is made it takes a while to get nutritionally sound and restore weight to healthy.

In the past there were very few gluten free options so the trend was for people with coeliac to often remain borderline underweight or a normal healthy weight. Very seldom overweight. It was a challenge in the past to find tasty gluten free equivalents especially in the pasta, pizza, burger and baked food market. This actually resulted in a fairly low carb diet and in hindsight actually worked to the benefit of physical health. However, social and emotional health was often affected as eating out and enjoying celebrations was almost impossible without feeling like a ‘freak’.

Times have changed and as the Christmas article explained, it is almost as easy to find and enjoy gluten free equivalents. Some gluten free equivalents are even more refined than their gluten counterparts and often have a higher GI depending on gluten free flours used.

At Christmas time, we had access to gluten free mince pies, gluten free Christmas cake and even Christmas puddings could be sourced gluten free. So when it comes to a lock down Christmas with limited activity, beach and parks access being prohibited and an end to what was quite a challenging year. A coeliac diagnosis doesn’t any longer guarantee a smaller waist line after a festive season.

So here are some tips to help you get back on track:

1. Start now – there is never a perfect day to start eating healthy and monitoring your sugars and carbohydrate intake.
2. If you are offered a drink choose a sugar free version and up that water intake with a slice of lime or lemon or some diced fruit to infuse some flavour.
3. Avoid buying those gluten free treats and biscuits that are loaded with sugar and opt rather for some of the abundant sugar fruits.
4. Snacking is not a necessity once you pass your teen years. Only snack if you find yourself genuinely hungry between meals.
5. Get active, even during lockdown, there are still opportunities to be active both individually and as a family.
6. Plan your meals as this prevents impulsive buying and cooking. However keep it simple, it doesn’t have to be master chef every night.
7. Think outside the box and go for fresh seasonal veggies and salads alongside a yummy protein.
8. Some nights include non-meat options like eggs, pulses, and tofu.

Small changes make a big differences when you stick to them. Eat mindfully and enjoy the food you prepare. If you do this you will achieve your goal of good health which is not just the absence of disease or infirmity but the presence of physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing.

A great breakfast recipe to get you started on your journey to health.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Mini Frittata Muffins

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons fat (coconut oil), divided
• ½ medium onion, finely diced
• 1 garlic cloves, minced
• 450g mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 450g frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 8 large eggs
• ¼ cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 50g chicken
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Method

• Heat the oven to 180°C.
• Heat half the coconut oil over medium heat in a large cast iron skillet and sauté the onions until soft and translucent.
• Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushroom moisture evaporates.
• Season the filling with salt and pepper to taste and spoon it on a plate to cool to room temperature.
• For the batter, beat the eggs in a large bowl with coconut milk, coconut flour, salt, and pepper until well-mixed. Stir in the sautéed the mushrooms and spinach and mix to combine.
• Brush the remainder of the melted coconut oil onto the muffin tin and lined each cup with chicken, taking care to cover the bottom and sides completely.
• Spoon in the frittata batter, filling each cup until 3/4 full. Top each muffin with some halved cherry tomatoes.
• Bake the muffins in the oven for about 20 minutes, flipping the tray at the halfway point (i.e. rotating the tray 180 degrees).
• Cool the muffins in the pan for a couple minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.