Eat yourself happy: Month-by-month foodie calendar by leading dietician Helen Bond

LIVE A healthier life in 2016 with our month-by-month foodie calendar devised by leading dietician and Seven Seas consultant, Helen Bond.

 

Start a healthier year with our expert's useful calendar

 

JANUARY

The truth is our bodies don’t actually need any help to detox – even after the Christmas binge. Provided that you’re healthy, it’s the job of your liver and kidneys to excrete toxins. Instead, spend time beating the January blues with mood-boosting folic acid (also known as vitamin B9).

 

Even a mild deficiency can cause tiredness and depression, so reach for green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, sprouts, green beans and peas to top up your levels and your mood.

This month eat MORE: Cockles, rhubarb, purple sprouting broccoli, turnips.

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Pomegranates with their jewel-like seeds are bursting with vitamin C and potassium. These plant compounds may even provide benefits for heart health. 

FEBRUARY

This is the month of love and the good news is the foods to boost your libido are tasty ones: red wine, chocolate and even avocados can help get you in the mood. Avocados are a natural source of vitamin B6, which helps to regulate hormones.

Team it with asparagus, otherwise known as the “sex vitamin”, which is jam-packed with the sex hormone stimulator vitamin E. 

Nutrition has never looked so naughty.

This month eat MORE: Savoy cabbages, leeks, horseradish, cauliflowers, blood oranges.

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Jerusalem artichokes – one of the health benefits of this knobbly vegetable is that it acts as a prebiotic in the body, feeding the good bacteria in the gut and contributing to keeping our digestive system and immune system strong. 

MARCH

Easter goes hand in hand with chocolate, so it’s important to know your milk from your dark. Plain chocolate – with a minimum of 70 per cent cocoa solids – contains about twice as many antioxidants as most milk chocolate, while white chocolate contains hardly any. 

Meanwhile, the clocks are going forwards, so get the most of your sleep by eating cherries – believed to help the body produce the sleep hormone melatonin. 

This month eat MORE: Kale, chard, chicory, radishes, green onions.

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Kale is one of the best sources of the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which have been shown to help protect eyes as we age. It’s also particularly rich in folate and beta-carotene, which is used by the body to make immune-boosting vitamin A.

APRIL

Ditch the trend for oversized wine glasses – these are bad news for waistlines. Research shows that we drink a third more when we use short, fat tumblers rather than tall skinny glasses. Further research has shown that people have 22 per cent more calories when eating off a 12in plate rather than a 10in plate.

Relive your childhood and start the day with a tablespoon of cod-liver oil. Naturally rich in vitamin E, D and essential omega-3 fats, it supports a healthy heart, vision and brain function.

This month eat MORE: Cucumbers, leeks, morel mushrooms, watercress.

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Spinach is rich in potassium, which helps to keep our blood pressure in check, plus vitamins A and C – two nutrients that are important for your immune system. 

MAY

Boozy Bank Holidays are upon us, so watch out for liquid calories. Alcohol contains seven kcals per gram, so the more alcohol a drink has, the more calories it contains.

Results from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey show that, on average, alcoholic drinks contribute to about seven per cent of a man’s daily calories – equal to about 175kcals – and five per cent or 100kcals of a woman’s daily calories. Cut down by alternating each alcoholic drink with a glass of water to slow you down and prevent dehydration.

This month eat MORE: New potatoes, broad beans, mangetout, lettuce

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Potatoes may not count towards your five a day but, they are low in fat, a source of fibre (especially if you eat the skin) and unlike other starchy foods, such as rice or pasta, they contain vitamin C. 

JUNE

Eating too little in preparation for summer will make your body go into starvation mode – meaning the body becomes super-efficient at making the most of the calories it gets. Get a healthy balance by eating small, regular meals throughout the day, as evidence suggests this may help to keep your metabolism ticking over.

Plus, about 10 per cent of the calories we use each day go on digesting and absorbing food – so the more times you eat, the greater this effect. Eat plenty of lean meat, skinless chicken and low-fat dairy, as more calories may be burnt off with protein-rich foods. Swap your daily cuppa for antioxidant-rich green tea. 

This month eat MORE: Berries, courgettes, rocket, samphire, spring onions, tomatoes.

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Berries are low in fat and calories and also a useful source of fibre. They can help boost our fluid intakes in the summer months, too.

JULY

Embrace alfresco living and get creative with grainy salads. Break free of mayonnaise-laden salad and try new grains such as brown basmati rice, quinoa, whole- wheat couscous, freekeh and bulgur wheat.

They’re healthier and have good amounts of energy-releasing B vitamins. Substitute crisps for home-made popcorn, which offers a healthier, lower-fat and lower-salt alternative. Plus as popcorn is a wholegrain, it’s packed with energy-releasing B vitamins to keep you feeling spritely. 

This month eat MORE: Apricots, fennel, peaches, redcurrants, strawberries.

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Peas, which contain good amounts of vitamin C, folate, B6 and fibre.

AUGUST

Protect yourself from the sun inside out. Betacarotene with the red pigment lycopene – found in tomatoes, carrots and butternut squash – help protect the skin from sun damage.

Top up on the antioxidants vitamins C and E and minerals zinc, copper and selenium to help protect the body’s cells from free radicals and damage from sunlight’s rays. Good sources include nuts, shellfish and offal. Omega-3 fats, found in oily fish, may also be beneficial for helping to relieve any redness from sun damage. 

This month eat MORE: Figs, mint, nectarines, runner beans, sweetcorn, red peppers.

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Aubergines contain a phytonutrient and antioxidant that may help fight ageing and cancer.

SEPTEMBER

Back-to-school anxiety and stress can quickly deplete B vitamins. Boosting your B6, B12 and B9 (folic acid) will help to reduce feelings of tiredness and fatigue and keep the nervous system healthy.

Eat a balanced diet including wholegrain cereals, low-fat dairy products, lean red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, pulses, nuts, seeds, dark-green leafy veg and yeast extract such as Marmite. Salmon is a tasty source of protein, iodine (which helps keep our metabolisms revved up) and zinc.

There’s strong evidence that these essential fats help maintain healthy vision and brain function, lower triglyceride levels and blood pressure, and help maintain a healthy heart. 

This month eat MORE: Blueberries, garlic, lamb’s lettuce, marrows, plums.

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Blackberries are great for vitamin C, E and blood-pressure-battling potassium. 

OCTOBER

From now until April, UK sunshine does not provide enough UVB rays needed to make significant amounts of vitamin D in the skin – even if it’s sunny. Vitamin D helps keep the immune system healthy – great news for helping keep winter colds and flu at bay.

Without obvious signs or symptoms, deficiencies can be tricky to spot, so a supplement such as Perfect7 Woman – which contains zinc, vitamins D, B12 and B6, folic acid – is a useful way of topping up your levels over the winter months.

This month eat MORE: Celery, butternut squash, figs, cranberries, chestnuts.

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Pumpkins are high in fibre and really low in calories. They also contain betacarotene for healthy eyesight. 

NOVEMBER

Shorter days and lack of sunshine reduce the body’s production of the happiness-boosting hormone serotonin. Eating more carbohydrates can help raise levels, so go for low-GI carbs such as porridge oats, wholemeal bread, oatcakes and pulses to fill you up. Include protein in meals and snacks to stay fuller for longer, and steer clear of sugary foods and drinks.

To help feel less fatigued, add magnesium-rich wholegrains, nuts, seeds and pulses. And chromium helps maintain normal blood glucose levels and energy levels.

This month eat MORE: Celeriac, parsnips, sweet potatoes, beetroots. 

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Apples contain heart-protecting antioxidants and pectin – shown to lower cholesterol. 

DECEMBER

Make your festive feasting colourful. Aim to have a variety of different colours on your plate to reap the most health benefits, as different-coloured fruit and veg contain different nutrients. For example, red peppers have slightly more vitamin C and more betacarotene – the plant version of vitamin – than green peppers, which aren’t fully ripe when picked. And red peppers also contain twice as much potassium as green ones. 

This month eat MORE: Dates, bananas, pak choi.

FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: Brussels sprouts are a Christmas classic and eating eight counts as one of your five a day. They’re part of the brassica family – which includes broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage – that contains glucosinolates and research is emerging that these phytochemicals have potential cancer-fighting properties.