Tips and recipes to help you do a post-summer healthy habits reset

Summer Habits

Adriana Urbina is an In The Know cooking contributor. Follow her on Instagram and visit her website for more.

How do you break the habits of a wholly unhealthy summer? I’m here to share some of my tips that will help you get back on track after fun-filled summer, including a sample one-day menu that you can follow for seven days. It will leave you feeling a bit more in control of your body as summer comes to a close and you get ready for fall.

Some general guidelines to follow:

• Reintroduce an exercise regime back into your routine

• Step away from unhealthy snacks

• Rein in the alcohol consumption

• Start the seven-day reset below

For seven days, try to eliminate (or, at the very least, reduce) your intake of the following ingredients: 

• Gluten

• Soy foods that are not organic

• Peanuts and peanut butter

• All refined oils

• Alcohol

• Coffee

• Carbonated drinks

• Artificial and refined sweeteners

• Raw honey

Sample one-day menu to repeat for a seven-day detox: 

Breakfast: Avocado Matcha Smoothie

Credit: Adriana Urbina

Ingredients: 

• 1 frozen banana cut into 1-inch pieces

• ½ frozen avocado

• 1 cup spinach

• 1 cup non-dairy milk

• 2 teaspoons matcha powder

• 1 tablespoon flax or flaxseed pinch of cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Put all of the ingredients in the blender, blending until smooth. Add a splash of water if the consistency is too thick for your liking.

2. Serve in a glass with a metal, paper or glass straw!

Lunch: Crunchy Spring Rolls 

Credit: Adriana Urbina

Ingredients (spring rolls):

• 6 sheets of rice paper

• ½ cup cooked quinoa

• ¼ cup julienned zucchini

• ½ avocado

• ¼ cup spinach

• ½ cup purple cabbage

• ¼ cup cooked mushrooms

Ingredients (dressing):

• 1/3 cup tahini

• Juice of half a lemon

• 1 tablespoon of maple syrup

• 1 pinch of sea salt

• 1 garlic clove crushed

• 3-6 tablespoons water

Instructions (spring rolls):

1. In a large bowl filled with a few inches of water, submerge a leaf of rice paper until softened. Place the rice sheet on a damp cutting board.

2. Place a selection of the fresh ingredients in the middle of the sheet of rice paper.

3. Roll the rice paper around the ingredients and fold (helpful instructions can usually be found on the rice paper package).

4. To give it that crunchy effect, heat up some olive, avocado or coconut oil in a pan and brown both sides of your wrap.

Tahini dressing:

1. Mix the tahini, lemon juice, syrup, maple, garlic and salt.

2. Stir well to integrate everything, and start adding the water little by little until it has a creamy consistency so that you can pour it like a salad dressing.

3. The mixture may tend to thicken at first, but add the water and stir, and you will achieve the desired consistency.

Dinner: Beet Soup 

Credit: Adriana Urbina

Ingredients: 

• 3 medium beets

• 2 medium carrots, finely sliced

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 small leek, finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil or olive oil

• 2 cups hot vegetable broth

• ¾ teaspoon sea salt

• 1 teaspoon chia and pumpkin seeds, and chopped walnuts

Instructions: 

1. Place the beets with skin in a pot, cover them with water and boil for 30 minutes until soft.

2. Strain the water and let it rest aside to cool down.

3. Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan, add the onions, leeks and carrots, and cook for 10-12 minutes until golden.

4. Then, add the crushed garlic and cook for two to three more minutes.

5. Remove from heat and transfer the sauté to a plate.

6. Remove the skin from the beets and chop them into cubes, and add to the blender along with the sautéed vegetables and hot vegetable broth. Blend everything until it becomes a smooth and homogeneous mixture.

7. Add salt to taste and decorate with seeds or nuts.

If you enjoyed this story, find out everything you need to know about eating carbs!

The post Tips and recipes to help you do a post-summer healthy habits reset appeared first on In The Know.