12 Days of Healthy Habits
The holiday season is officially here, and while that may mean overindulging and eating more sweets than normal, it’s still possible to prioritize your health during these busy times.
The best part about practicing these habits now is that you don’t have to wait until January to “start over.” Instead, you can just continue with these practices to improve your health.
Here are 12 of our favorite health habits to practice.
1. Eat more fiber – Our favorite orange superfood is not only a great source of fiber, but it blends in with nearly anything (smoothies, breakfasts, muffins, quickbreads, coffee, etc.) to increase the fiber. Adding sweetpotatoes to main meals or snacks, like sweetpotato apple crisp muffins or sweetpotato chocolate pudding.
2. Add more protein to breakfast – Many Americans backload their protein intake for lunch and dinner, often skipping this important nutrient in breakfast. Try to aim for 20 grams of protein at breakfast, such as with sweetpotato toast with poached eggs or a sweetpotato quiche.
3. Stay hydrated – Being dehydrated can lead to a slew of health issues as well as general unpleasant symptoms, like low energy and fatigue. Hydration is necessary for better nutrient absorption, and can help unnecessary snacking. We love adding sweetpotatoes to smoothies, like this mango sweetpotato smoothie or sweetpotato beet smoothie. Another tip is to drink a glass of water before each meal!
Sweetpotato Toast
4. Prioritize your sleep – Aiming for 7-9 hours of sleep each night is so important for health. Long-term consequences of sleep disruption in otherwise healthy individuals include hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, weight-related issues, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and colorectal cancer. Adequate rest will help with staying energized throughout the day.
5. Don’t Skip Meals — Complete meals are the best opportunity for nourishing your body with adequate energy (calories) and nutrients. Skipping meals can lead to overeating later in the day, but can also leave you feeling tired, sluggish and uncomfortable. While practicing mindful eating techniques can help you slow down while eating, your crazy life might not always allow you the time to.
6. Stay Active — Whether you’re accruing your activity by cleaning the house, or with a form of physical activity you like, or a combination of both, staying active is great for our heart health, longevity, energy levels, sleep and more. Just be sure to adequately fuel and hydrate before and after your activity!
7. Practice Gratitude – Yes, gratitude is linked to improved mental health, which can help control cortisol, a major stress hormone. Starting or ending each day with 1-2 things you are grateful for can make a major difference, and is something easy to start now!
8. Eat more potassium – Unless you have been instructed by your doctor not to eat potassium (for example, if you have kidney disease), eating more potassium is a great way to boost heart health and even reduce blood pressure! Some of our favorite potassium-rich recipes with sweetpotatoes are sweetpotato fruit salad and sweetpotato power salad.
9. Plan your meals – While you don’t have to spend hours upon hours on a Sunday doing meal prep, simply having a little bit of a plan heading into the week is helpful and can save you time, money and help you eat healthier! Use these tips to even plan one breakfast, or dinner per week!
10. Cut back on screen time– While we are conveniently able to order something to arrive the next day with our phones, excessive screen time has been linked to depression, and screen time before bed can wreck havoc on sleep, zapping your energy for the next day.
11. Get plenty of antioxidants – Antioxidants are important in our diet for helping to neutralize free radicals, which are compounds that are damaging to health. Antioxidants are typically concentrated in fruits and vegetables, especially those with brightly hued colors, like sweetpotatoes. Sweetpotatoes also provides vitamin C, which is a natural antioxidant.
12. Eat on a regular schedule – While skipping meals or snacks may be unintentional during a busy season, eating regularly can help to stabilize blood sugar, provide consistent nutrient intake, and help keep you energized during the busy season. It can also prevent overeating later