Finding the balance

Finding balance in all aspects of our lives can be difficult. We are all working longer hours, commuting further for work & play and taking on more responsibility, which soon eats into our spare time. Balance and time are two things that can be something you desire, something you yearn for but if you want to have these two things in your life, only you can make it happen. You have to help yourself and as the saying goes “to have time you have to make time”.

We always say we are too busy to sit down and plan, to spend the time getting our life into order and to find that balance that will create harmony both in our outer environment and our inner being. So are you ready to adopt the change into your life and create time & balance? There is no time like the present. And it wouldn’t be Tarian if we weren’t’ going to help you find balance in your diet.

Eat well

In order to feel well, you have to eat well.  I think we sometimes under estimate how food makes us feel and the role that it plays in our life.  Food is our fuel, its what makes us function, it gives us energy, it makes us feel nourished and it can determine the health of our bodies. You need time to help plan out your balanced diet. Balance is just that, it’s not about following yo yo diets and going from one health kick to another.  If you find balance in your diet, you will never have to detox, fast or follow a crazy weight loss plan again.

Don’t have too much of a good thing

Having too much of what you perceive as good thing, can be detrimental to your health and soon your body will tell you when enough is enough.  Statistics are showing a growing percentages of Australian’s are becoming overweight and obese and showing signs of diseases associated with diets of excess.  We don’t want to live in a society where people see it as normal to snack on fast foods or even worse, see this as a nutritional family meal; there is no balance in this diet.

5 serves of  vegetables and 2 serves of fruit

It is recommended that we eat five kinds of vegetables and two kinds of fruit every day for good health.  A diet high in F&V can help protect against cancer, diabetes and heart disease, I don’t know about you, but we like the sound of that. We will always encourage a balanced diet and using the guide ‘Layer of the Pyramid’ stated by Nutrition Australia this is what your day to day food intake & daily exercise should consist of:

Exercise and Move more

The more you partake in physical exercise the more you will burn kilojoules.  Remember, the kilojoules that we don’t use up in energy will be sorted and changed to fat.  We need to balance the energy that we take in with the energy that we use.

Eat more

Plant based foods: vegetables, fruits, nuts, dried peas, beans and lentils, breads and wholegrain cereals. These foods contain many different nutrients and should make up most of the food that we eat. Eating a variety plant based foods should provide adequate amounts of energy from carbohydrates, as well as protein, minerals, vitamins and fibre.  In addition, it is recommended that we consume 6-8 glasses of water each day.

Eat moderately

(or not at all in the case of a Tarian) animal & fish foods: fish, lean meat, eggs, chicken (no skin), milk, cheese and yoghurt.

Eat in small amounts sugars and fats

Its worth noting that when choosing fats and oils choose the ones that have low levels of saturated fat and high levels of omega-3 fats.

We are about encouraging our tribe to eat well and eat balanced. This way you will feel healthy, more energetic and have overall great health & wellbeing.

Eating well need not take up more time that you have.  However if we don’t have time to ensure we are eating well, how will you find the time to be sick? We need to be pro active not re active when it comes to ensuring we make better lifestyle food choices.

Eat mostly plants

We are all about plant-based foods; we are about encouraging you to introduce more fruit, vegetables, legumes, pulses and wholegrains into your diet.  This certainly isn’t hard, you just need to be aware of what to include in your shopping each week and buy real foods as opposed to foods that market themselves as real. There is a vast array of foods available no matter where you shop. Below is an example list per food group of what is out there.  Once you put your mind to it, it’s really not hard to include more plant based food groups into your diet.  Its more than likely you are doing this anyway without consciously thinking about!

Fruit
Stone Fruit – Apricot, avocado, cherries, nectarines, olives, peaches, plums and prunes
Citrus – Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Mandarins
Apples
Bananas
Berries – Raspberries, Strawberries, Blueberries, Goji,
Grapes including raisins, currants and sultanas
Melons – Honeydew, rockmelons, watermelons
Pears
Tropical Fruits – lychee, mango, papaya, pineapple, coconuts
Dates
Kiwifruits
Passionfruit

Vegetables
Root – carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, beetroot, ginger, parsnips, radish
Leafy Greens – spinach, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, silverbeet, kale,
Marrow – cucumbers, eggplant, marrow, pumpkin, squash, swede, turnip, zucchini
Flowers – broccoli, cauliflower, endive, chicory, lettuce
Stalks – Celery
Onion – spring onion, garlic, leeks, red onions, shallots
Peppers – capsicum, chillies
Tomatoes
Beans – green beans, snow peas, snap beans, peas, butter beans

Legumes and Pulses
Beans – Adzuki, haricot, black beans, borlotti, cannellini, chickpeas, kidney, lentils, lima beans, mung beans, pinto beans, soya beans
Legume Flours – chickpea flour, lentil flour and soy flour

Soy Products
Soy milk, tofu (bean curd), soy beans, tempeh

Grains and Cereals
Wheat
Rye
Barley
Oats
Rice
Corn
Buckwheat
Millet
Quinoa
Semolina
Tapioca
Triticale (wheat and oats)
Amaranth

Fats
Vegetable Oil
Canola Oil
Olive Oil
Coconut oil
Spreads such as margarine
Flaxseed oil

Herbs & Spices

Nuts and Seeds
Almond, Brazil, cashew, hazelnut, peanuts, pistachio, linseed, sesame seed, tahini, chia seeds

Fermented Foods
Miso, tempeh, tamari, shoya, soy sauce

Food is not complicated

Food is not complicated, mother nature grows as she pleases its only when we start trying to ‘glam’ it up that food all of a sudden takes on a different meaning. Food is not about marketing claims in bold text; it’s not about heating up in a microwave or reading a list of ingredients made up with numerous letters & numbers. To follow a more balanced diet, you need to start viewing food differently.  You need to buy food in its raw state and use your time wisely to create nutritious feasts. We are not all Masterchefs but we are home cooks who when you put your mind to it, can create some amazing dishes using foods that nature has provided for us.