Ways To Clean Up Your Diet In Spring To Curb The Soothing COVID-19 Diet

"We know diet can take a back seat anyway. And when you have that added stress, it obviously makes sense for it to be lower on the list," says Hendrie.

A CSIRO poll of 4,000 people found that a third of respondents felt that their diet was getting worse during COVID-19 and two thirds ate more junk food or snacks.

Hendrie believes that now, as spring approaches, is a good time to improve our eating habits.

CSIRO just relaunched its online Healthy Diet Score survey to understand Australian eating habits in 2020. Its most recent report examined the results of 85,600 adults in 2016.

As well as being an important research tool, Hendrie is a way for people to monitor themselves and find out how their diet compares to national guidelines and those of other Australians.

"Sometimes just looking at a score is enough to check the reality and motivate people to change," says Hendrie.

People often think their diet is going to be better than it is, says Hendrie. A big problem is our understanding of portion sizes, he explains, for example take away can be three times the recommended size, while if we think we've eaten a serving of vegetables, I actually only have half.

Lamm scored 57 out of 100, just below the 59 average, while his partner scored 48 points. He says they recently focused on improving their diet.

"I tend to think that I know what is healthy or what servings are good ... It shows that not everyone knows exactly," he says.

"Although COVID-19 is still part of our daily lives ... we need to take care of ourselves to make sure we feel good at the end of the day."

Later Hendries advice for a "spring cleaning" diet.

Think about the color. "Spring is when we think of color, and it often means variety in our food," says Hendrie. "It can be so easy to have three different vegetables on your plate for dinner every night. Our research has shown that you can dramatically increase your overall vegetable intake."

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As the weather warms up, according to Hendrie, the salads become more attractive and are an easy way to add variety.

Reduce waste (do not cut). Hendrie acknowledges that junk food , while high in energy and low in nutrients , plays an important role in our diet because it is fun and often consumed socially. According to CSIRO research, Australians eat twice as much as they should on average.

Cold turkey rarely works or makes you want more, so Hendrie recommends choosing one of three different strategies to simply cut down on your intake: eat smaller portions, eat less, or eat fewer types of junk food.

Be careful with the drinks. " It's easy to forget that drinks like alcohol, sodas, juices, energy drinks, great coffees, and even things like kombucha contain kilojoules and often lots of sugar. These can add up over the course of the day, "said Hendrie. "Our bodies don't feel as full in liquids as they do in solid foods."

Of course, water should be our first drink of choice. But just like junk food, Hendrie says that other drinks play a role in our lives so we need to be vigilant and cut back every day.

Flavored trick. Cut down on fatty oils, butters, and rich sauces in the spring, says Hendrie. "Things that are lighter but still taste that ... can bring a meal to life without necessarily adding the extra kilojoules."

Highlight fresh herbs and spices like garlic, ginger, coriander, and basil. Or consider mixing in flavorful ingredients like capers and olives, or crispy with nuts and seeds.

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