Easter is just around the corner and even if you’re not celebrating Jesus’ life, it’s difficult to avoid what seems like a neverending parade of Easter eggs, hot cross buns and Mini Eggs on supermarket shelves. So how can you have a healthy Easter when it seems temptation waits around every corner?
If you want an Easter egg, have one
If you’re a chocolate fiend, it’s more than likely that this is one of the deadliest times of the year if you’re trying to cut back. Instead of banning yourself from having any, get one but make it special. Whether that’s your bog-standard Malteser egg or something a bit more fancy, take your time with it. Devour it. Make it a real treat.
Exercise your portion control
Ok, so the above point is definitely easier said than done. I’ve been there and you probably have too – you’re fully expecting to just ‘have a bit’ but then that ‘bit’ gets bigger and bigger and before you know it, the whole thing has disappeared. And with a large Dairy Milk Easter egg coming in at 1747 calories, that could really sabotage your weight loss for the week. Instead, get our your kitchen scales and weigh out portions depending on how many calories you’d be happy to spend on a chocolatey treat. Keep them in food bags or plastic containers if you’ve got them and have a perfectly portioned calorie-controlled bit every day.
Keep some for later
Don’t trust yourself with all those little bags of chocolate hanging around? Try freezing them instead, although chocolate will keep well in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Hot cross buns are another Easter treat which is fine to freeze, whether they’re shop-bought or homemade. If you’re freezing homemade ones, here’s a good guide to how to do it.
Focus on the good bits
Do you really need all that sugar to celebrate Easter? Lamb, hard-boiled eggs and fresh spring vegetables are all traditional Easter foods that won’t make as big an impact on your waistline. And who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned roast? Load up on the veggies and protein and you can’t go wrong.
Do something different
If you’re not a fan of traditional chocolate Easter eggs, you can get one made of cheese from Asda, or there’s a high-protein one which has 19g of protein. You could treat the birds instead with a birdseed Easter egg or if a tipple is more your thing, there’s hot cross bun gin. You could give money to charity instead of spending it on chocolate, or buy some Easter eggs to donate to a foodbank.
Remember that it’s just one weekend
If you want to enjoy Easter and all that goes with it – the Easter eggs from an egg hunt, the endless bags of Mini Eggs, a warm hot cross bun slathered with butter – without keeping tabs on your calories, then by all means do so. For many of us, it’s a time to get together with family, whether you’re sharing in the celebration of Jesus’ life or not, and that is precious time that doesn’t happen all that often. It’s ok to go a little off track as long as you’re back to your healthy habits on Tuesday.
