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Fifteen Feel-Good Tips for 2013

Post-Christmas, gloomy January is the time of year when people seem to struggle and feel pretty low.

I am a natural optimist and tend to be quite a smiley person but weeks of over indulgence and rubbish weather, being cooped up indoors, have taken their toll.

I have decided to take stock and put in place a few things to make myself feel (and hopefully look) better. Here’s how:

• Swap my dinner plate for one of the children’s smaller plates. I will eat less without having to resort to ‘diet’ food.
• Stop moaning!
• Every lunch hour when it’s fine, take a 30 minute power walk (trainers in my bag ready!) When it’s rainy, STOP, leave my desk for half an hour and read a book or magazine.
• When I get a spare couple of minutes send my love-ones a text telling them why they are so special.
• Make soup with leftover veg and take to work for lunch.
• Do crafts while watching TV – creating something beautiful is so rewarding.
• Display my jewellery on hooks in the bedroom so I can enjoy it all the time and wear it more often.
• Compliment people when I think they look good or do something kind.
• Once a week give myself a proper manicure.
• Declutter and give-away/sell any unwanted clothes and toys etc.
• Keep a stash of healthy snacks in my desk and eat less chocolate.
• Treat myself to my favourite face cream.
• Drink one glass of water with and between every meal.
• Reorganise my wardrobe, placing clothes in ’outfits’ that co-ordinate with one another. Mornings should be a lot easier!
• Place a note inside someone’s lunch bag from time-to-time to brighten their day. (My family members, not random strangers!)

Some of these suggestions are personal to me, but it is so useful to stop for ten minutes and think about your lifestyle and how it may be better or happier.

Try it today and make your own
feel-good list for 2013. I would
love to read yours too!

And here are this week’s healthy snacks. Not quite as delicious as chocolate but still tasty and much healthier.

Spiced bread pudding
Deliciously moist, this bread pudding tastes truly
scrumptious but in actual fact only contains
133 calories and 0.8g of saturated fat per slice.
With its wholemeal bread, it is a good source of
fibre and the dried fruits supply the body with
magnesium and iron.

Strawberry cream tea
Cream tea, what a decadent delight! This version
is low in fat and sugar and so can be eaten guilt-free.
The rice cakes make the perfect, crispy base for a
fruity topping, creating a light, yet scrumptious snack.

Both recipes are taken from the Hearty & Healthy Dairy Cookbook.