Completely overhauling your diet and lifestyle can make a real difference in your health—but let’s face it, most of us aren’t up for that kind of major shakeup. Thankfully, just a few small changes may be all you need to experience a tangible benefit, and at Sari Foods we are all about keeping things simple.

The start of a brand new year provides a wonderful opportunity to clear out what’s not working for us and embrace accessible new ways of nurturing our well-being. These five easy tips will help you kick off the coming year in a healthy, happy, and manageable way.

1. Start Each Day With a Smoothie

Health experts recommend eating lots and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables every day, so why not start at breakfast? Sipping a fresh smoothie is by far the easiest and most delicious way to bring veggies to the breakfast table and get your day off to a nutrient-dense start.

New to smoothies? We love this yummy recipe for its perfect balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of almond milk
• ½ frozen banana 
• 1 cup of mixed berries
• 1 cup spinach or kale 
• 1 Tbsp plant-based protein powder 
• 1 Tbsp nut butter or coconut oil 
• ½ tsp vanilla extract 
• ¼ tsp organic cinnamon

Directions:

Process all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth.

Feel free to get creative with this basic recipe and include one or more of these superfood add-ins for an even more nutritious breakfast: 

• 1 tsp Sari Foods Organic Spirulina
• 1 tsp Sari Foods Natural Vitamin C Powder 
• 1 tsp Sari Foods Organic Wheatgrass Powder
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp Sari Foods Organic Gelatinized Maca Powder
• 1 tsp Sari Foods Organic Acai Powder 

Not only will a perfectly balanced smoothie nourish your body, it will also keep you full until lunch—which leads to our next tip...

2. Combine Nutrients That Work Synergisticall

The way you pair nutritious foods can be as important as individual healthy food choices. For example, consuming carbs with protein and fats can prevent blood sugar spikes that might occur if your meal contained carbohydrates alone. Combining healthy fats with fruits and vegetables also helps your body absorb fat soluble vitamins and feel full longer.  

To reap the most benefits from complementary nutrients, be sure your protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other micronutrients come from whole food sources. Unprocessed foods in their natural state contain groups of nutrients that work together for maximum benefit and absorption. Our bodies simply can’t absorb and utilize isolated nutrients (like those found in processed fortified foods or synthetic vitamin supplements) as efficiently as naturally occuring nutrient combos.

3. Replace Cheese, Salt, and Flavor Enhancers With Sari Foods Non-Fortified Nutritional Yeast

Two heaping tablespoons of our nutritional yeast contains only 60 calories, is dairy and gluten free, and delivers healthy fiber, protein, and amino acids in every bite. But it’s nutritional yeast’s cheese-like, savory tang that will make you want to make the switch to this wholesome whole food condiment. Try  Sari Foods Non-Fortified Nutritional Yeast instead of parmesan cheese on pasta, as a base for dairy-free mac and cheese, or folded into mashed potatoes and you’ll never look back.

4. Stay Hydrated

It's easy to overlook, but your body needs water to function properly—and other beverages alone just won’t do the trick. Many people don’t realize just how important water really is, since it contains no calories or nutrients, but the human body is actually 2/3 water. If we don’t replenish what we lose through sweat or elimination, we’ll begin to feel the effects right away.

Maintaining hydration can also help prevent unnecessary snacking, since sometimes when we think we’re hungry, we’re actually thirsty.  

One of the easiest health hacks around is to keep a bottle of water on hand. And for an extra burst of nutritional goodness, you may also want to stir in some  Sari Foods Organic Vitamin C Acerola Cherry Powder.

5. Protect Your Gut Health

Last but not least, don’t forget to give your gut some much deserved love. Did you know that 80% of your immune system is in your gut? And when friendly bacteria (aka probiotics)) are abundant in your body, it becomes harder for the bad guys to settle in. That’s why caring for  your digestive system is another important way to maintain optimum health.

Studies show that people with less diverse gut bacteria are more likely to have certain health challenges. Enjoying gut healthy foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, wheatgrass, spirulina, and miso helps encourage the perfect environment for your beneficial microbial community to thrive.

Just embracing these five small changes can begin to help support your wellness in a very big way. And as you start to see and feel positive changes, you may feel ready to take further steps—perhaps using the stairs instead of the elevator at work, or biking instead of driving to the store. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but in time you’ll be amazed at the transformation in your well-being.

Looking for more tips and motivation for a healthy New Year?  Feel free to email us with any questions you may have.

Lots of peace, love, and new year hope from the Sari Foods family.