Spring clean what you're eating
With the seasons changing, you may feel like your dinner, just like your outerwear, needs a bit of adjustment. Here are seven simple ways to embrace the freshness of spring on your plate.
Start by eating clean
Spend a day or two eating as cleanly as possible: fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. For the time being, cut out dairy, animal products, sugar, white flour, and if you're strong-willed, caffeine. A seasonal bout of clean eating can feel like pressing reset on your system.
Clean up your plate
Adjust the foods you're eating to match the new lightness in the air. Cheesy casseroles taste just right in the dog days of winter, but with buds on the trees and crocuses popping up, lighter fare is in order. Fill half your plate with vegetables, one quarter with complex carbohydrates, one quarter with lean protein.
Embrace beans
As for that lean protein, give beans a whirl. Eating legumes in place of beef, chicken or pork is a great way to get the cost of your grocery bill down. Check out these bean recipes for dinner ideas.
Add more color
You know when you've been wearing the same black turtleneck for months and you make a trip to the mall for some new running sneaks and the spring selections in the department stores sweep you away on a river of color? Florals and brights fill you with the vigor of the season, and the same is true for your dinner. Make your plate like those window dressings and load up on every color in the rainbow: red peppers, carrots, baby artichokes, and dark green spinach are just a start. Aim for two or three different vegetable colors on your plate at every meal.
Clean the freezer
Toss vegetables coated in freezer burn, meat you've had in the deep freeze for more than six months, and that ice cream (and other unhealthy treats) you bought when you needed comfort during the Conan vs. Leno debacle.
Make lunch a salad
The wet air and sunny days call for lots of crisp greens and crunchy salads. But you don't have to stick to the same old combo of romaine + cucumber + tomato = salad. Think outside the salad box with these salad recipes.
Spa-ify your water
You know you're supposed to be drinking more water to aid pretty much every single bodily process. Making the experience as posh and appealing as they do at day spas helps those 64 ounces go down easy. Fill a jug or pitcher with water and add long spears of cucumber, or wedges of orange or lemon.
What else do you do to mark the change in seasons in terms of what you're eating? Out with the casseroles and stews and in with the stir-fries and salad? Share your favorite ideas in the comments.
Read more life-improving ideas on Real-Life Makeover:
Quick and healthy meals for the entire family
A beginner's guide to meditation
Spring clean your pantry
Photo credit: Getty Images
