Happy Bright New Year!

With the coming of a New Year many of us like to make some kind of resolutions or plans for lifestyle change. I find for many people we can be either under or over confident in what we think we can achieve with our eating or exercise habits. Setting ourselves up for too much of a big change can often lead to not being able to stick to our goood intentions, where as on the other hand if you do not give something a go and keep trying or practising you do not know if you like it or can become good at it.

This year I urge you to take the wise old turtle's approach: Slow and steady wins the race. Instead of turning your whole diet or world upside down (which is usually unnecessary), focus on just one meal time or eating habit at a time and take your sweet time to let your mind, body and life adjust to the change.

Book yourself in for your exercise class and make your goal to just attend if it is a new thng for you or something you are starting again. When we slow down and are kind to ourselves, not putting too much pressure on ourselves, we accomplish much more. We become more in touch with our mind and body and have time to appreciate why these things benefit you and this is what makes these changes sustainable.

We look forward to helping you reach your 2025 health and lifestyle goals and surprising yourself with how much you can achieve with our support!

For all you Bright Bods out there please inspire us all and share your goals for the year in our Facebook group Bright Bods!

What's New

Bright Bods Challenge!

The New Year is the perfect time to do our Bright Bods Challenge! Do you or someone you know have some lifestyle habits holding you back, preventing you from living the life you deserve? Take the first most important step to getting back in control of your health and life and to get crystal clear about what changes you need to make. Sign up for our Bright Bods Challenge today via our website!

How We Can Help You

The beginning of the year is a great time to put your health first. Having a consultation at this time of year can help you set up some new habits and make your lifestyle work for you and your family.

A lot of people might be unsure about how Dietitians can help. Here are just a few topics we address in our consultations:

nutrition assessment and identifying areas of improvement with your eating habits
healthy eating, foods and nutrients to meet your body’s nutrition requirements
learning how food affects your health condition and what is best to eat
portion sizes and portion control
label reading of food products
hunger and satiety management
tackling emotional or comfort eating and sugar cravings
meal planning
successful goal setting and action planning

If you or someone you know feels they need some help in these areas please call us by phone or book online. We would be more than happy to help!

Workshops

With so much nutrition-mis-information out there we want to set the record straight and help everyone to be clever about their eating. This is why we host a range of workshops regularly on various nutrition topics.

Our next workshop will be on the popular topic of Food Intolerance, February date TBA.

For all the details and to book your place visit our Events Page or book via Humanitix and share with your family and friends. We would love to see you there!

If you would like us to host a nutrition workshop at your workplace or community group on the Central Coast, please get in touch with Carin on 0413 77 44 11 or dietitians@brightdiets.com.au

Be Bold with Zumba Gold

Zumba Gold is a low impact, uplifting dance class for those new to dance, older active adults, people with an injury, neurodiverse individuals or those with disability.

I actually prefer Zumba Gold to the regular Zumba as there is more time to enjoy the music when you dance. I love keeping all the various dance genres alive and accessible to all: There is a bit of salsa, meringue, swing, cha cha, cumbia, belly dancing, tango and flamenco. We have a lot of fun and it is a great social outlet.

Regular Classes:

10.45am Tuesday: Conveniently Active at Erina. Contact Conveniently Active on 0424 270 016 to book in and arrange exercise screening prior to attending.

11am Friday: Narara Eco-Village.

First class is free. We also do Zumba Gold gift vouchers .

Wear comfortable exercise clothing recommended, dress up optional! First timers, come 15 minutes early to complete paperwork, introductions.

Further details: https://www.zumba.com/en-US/p/Carin-Clegg/2756837

Zumba Gold classes are run all over the Central Coast by other instructors. Check it out here and share with your family, friends and health professionals.

Bring your friends and fam and see you on the dance floor!

Bright Blogs

Make your 2025 New Year's Resolutions a Reality here with Carin Clegg

Recipe of the Month

Pesto Pasta

I love making pesto pasta from my garden ingredients. 'Pesto' actually means a paste, so you can use any herbs or greens from your garden you desire to make it. So get creative!

Serves:4

Ingredients

250g pasta
1 cups cherry tomatoes- sliced in quarters
1 cup pumpkin
1 clove of garlic
1 cup mushroom
1 cup green beans
1 shallott - finely sliced
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin olive oil

Pesto

1 cup of roughly chopped herbs or greens: basil, parsley, chives, shallott, spinach, silverbeet, amaranth greens, chickory greens,
100g cashews or nut of choice: pine nuts ror pistachios work well too
1 cup grated parmesan cheese: if dairy free omit
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt if the parmesan is not adding enough saltiness
pepper to taste

Method

Chop up the pumkin into 1.5cm cubes
Boil the pasta as per the packet instructions and add the pumpkin to the pot at the same time as pasta so they both cook together.
Place a medium frying pan on medium heat and add 1 Tablespoon of oil.
Stir fry garlic until fragrant, then saute the mushrooms until soft.
Then add green beans and stir fry until just cooked and add the shallott and stir fry until soft.
Drain the pasta and pumpkin and add back to the pot.
Blend the ingredients for the pesto and add to the pot with the vegetables from the pan.
Mix well and serve.

For more healthy food ideas check out Bright Diets Facebook Albums.