You can have your Easter chocolate and still have a healthy Easter with these five simple tips for an egg-cellent holiday.
The sound of that bunny hopping down the path with a big basket of chocolate Easter eggs is music to the ears of chocolate lovers everywhere but it’s also a little scary if you are counting calories.
It’s amazing how much chocolate and calories can be consumed as it’s so easy to indulge in these treats. You’ll see the results on this in the weeks after Easter when the scales take a jump and your clothes get tighter. Sigh.
Here are some tips and tricks that will help you enjoy the season without the calorie blowout.
- Chocolate is good for you
- It can be addictive
- How to have an egg-cellent Easter
Easter chocolate can be good for you!
It’s not all bad news. Chocolate has wonderful beneficial properties from a nutritional standpoint. Powerful antioxidants, such as polyphenols can be found in chocolate. These can help reduce our ‘bad’ cholesterol, known as LDL, whilst increasing the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol.
Eating dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce blood pressure.
And don’t forget the psychological effects – eating chocolate releases calm, soothing, feel-good hormones.
Easter chocolate can be addictive
Chocolate can be addictive, too, especially after a period of sustained intake, like Easter. It contains stimulants, caffeine and bromine, which provide the “lift” experienced by eaters.
Keep this in mind next time you peel back the foil on an Easter treat: it takes about 35 minutes of running or an hour of swimming to burn off a single chocolate egg.
Five top tips for an egg-cellent Easter
- Purchase only small quantities of chocolate, enough to last only a day or two, because typically the more you have on hand, the more you eat.
- Buy the best quality you can. A small amount of high-quality chocolate will satisfy you sooner than a large quantity made with inferior ingredients.
- Eat chocolate at room temperature: it’s the best way to get that velvety mouthfeel.
- Buy yourself another treat instead of an Easter egg.
- Consider giving a small, high-quality chocolate treat for Easter alongside a second, non-chocolate gift. Try making some Vegemite and Cheese hot cross buns or Honey Bunny cupcakes.
More ways to eat chocolate.
Disclaimer: This is not a paid post – simply sharing good eating tips to balance my food obsession.
