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The Bartender’s Detox Plan

Professional Nutritionist and Author of ‘The Detox Bible’ Rob Hobson shares his top tips for rebooting your system after a busy festive season behind the bar reenergising you.

Over the Christmas period it was all about maximising energy levels, fighting fatigue and keeping your immune system in tip-top shape to help you maintain a good level of health whilst working behind the bar. As we enter the New Year and the pace has slowed down, you have the opportunity to focus on rebooting your health and giving your body the perfect chance to rejuvenate, helping you to regain a renewed sense of vitality.

Some of the more common complaints after a month of bad foods are poor digestion, fatigue and unhealthy looking skin, all of which can be addressed with simple changes to the way you eat, and what better time to make these changes than the start of a fresh new year.

Digestion

Overindulgence can wreak havoc with your gut and cause issues such as heartburn, indigestion and bloating. One way to help improve the health of your gut is by opting for foods that are high in fibre.

Foods with the highest amounts of fibre are beans, pulses, vegetables and wholegrains, all of which can easily be added to your diet on a daily basis. Prebiotic foods (Jerusalem artichokes, bananas, fennel, onions, garlic, chicory) also help keep the gut healthy as they encourage friendly bacteria to thrive. Try choosing small servings and eating slowly and think ‘light and lean’ when choosing foods.

Fatigue

Choosing the wrong foods can leave you feeling sluggish and lacking in energy.

To help improve your energy levels when working choose foods which contain B vitamin group (found in many foods including wholegrains, eggs and bananas) and magnesium (found in nuts, seeds and green veggies) that are both involved in converting food into energy. Consuming foods high in iron (lean meat, green veggies, nuts and dried fruit) will also help.

Healthy skin

A poor diet and lifestyle can be reflected in the state of your skin and after overdoing it people often complain of unwanted blemishes and dull skin. This is also compounded by a month of poor sleep and parties! Some of the foods that are good for the health of your skin are those high in healthy fats (such as salmon, avocado and nuts) and especially omega 3 rich foods (oily fish) as these help to plump the skin and retain moisture.

The B vitamins are also important for skin and a lack of B2 (eggs, green veggies, nuts and seeds) in particular can leave the skin looking dull and dry.

Healthy Eating Plan

Getting healthy has to be one of the most common New Year’s resolutions ever spoken; it’s worth trying to avoid being blinded by the new fads that hit the shelves this time of the year. Keep it simple and remember that the most effective method is the one you can stick too.

The plan below should help you to understand the types of foods and calories you should be eating as well as how to fill up on highly nutritious foods that will help to nourish your body with the good stuff after the Christmas binge. The calories are there to give an idea of how to spread you intake across the day, which is useful if your buying food out of home.

Breakfast (300 cals)

Sugar-free granola and dried apricots with low fat Greek yoghurt

Juice (mostly veggie based such as green goddess below)

Snack (150 cals)

Small handful of nuts

Lunch (450 cals)

Avocado, chopped boiled egg and pumpkin seeds on rye bread

Handful of berries

Snack (150 cals)

Hummus with chopped veggies

Evening meal (500 cals)

Grilled salmon (coated with chopped chilli, ginger and garlic) served with plenty of dark green veggies and cannellini beans lightly sautéed in olive oil.

Herby Green goddess juice

Nothing says ‘healthy’ like a green juice and I find this one below does just the trick. I personally can’t bear the taste of broccoli or kale juice so have added in a little pear and plenty of ginger and lime juice to make this one a little friendlier on the palate! Not just a pretty colour, this juice is also a source of potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, folate and vitamin C. Try this juice for yourself at home, perfect to bring into work and use during a shift.

Serves 2

120 calories per serving

½ Cucumber
3 Large kale leaves (stalk removed)
1 Small handful of coriander
1 Head of romaine lettuce
1 Thumb-sized piece of ginger
1-2 Pears (or apples)
1 Lime, juiced

Run all the vegetables except the lime juice through a juicer. If you’re using a high speed blender such as a Vitamix then add all the ingredients, blend high for 30 seconds then strain the juice through a piece of muslin or a fine sieve to remove the pulp.
Squeeze the juice form half a lime into each glass before serving.