In Hong Kong, we often clean and spruce up our living spaces just before Chinese New Year, to eradicate any negative energy from the previous year, so we can start afresh.

Our kitchen, our thoughts and goals shouldn’t be any different. Chinese new year is a great time to start anew. It’s not so predictable as Gregorian new year, you may even have failed on a couple of resolutions already and a perfect place to start is your kitchen. Good nutrition is the basis of all health, so here’s our quick and easy guide:

Rid yourself of all treats, chocolate, sweets and chips
Throw out anything that’s old or you really don’t like it
Go on a shopping spree for all those basic ingredients you may never have had or have run out of. Think spices to make your food more interesting, get in your dry staples; quinoa, brown rice, oats, fill your freezer with lean meats
Get creative. If you have cooking skills, translate them into making healthy nutritious meals for you and your family. If you don’t have cooking skills, find a simple cookbook that will take you through the basics
Have a sweet tooth? Create a repertoire of sweet treats that you can call upon whenever you need to feed your addiction! Ice cream made with protein powder, energy balls, protein pancakes
Create healthy versions of your favourite dishes. Ever tried cauliflower mash, if you want to lower your carb intake and increase your veggies?
Plan and prep your meals and snacks on a weekly rolling basis, so you can shop in advance and always have ingredients to hand