So you’ve decided to make some changes and eat healthier, but you just don’t know where to start. Follow these 3 Simple Rules to Healthier Eating which can make healthy eating a bit easier without the need for a strict diet, calorie counting or a degree in nutrition.
Rule No 1 – Limit Packaged Food
You can guarantee most prepared items you purchase – especially if packaged – will include added fat for flavour and sodium and preservatives to maintain its shelf life. Even the best sounding salad at the drive thru is hiding crazy amounts of unhealthy fasts in the dressing. When you make it yourself, you can control what gets added and what doesn’t.
Try swapping or usual purchases for healthier versions of the same food – natural peanut butter vs regular, greek yogurt vs. regular and cheddar cheese vs processed slices.
If you have the option of fresh or canned – go for fresh (i.e. peaches in a can vs fresh peaches)
If you can make it yourself, you should – even a few nights a week will help. This goes for everything from lasagna to soup to salad dressings. Find a few easy recipes and make ahead meals or make batches to freeze and re heat on busy weeknights.
Bake not Buy – try to bake muffins, cookies, dessert breads and kids granola bars. Bake in batches and store in the freezer for easy school morning lunch making.
Rule No 2 – Balance Your Plate
Protein – lean meats baked or grilled, eggs, beans, fish, chicken
Vegetable – salad greens like spinach, all root vegetables, beans, broccoli, eggplant. The list is endless.
Fruit – in its true form (not a can or container) – berries, apples, grapes, bananas, melons.
Calcium – include calcium at breakfast and lunch by including yogurt, milk, cheese, tofu.
Fibre – include whole grains at every meal whether in the cereal at breakfast, home made muffins or baked oatmeal at snack to the whole grain bread at lunch and whole grain pasta, brown rice or quinoa at dinner.
Rule No 3 – Read Nutrition Facts
When you do have to buy packaged food, don’t depend on the front of the box or packaging to give you the straight facts – “low in fat’ hides that it contains artificial flavours, sugar and added sodium to enhance the flavour, “contains real fruit” is code for a tiny amount of added dried or pureed fruit is there in addition to the sugar, oil, salt and artificial colurs and flavours. The Nutrition facts are on the back – know what to look for when label reading.
Eating healthier just means eating more real food and ensuring you are getting enough fibre and protein to keep you full longer and avoid unnecessary snacking.
Deb Lowther is a writer, runner, wife and mom of 3 – visit her at Boomer Nutrition and IronKids Nutrition
We do all of those things. But you would be surprised at how many people don’t know how to read food labels or make healthy food choices. Great post!
Very great post! I shop at RCSS and was surprised to see (with their new nutrition rating star system) that even some items that are the same vary nutrition wise brand to brand – you really do need to read the labels to ensure you are making the wisest decisioN!
sad how expensive it is to eat healthy!!! My FIL went shopping with my MIL and he grabbed a bag of cherries that cost them $14 because it was sold by weight and she didn’t realize he’d not read the sticker!! Hard to feed yourself unless they raise the minimum wage way , way higher.
So true, the 800,000 Canadians who use food banks. They don’t get a speck of fresh produce.
Huge appliance companies, should donate fridges and freezers to food banks. It is so scary the cost of food, housing and education. Also they should have trucks with fridges and freezers ; to deliver to the food banks.
You have to be careful, as a lot of cheese is filled with fat. It can cause colon cancer etc. Great ideas, Im
a walking pharmacy. We need to eat much healthier here. So many people buy huge blocks of cheese;
probably thinking its healthy. We are poisoning ourselves with salt, sugar and too much caffeine.
Some great tips, I have really started to spend time reading labels and it is really surprising what you see when you do. I try to base most of our meals around fresh foods.
Great source of information. Eating healthy is great to do! Thankfully I love a lot of healthy foods. To name a few salmon, spinage, pinnaples! 🙂
These are great tips. Homemade is best, it you can do it. Reading nutriton labels are important.
I’m really terrible about reading labels. I need to remind myself to do it more.
Great tips. I always shop around the outside of the grocery store, only getting fresh foods. No processed or pre-packaged foods. It’s helped.
These are some great tips to remember.I started reading labels when we discovered there are some diabetics in the family and I find it’s very essential to good health to make this a habit.
Thanks for this simple and informative post. Some very good tips.
Simple and easy; might I also mention adding in exercise. Thanks!
Great reminders for healthier choices in eating.
I know I need to eat healthier and look after myself more, but I just have no ambition, ugh!
Thanks for the article. My goal is to eat healthier this year!
Marlene V.