As a Holistic Nutritionist I understand that eating healthy doesn’t come intuitively to most people. There is an overwhelming amount of conflicting information on social media and the internet and my clients are often confused regarding what healthy eating really means. Please be mindful of the advice that you follow and first and foremost trust in the signs and symptoms of your own body. Your body is constantly trying to communicate with you regarding what it needs and I encourage you to tune in and listen.
When it comes to healthy eating there are a few simple steps you can take now to start developing healthier eating habits. Just like anything else, new habits take a bit of time to learn, and you may need some guidance along the way, but it is well worth it in the end. After all we all want to feel full of energy to do the most we can with our lives and look our best! Healthier eating can go a long way in supporting your digestion, mood, energy, clear skin, sleep and much more!
Let’s get into my top tips to start eating healthier now!
1. Plan your Week
I like to spend some time roughly planning my main meals for the week and making a grocery list based on this. Sometimes I'll flip through some cookbooks or do an internet search to get inspired by some recipes. I take into consideration any social events I have during the week when planning my week. Making a list will help you visualize your week and how many meals you need to make and will save you money in long-term as you won't waste food.
2. Practice Meal Prep
Take some time to prepare your food on the weekend to ease your week. This will help avoid situations where you get home late, are exhausted, and end up having to get take out as you don't have the energy or time to cook. You can do things like:
Wash and chop your veggies for salads, stir-fry’s, snacks, steamed veggies
Make a batch of steel cut oats to keep in the fridge and have for breakfasts
Pre-make salads in mason jars for grab-and-go lunches
Prepare a simple dressing and proportion into small containers to add to your salads daily
Batch cook some grains such as brown rice or quinoa, top with freshly steamed veggies, canned beans/chickpeas, home made dressing or olive oil and lemon, for a quick meal
Roast some root veggies such as sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots to add to grains and on top of salads
Make a chia seed pudding for breakfast or a snack
Prepare a large dinner and/or lunch that will leave you with leftovers for a couple of days
Prepare a soup and keep in fridge or freeze in individual mason jars
3. Stick to simple ingredients!
If time is an issue for you then base your meals on simple ingredients. Search recipes that are “under 30 minutes” to prepare and try to look for recipes with a smaller list of ingredients. Base your meals around vegetables, whole grains, legumes or small amounts of animal based protein (of you are not following a vegetarian diet). Fruits make for excellent snacks in between meals.
4. Consider signing up to a Meal Planning service
Meal Plans can be a great way to save you money, time and give you a fail proof plan to ensure you have the tools you need for a successful week. The best part is that someone else does all the meal planning, searching for recipes and tells you exactly what you need to buy and gives you the directions on how to prepare these meals. This is a great and affordable way to learn new eating habits, build a repository of healthy recipes and transform your health over time.
5. Cut down on Processed Food and Sugar
Reducing or eliminating consumption of sugar and processed foods is the biggest thing you can do to change how you look and feel, in my opinion. Most packaged foods are processed and have a long list of ingredients. Start paying attention to the ingredient list of what you are buying and if you don’t know what the ingredient is you may want to put it back on the shelf. Stick to the outer skirts of the grocery store when shopping to ensure that your diet consists of mainly whole foods, as those are what your body needs to feel it’s best. Also, try to stay away from sugar which can be found in most processed goods, baked goods, carbonated beverages, juices, ketchup, dressings and much more. Try replacing these with beneficial and natural sweeteners such as raw honey, real maple syrup or coconut sugar.
If you're feeling like you need some support with symptoms or medical conditions you're struggling with and want to know how nutrition can help, book a FREE Call with me below!
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