Making healthier choices
Trying to eat better doesn’t mean you have to follow a strict diet or cut out everything you like to eat. David Lilly is a health improvement practitioner and discusses some of the steps you can take towards a healthier lifestyle:
A lot of the time there is a healthier choice you can make, whether that means that you grill or bake something rather than frying it, use sweetener instead of sugar or choose brown rice instead of white.
If you’re thinking about starting to eat healthier, a good place to start is by keeping a food diary. This can let you reflect on what foods you are eating and think about where you can make some changes.
Breakfast
Breakfast cereals can contain a lot of hidden sugar, even those that you may think of typically as a healthy choice such as muesli or granola. If you like starting your day with a bowl of cereal choose wholegrain varieties and check to make sure they have no added sugar or salt.
Have a look below for some ways to make your breakfast healthier:
Lunches
Try and plan your lunches for the week ahead of time. This stops you grabbing something quickly just because you’re hungry which might be full of fat, sugar and salt.
Have a look below to see ways to make your lunches lighter:
Bulk out your lunch by adding more salad to wraps and sandwiches
Frittata is low in carbs, high in protein and you can add lots of vegetables
Make homemade soup with lots of veg and pulses to increase fibre and protein
Swap butter & cheese in baked potatoes for low fat spread, low sugar baked beans or tuna.
Grains such as cous cous or quinoa are great in a salad. Add leftover veg & lean protein to bulk out
Try an open sandwich to reduce the amount of carbs and calories by using half the bread
Dinners
Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, planning ahead and knowing what you are eating for each meal is key in helping you to eat healthier. Filling out a meal planner for the week means you can buy all the ingredients in advance so that all you need to on the day is cook it!
Check out our tips for making your dinners healthier:
Try spiralised courgette or butternut squash instead of spaghetti to reduce carbs
Choose brown or wholegrain options for foods such as pasta, rice and bread
Swap traditional mashed potato for root vegetable mash instead
Use 0% fat greek or natural yoghurt as a replacement for sour cream or mayonnaise
Use spray oils as they are very low in calories and you use a lot less than other cooking oils
Use beans, lentils and vegetables as an alternative to meat
Baking, steaming & grilling are healthier ways to cook food as they use little to no oil
Switch to protein cheese instead of traditional cheddar as it has 90% less fat & 40% more protein
Snacking
Most people consume a lot of snacks throughout the day and do not realise how quickly all these calories can add up. Just cutting out a few biscuits, crisps and cakes can support weight loss.
If you are trying to lose weight, its best to cut out all snacks or choose healthier alternatives such as fruits, vegetables with low fat hummus, plain popcorn, nuts and seeds.
For more information on healthier swaps and some recipes, see the NHS Healthier Families website.
What works for you? Are there any tips or tricks that you have to make your meals a bit healthier? Share in the comments below as we’d love to hear them!
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