Follow these tips for healthy eating and make this the year you make the switch to a healthier diet.
It’s all about the small changes - cook fresh foods rather than relying on processed goods, buy and use fresh fruit and vegetables every day, get the organic habit, cut down on sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, and increase the amount of wholegrain, unprocessed, fresh and local foods you eat.
Tackle it gradually, adopt one of these tips for healthy eating at a time, and soon a better diet will become a part of your life.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS: TIPS FOR HEALTHY EATING
So simple, so doable – eat a crisp, fresh apple every day. Apples protect against cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Better still, eat 2.
A New Year’s question – why do you eat what you eat? If you know you turn to chocolate or potato chips when you’re bored or feeling low, resolve to divert your mind from food and look for fulfilment elsewhere. Make this the year you spend your time in other ways – with friends, on creative hobbies, exploring new interests.
It’s easy to become dehydrated without noticing. Become aware of your thirst – and instead of reaching for a coffee, tea or soft drink, choose water more often than not.
Eat a little less bought food. Drop one bought lunch/coffee bar breakfast/Danish pastry snack per day. Take a healthy lunch box or snack along instead. Save money, and enjoy a healthier option.
How often do you gulp down a meal and hardly notice what you ate because your mind is busy elsewhere? Sit down to eat, and turn the tv off. Think about what’s going into your body, and enjoy the flavours and textures. Notice when you are starting to feel full, and stop eating.
Make simple dietary changes to cut your cancer risk. Eat less: red meat, fried foods, dairy, alcohol. Include more: organics, wholefoods, fish, fruit, veg, garlic.
Cook from scratch more often. If time is an issue – and it is for most mums - gather simple recipes – there are 130 easy healthy recipes on this site, and magazines and sites packed full of them. Develop a repertoire of swiftly prepared dishes that use fresh produce. Make big batches, so you can serve them on two days.
Cut health-harming salt in cooking, and take salt off the table as well. Instead, season food with herbs, garlic, chilli, cayenne, lemon juice, paprika.
Do you buy the same selection of fruit and veg every time you shop? Buy one different item every time, and always pick a range of different colours – put red, orange, yellow, dark green and black/blue fruit and vegetables every time.
Get the local habit. Explore your local shops and suppliers. Try farmers’ markets. Wise up on what’s in season, and choose those goods before the imports.
Eat less meat and poultry – and make as much as you can organic. Yes, it is often costlier, but you’ll notice a difference in flavour and texture, and will know that your food has been produced humanely. Learn to stretch recipes with vegetables, grains and pulses.
Resolve not to buy a single battery-produced egg this year – or ever. Look for organic freerange – better than barn or perchery. Remember that eggs are used in manufactured goods, like cakes, cookies etc, so shop at stores that only use freerange eggs in their goods. In the UK, Marks & Spencer use only freerange eggs in their goods such as quiches, pasta, cakes and biscuits.
Make a point of looking at labels. Although more supermarkets are cutting the deadly hydrogenated oils from their own-label goods, these changes don’t apply across all ranges, or goods produced by other manufacturers.
One of the most important tips for healthy eating - give children healthier foods. So much of what is manufactured for them, or served in restaurants, is poor quality. Make your own versions of favourite foods – instead of chicken nuggets, for instance, cube organic chicken breast, dip in egg and wholemeal breadcrumbs and bake.
