Navigating healthy eating can be challenging. Discover my top 8 tips on healthy eating to kickstart your healthy living journey.
What does healthy eating mean?
Healthy eating is a broad term that may cause some confusion as it does not have a universal definition.
To this dietitian, healthy eating means eating a variety of different foods with the intention of providing your body with the nutrients it needs to feel good, and maintain excellent health, while enjoying the food you eat.
Healthy eating does not mean that you can’t enjoy your favourite treats every so often. It can look different for everyone. It is really a matter of finding a balance that works for you and your lifestyle!
So let’s get into my 8 tips for healthy eating below!
1. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
If you take one thing away from this article, it should be to eat more fruits and vegetables. They are some of the most nutritious foods in the world because they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fibre, and antioxidants which are all beneficial to our health.
Consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer and chronic diseases.
Some helpful ways to add fruits and vegetables to your meal can include:
- Add fruits and veggies to your breakfast
- Add spinach, mushrooms, or peppers to your scrambled eggs
- Add fruit on top of oatmeal, with yogurt, or alongside toast.
- Blend a handful of baby spinach into your breakfast smoothie, this often doesn’t change the flavour at all!
- Incorporate vegetables into soups
- Add leafy greens like kale, spinach, or others of your choice!
- Salads or grain bowls
- Add mixed greens or spinach
- Add in any chopped vegetables, more variety = more flavour!
- Make veggie-loaded stir-frys
- Fry up a variety of vegetables like broccoli, bell peppers, onions, peas, celery, carrots, and cauliflower. Top with a delicious sauce to add flavour.
Try to include at least one fruit or vegetable at every meal. If you’re up for more of a challenge, try to fill half your plate with fruits and veggies at each meal.
2. Stay hydrated
Have you ever found yourself super busy with work or running errands and all of a sudden the day passes you by and you feel absolutely parched? I’m sure all of us have experienced this at some point.
Water plays such an important role in so many functions and processes related to nutrition including digestion, and absorption of food. I notice that I never feel great when I’m dehydrated so staying hydrated has been a priority for me.
If you have trouble drinking water throughout the day, find ways to remind yourself for example, setting reminders in your phone or bringing a water bottle with you wherever you go. If you don’t happen to be a fan of water, try finding other ways to enjoy water for example,
- Cold
- Warm
- Sparkling
- Infused with fruit
- With a lemon wedge
It can be really easy to mistake thirst for hunger. Drinking water can help stabilize our appetite throughout the day allowing us to better honour our feelings of hunger and fullness. Next time you think you’re feeling snacky, try asking yourself the last time you had a glass of water.
3. Be mindful of sugar consumption
Eating too much sugar can unfortunately have some negative effects on our health. That’s not to say we can’t have sugar at all; sugar can certainly be enjoyed in moderation! Establishing an awareness of our consumption is the first step to finding this balance.
Added sugars are found in baked goods (cookies, pastries, donuts), sweetened beverages (i.e. pop or juice), candy, cereals, sauces, snacks, etc. Some of these items might come as a surprise, so it can be helpful to read food labels to find items that are lower in added sugars.
Helpful tip: Read the food label and choose products with less than 10 grams of sugar per serving.
Foods that are high in added sugars cause our energy levels to fluctuate by causing rapid spikes and crashes in our blood sugar levels. To counteract this effect, pair your sweet treat with a food that contains some fibre or protein such as a small portion of almonds.
It’s important to note that natural sugars (in fruits) don’t cause these same effects on our energy levels. Fruits contain fibre and other nutrients to mitigate the negative effects that added sugars cause on our energy levels, so fruit is always a great, healthy option!
4. Don’t skip meals
Skipping meals may seem like the “normal” thing to do these days and I get it, life is busy. You might be surprised to learn that eating regularly throughout the day is actually better for our body, health, and mind.
Have you ever felt like you could eat everything in your fridge after work? or have you felt the afternoon “slump” where you feel like you just cannot stay awake? This is likely caused by the following:
- You aren’t eating enough throughout the day
- Your meals do not have enough protein or fibre
- You’re skipping meals!!!
The body needs consistent energy from food regularly throughout the day so that our energy levels stay steady. When we skip meals, our energy levels dip making us feel sluggish which may cause us to feel ravenous later in the day and into the evening.
To avoid this feeling, aim for 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks a day that are balanced with nutrients like protein and fibre to help stabilize your hunger.
5. Increase your fibre intake
Fibre is found in foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Consuming these fibre-rich foods is SUPER important for both our digestive health and our heart health.
Did you know that fibre slows down digestion helping us feel full for longer? With that being said, eating enough fibre can contribute to both weight maintenance and weight loss.
So how much fibre do you need? Women need about 25 grams of fibre per day while men need about 38 grams of fibre per day.
Fibre has also been shown to lower the risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease because of its ability to regulate blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.
6. Cook more often
We are often drawn to dining out, ordering in, or buying pre-made frozen meals because it’s easier and saves us time; however, many of these foods are high in unhealthy fats (saturated fat) and sodium.
Cooking meals at home puts you in the driver seat to control what goes into your meals. Some ways you can take advantage of cooking at home are:
- Baking instead of deep-frying
- Making homemade dressings or sauces
- Adding less oils, dressings, or sauces to your meals
- Saving money
- Add more vegetables
- Learn new skills
I understand that cooking on weeknights can be difficult but preparing meals and snacks ahead of time and keeping things simple can really help you limit your time in the kitchen on weeknights.
Some things I like to do ahead of a busy work week are:
- Keep frozen vegetables on hand at all times
- Make stir-frys, they’re super simple and you can add whatever you want!
- Keep easy to prepare protein foods on hand for breakfasts and lunches (hard-boiled
eggs, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, edamame beans) - Chop up veggies ahead of time for snacking during the week
- Prepare overnight oats for an easy grab and go breakfast
An easy place to start is by challenging yourself to pack a lunch everyday instead of buying one!
7. Include healthy fats
Yes, some fats are healthy, in fact, they offer some fantastic health benefits. Healthy fats are found in avocados, dairy products, fish, nuts, seeds, and some oils (olive, canola, avocado). These fats are classified as monounsaturated fats. They play an important role in lowering disease risk and keeping our heart and brain healthy.
Some easy ways to include healthy fats are:
- Making homemade salad dressings
- Sprinkle nuts and seeds on top of soups and salads
- Have fish at least once a week
Saturated fats are another type of fat that is found in fast-food, baked goods, cheeses, oils and cured meats. These fats are considered “unhealthy” because of their negative effects on heart health and their association with increasing the risk of disease.
Saturated fats can certainly still be enjoyed in moderation! Similar to sugar, reading labels and being mindful and aware of the amount of saturated fat present in foods is a step in the right direction.
It’s important to note that many dairy products contain saturated fat. When choosing products including milk, yogurt, or cottage cheese, choose products with a lower fat content (i.e. 1% milk, 0-2% greek yogurt or cottage cheese). When choosing cheeses, products with a lower milk-fat (M.F.) percentage are lower in saturated fat.
8. Eat more protein
Protein is a nutrient we should really begin to prioritize, especially as we age. It helps to maintain muscle mass, keeping us strong, and it is crucial to many of the functions that happen in our bodies.
Do you ever feel unsatisfied after a meal? Similar to fibre, protein contributes to the feeling of fullness after a meal. Adding more protein to your meals will increase this feeling of satiety and it can help with weight maintenance and weight loss.
Start by aiming for 20 to 30 grams of protein at each meal. Some foods that provide an excellent amount of protein and can help you meet this goal include:
- Lean meats (chicken breast, pork tenderloin, turkey breast)
- Eggs
- Cottage cheese
- Greek yogurt
- Edamame beans
- Lentils
- Fish and shellfish
- Tofu
How do I put these 8 tips for healthy eating into practice?
After providing some insight into 8 tips for healthy eating, I encourage you to reflect on these strategies. Maybe there are some that you have already incorporated into your life. Are there any that you might consider trying?
Below I’ve compiled a list of specific tips I’ve mentioned throughout this post that can make healthy eating easier. Try them out and don’t be afraid to get creative!
- Include at least one fruit or vegetable at every meal. If you’re up for more of a challenge, try to fill half your plate with fruits and veggies at each meal
- Next time you think you’re feeling snacky, try asking yourself the last time you had a glass of water.
- Find other ways to enjoy water (cold, warm, sparkling, infused with fruit, with a lemon wedge etc.)
- Choose products with less than 10 grams of sugar per serving.
- Aim for 25 grams of fibre each day
- Challenge yourself to pack a lunch everyday instead of buying one.
- Make homemade salad dressings
- Sprinkle nuts and seeds on top of soups and salads
- Have fish at least once a week
- Aim for 20 to 30 grams of protein at each meal
Final Thoughts
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be difficult. My biggest piece of advice is not to overwhelm yourself with the small details you might hear on social media and keep it simple. Familiarize yourself with foods that are good for you and use these 8 tips on healthy eating to guide you.
By making small, consistent changes, you can create lasting habits that will improve your overall health and well-being. As time goes on, you will notice that healthy eating will become second-nature and an enjoyable part of your daily routine.
With patience and persistence, you’ll not only see improvements in your health, but you will also enjoy a more vibrant and energetic life! I hope that one or more of these tips was able to help guide you in some way. Thanks for reading!