Every year, millions of people make resolutions to eat healthier.
A lofty idea? It’s certainly one that can be a reality, if you have a
strategy. Here are some simple routines that will help you make your
resolution to eat healthier a reality—and something you can count on for
days and months to come.
1. Plan your weekly menu.
Plan out those day-to-day meals, and have a back up meal or two on
hand, should your meal plans get foiled. While breakfast and lunch are
fairly easy to plan, dinner, if not planned, can be the source of great
frustration. Make sure to have several snack ideas and ingredients
stocked up, also.
2. Routinely shop for food.
Whether it's a weekly visit to your grocery store or an online order,
make it part of your weekly schedule to shop with a list of food items
needed to execute your weekly menu. If you can, choose a regular day of
the week to shop.
3. Stick to your menu. As
tempting as it may be to change up your menu, or “borrow” ingredients
from one meal during the week for another, this can disrupt your overall
weekly meal plan and leave you with missing ingredients later on in the
week.
It’s not boring to stay the course with your meal
plan—it’s a strategy—and likely to keep things in the kitchen humming
along all week and healthy eating a priority.
4. Make real food sweets.
If you have the time, opt to make homemade sweets. On the weekends, in
the evenings (if you’re not too tired!), or during the day are great
times to “stock” up on homemade sweets. One of my strategies is to make
cookies or brownies and wrap them in individual bags or plastic wrap and
place them in a larger freezer bag and freeze them. Then I just pull
out one serving at a time for packing lunches or a treat. Great portion
control! T
5. Look for healthy versions of convenience food items. Because you have a food allergy, or are caring for someone with a food allergy, you likely know your way around the ingredient label,
spotting allergens. Use these same ingredient labels and the Nutrition
Facts Panel to determine the health quality of convenience items. Look
for products that are lower in sugar, fat, and include real food items,
like barley or apples, early on in the ingredient list.
6. Make some meals ahead of time.
Use your free time to your advantage. Whether it be the weekends or
during the day when you’re at home, double-batch your recipes and make
twice as much, freezing some for another meal on another day. Here are
two articles that will help you along the way:
7. Choose a fruit or vegetable with every meal.
To instantly enhance the health quality of any meal, add a piece of
fruit or some veggies. You’ll be adding vitamins, minerals and fiber,
which improves the nutritional quality for anyone. Remember, most people
need 5 cups of a combination of fruits and vegetables each day to meet
their daily intake levels for health.
8. Make smart snacking choices.
Cookies, chips or candy for a snack? If that’s what you’re choosing for
snacks, your New Year’s promise will fail quickly. Instead, choose
healthy snacks, some of which I outline in this article, and in this one.
9. Ditch the sneaky calories from beverages.
Drinks like juice, sports drinks, soda, coffee drinks, and even healthy
drinks like smoothies can pack some significant calories—calories that
you should pay attention to. But, drinks are sneaky and many folks don’t
count the calories that come from them. You have two options: count
them as part of your daily intake, or ditch the calories from beverages
and stick with water or other calorie-free beverages.
10. Exercise!
Yes, exercising can bring more awareness to what you eat. It’s commonly
known that individuals who exercise routinely tend to eat healthier,
but not always. For some, exercise is an excuse to eat poorly. If you’re
on to a healthy New Year, why ruin a good workout with dessert?
Which of these 10 tips will you adopt this year?
