SIMPLE TIPS FOR HEALTHY EATING (+ FREE MEAL PLAN PRINTABLE)

Check out this post on simple tips for healthy eating and meal prep. Easy, sustainable and realistic ideas on how to encourage yourself and your family to eat healthily every day.

MAKING HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES

I’m definitely not a dietician or an expert in anything food-related, either cooking it or what’s inside it! I don’t have qualifications in nutrition or health and wellbeing.

However, I do have a family and I spend a lot of time encouraging myself and my family to eat well and choose healthy eating options whenever possible.

Looking after your body (and mind, of course) is an important part of daily self-care and what you put inside your body is a fundamental part of that.

When it comes to making healthy food choices, it’s a little bit easier when it’s just yourself to think about. But, when it involves feeding the rest of your family as well, the process can become much more complicated. There are more mouths to feed, different likes and dislikes, more decisions and inevitably, less time and more stress.

Meal-planning removes a lot of the hassle so do check out my post on meal-planning made simple for some helpful pointers.

HEALTHY EATING AS PART OF YOUR NORMAL DAILY ROUTINE

Yet, there are some other little tips which I’ve picked up over the years when it comes to encouraging myself and my family to eat more healthily.

None of them are very complicated, extreme or time-consuming. They’re just little everyday things that you can do as part of your daily routine and regular meal-planning to be a little bit healthier whenever possible.

As the name of my site suggests, I do believe it’s all about balance! So, if you fancy take-away pizza and chocolate cake for pudding, go for it! And, if you don’t have time to make lasagne from scratch, shop-bought is fine.

This article isn’t about making you feel bad about what you feed yourself or your family and I’m totally realistic about the pressures of everyday life.

I get fed up cooking every day, sometimes 2 or more sittings when you all eat at different times, have fussy eaters or those with special dietary requirements (babies on puree for example!).

However, I wanted to write this post to encourage you to be more generally aware of trying to choose healthy options. More importantly, how to incorporate this into busy, everyday life (when you probably have a million other things to think about too!).

It’s about making healthy eating simple and more realistic.

Have a read of the following simple tips for healthy eating and see if they could help you too! I’ve included some links to further reading if you’d like to explore them.

SIMPLE TIPS FOR HEALTHY EATING EVERY DAY

Here are some simple tips for healthy eating and meal prep. I think they’re realistic and practical for many of us, even if we have busy lives, busy homes and busy families!

1. Listen to your body, it knows what it needs and when.
2. Drink plenty of water. Fill up a water bottle in the morning so you can check how much you’re drinking during the day. It’s important to stay hydrated.
3. Offer your kids fruit and vegetables at every meal time. Pop a bowl in the middle of the table and let them help themselves too.
4. Choose whole grain or high fibre foods where ever possible – brown bread, whole wheat pasta, rice etc.
5. Have some prepared vegetables or fruit in the fridge so you can grab these for a snack instead of a chocolate bar or biscuits.
6. Try to bake, roast or grill your food instead of frying.
7. One-pot dishes where everything goes in the oven to bake or cooked in a pan together are easy and quick to prepare.
8. Introduce a new food or recipe as often as you feel comfortable. Variety is good, but stick with the old favourites as a staple if they work best for you.
9. Opt for sugar-free alternatives whenever possible.
10. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables. Hide vegetables in sauces like grated carrots in Bolognese or small bits of chopped up veg in tomato sauce for pasta.
11. Choose more fish and vegetables and less meat.
12. Keep stocks of healthy snack options including rice cakes, yoghurts, nuts etc.
13. Maintain regular mealtimes as part of your daily routine as much as possible so your body and brain get used to them!
14. Cut down on salt and use herbs and spices to add flavour and seasoning instead.
15. If your kids don’t want to eat their vegetables don’t stress. Offer it up again over several mealtimes and take it slow. Here are some tips you might like to try!
16. Eat a good breakfast because it will set you up for the day and you (and the kids) will concentrate better at work and school.
17. Don’t overload your plate. You could always come back for seconds if you’re still hungry after you’ve finished your first plate. Just give it a few minutes to let your food go down to see if you really are still hungry.
18. Batch cook meals and keep them in the freezer to defrost when you need them.
19. Sit at the table to eat whenever possible, not balanced on your lap in front of the TV.
20. Watch your intake of processed meat, junk food and prepared food. I’m definitely not saying don’t eat them but keep a mental note of how often!
21. Make packed lunches instead of eating from the office canteen.
22. Encourage your kids to start cooking themselves with simple recipes for kids so they can explore, learn and become familiar with different ingredients.
23. Get active with more exercise. Not only will it help you keep fit but it can help maintain a healthy body weight.
24. Eat slowly, chew properly. It helps digestion and gives your body time to tell you when it’s full.
25. Choose foods in a variety of colours which will appeal to kids and encourage them to try different things.
26. Stop buying things you don’t want yourself to eat. The act of having to go shopping for it might put you off!
27. Watch for hidden calories, for example, in salad dressings.
28. If you like your tea and coffee, choose decaffeinated options every now and then.
29. Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry!
30. Prepare from scratch whenever you can.
31. Plan your meals in advance when you’re not hungry, tired or stressed (all can lead to poor food choices!)

YOUR NEXT STEP…

I hope you found these tips helpful! Pick and choose the ones that appeal to you and which you can incorporate into your daily life.

Don’t stress yourself out by going to the extreme or trying to eat perfectly all the time. It’s just about being aware of little changes that could add up to big benefit.

Don’t forget to check out my article on meal-planning made simple or this article on 18 ways to enjoy making dinner more!

OTHER WAYS TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE

Here are some other resources on how to simplify your life, ease the stress and bring more calm and joy to your home and every day…

• How to create a calm family home
• How to simplify your wardrobe
• How to be less busy and simplify your schedule
• 10 tips for clutter-free living
• 5 easy ways to start simplifying your life if you don’t know where to start