It can be overwhelming to know where to start when it comes to making positive changes in your diet, so we are here keeping things simple! With these changes, you don’t need to make huge changes to your diet that are unrealistic to maintain, but small changes that will soon become healthy habits!
Swap White Carbs For Brown Carbs
The first change you can make in your diet is to swap your white carbohydrates for brown carbs! When you are next shopping, swap your white bread for brown, your white pasta for brown, your white rice for brown and your white potatoes for sweet potatoes. This won’t cost you any more, it is a really easy swap and many people really like the taste of brown carbs! Rather than having to try any new recipes, you can make these simple swaps and feel healthier.
Brown carbs are made using whole wheat, so overall they are more nutritious and rich in fiber, as well as many nutrients including vitamin B-6, magnesium and folic acid. Sweet potatoes are also a nutrient dense alternative to white potatoes that are rich in vitamin C and vitamin B6, both of which are great for the brain and nervous system. Overall, this simple swap can make a big difference when you stick to it.
Eat More Veggies
Our next tip is to eat more vegetables! If you aren’t currently eating your 5 a day as a minimum, then you need to be incorporating more vegetables into your diet. In order to do this, when you are out food shopping, pick up a variety of different fruits and vegetables to eat throughout the week. Any that you have leftover at the end of the week, add to a saucepan with a chopped up onion, stock and your favourite herbs to make a delicious soup! This way, nothing goes to waste.
Another way that you can do this is by getting healthy ready meals delivered that have been carefully curated to contain all of the different nutrients that you need in that meal, so eating a nutritionally balanced diet isn’t something you have to worry about!
Consume More Protein
The next thing you can do to make a positive change to your diet is to eat more protein. Protein helps you to feel fuller for longer, so you are less likely to crave unhealthy foods throughout the day. Plus, protein is an absolutely essential part of our diet, as it is the building block for every human cell in the body, needed for growth, development and tissue repair!
You can find protein in meat and fish, dairy products, protein powders, beans and pulses. Adding things like lentils to sauces, soups and salads is a really easy way to get an extra boost of protein!
Use Cooking Spray
Last but not least, swap out your cooking oils for cooking sprays. In a tablespoon of olive oil, there’s 119 calories, whereas in spray olive oil, there is only around 8 calories per spray and you will only need two or three for a saucepan or around 3 to spray onto anything you are roasting. You won’t notice any difference in taste when you swap oil for spray and you will be unknowingly making such a difference to your health.