Health awareness has been steadily rising in recent years, with more and more people realising the importance of self-care and wellbeing. From trying new fitness regimes to opening up conversations about mental health, this trend comes with many benefits.
Your diet is a huge part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The food you and your family consume can play a big part in your physical wellbeing and how you feel day to day. Eating cleaner can lead to multiple benefits to your lifestyle!
It can be hard to adjust your family?s habits and transition into eating cleaner foods. If you truly want to make the change, it?s necessary for you to be disciplined. Here are some ideas that will help you reach a healthy diet!
Spend more time in the kitchen
If you don?t really cook, now?s the time to start. Spending more time in the kitchen and knowing how the food you eat has been prepared offers a huge benefit to homemade meals. You can easily adjust your meals to fit your healthy eating goals if you?re the chef ? and if you get the kids involved too they are more likely to eat it!
Not sure where to start or what to cook? The best way is to just choose a simple recipe to begin with. The exciting range of new recipes provided by HelloFresh offers plenty of options from vegetarian to low carb.
If you?re short on time and struggle to fit in cooking on a daily basis, try committing to just a few meals a week ? real meals, not microwaved! Make sure that the recipes you choose align with the healthy lifestyle you want.
Everything in moderation
It isn?t necessary to completely cut out all junk food to have a healthy diet. However, some things are best enjoyed in moderation, especially when it comes to your health. You might also need to wean the kids off junk food slowly.
Try to limit your unhealthy indulgences to smaller portion sizes. Keep track of how much you currently indulge and try cutting it down a bit, week by week.
Make compromises with yourself, such as sacrificing sugary drinks or alcohol during the week. It?s up to you to set the limits! Think of the food you consume in the categories of ?everyday? and ?sometimes?, and distinguish your everyday diet from special occasions.
Find healthier substitutes
One way to limit your consumption of less healthy foods is to find a healthier substitute. For example, if you are craving something sweet, try to reach for fruit instead of candy.
There are plenty of foods that have a healthier alternative. Quinoa is packed full of nutrients and is a great substitute for white rice. Rather than eating potato chips, try a lower carb snack such as popcorn. You can even replace ingredients in recipes ? and a good seafood pasta is packed full of nutrition, especially if you make it from scratch!
Every individual is different, so find what works for you. It?s a good idea to look at the food labels of what you?re buying. You might consider switching to a healthier brand of peanut butter or muesli, for example.
Watch your portions
One of the main aspects of altering your diet is portion control. Have you ever served yourself too much food by accident and ended up eating more than you wanted just so you could clear the plate?
It?s a common scenario, and it happens in restaurants too. Be cautious of how much you are eating and don?t continue simply to clean off your plate. Try to start off with a smaller serving, because you can always go for seconds later! If you want to encourage your kids to develop healthy eating habits, don?t force them to clear their plates at every meal either.
When eating out, take note of the portion sizes. You might choose to order an entr?e instead if the mains seem too large. Or, doggy-bag your meal if you can?t finish it!
Portion control is also incredibly important to keep in mind when you?re eating in between meals. When eating snacks, try not to eat from a big bag ? separate it into the recommended portions first, so that you know how much you?re eating. This is also a handy tip for school lunches.
However, it is also important to remember that you don?t need to starve yourself to eat healthily. Apart from this being the wrong message to send to your kids, it isn?t sustainable or healthy. You should also remember that fad diets will not suit everyone?s needs ? after all, a mum who works at a desk all day needs different foods to her 15 year old son who plays sport every afternoon and twice on weekends!
Transitioning to a well-balanced diet can be hard, but there are numerous benefits that come with it. Hopefully these tips can help you self-manage better when it comes to the food you consume!