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Being consistent is essential to eating healthy. Ideally, you’ll enjoy a balanced, healthy diet with fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious foods daily. When your body gets the nutrients it needs, you will have more energy and be less likely to get sick or develop chronic health conditions.
However, it can be challenging to stick to a healthy diet, especially when you’ve got a busy schedule. In this article, we’ll cover tips for eating healthy food every day so you can start or maintain your wellness diet.
Why is Eating Healthy Food Every Day Important?
Before we discuss how to eat healthy food every day, let’s consider why it is crucial to balance your dietary intake. Eating well daily is essential to supporting your mental and physical well-being and can even contribute to longevity.
A balanced diet should incorporate key macronutrients and essential vitamins and minerals. Eating well provides your mind and body with fuel to keep functioning. This includes supporting key bodily functions like digestion and enhancing your cognitive performance.
Adequate nutrition also plays an important role in your immune system, helping you avoid getting sick. In addition, healthy eating habits can support healthy weight management.
6 Main Habits You Should Practice to Start Eating Healthier
If you’re trying to start eating healthier or just looking for tips to stay more consistent, we’ll cover the basics of choosing healthy food on a daily basis.
Plan Your Meals in Advance
When it comes to eating healthy, planning can help ensure you always have nutritious meals to enjoy. Try setting aside a specific time each week to plan meals and even do some meal prep to make it easy to eat healthy during your busy week.
By ensuring you have healthy options readily available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you’ll reduce the temptation to rely on takeout when you’re hungry after a long day.
Increase Vegetable and Fruit Intake
One great tip for choosing healthy food every day is to fill half of your plate with colorful fruits and vegetables at every meal. Fruits and vegetables are a key source of many essential vitamins and minerals. They’re also high in fiber, supporting healthy digestion. By getting a few servings at every meal, you’ll get your recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables to meet your daily nutrient needs.
Practice Portion Control
When it comes to eating right, it’s important to know the proper serving sizes of various foods. Food nutrition labels will give you an idea of the right serving size for many foods, and it’s also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the appropriate serving sizes for various fruits and vegetables.
Eating proper portions helps ensure a balanced calorie intake and the right mix of nutrients and macronutrients throughout the day.
Choose Whole Grains
One easy swap to help you eat healthy is opting for whole grains over refined grains. Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, and whole wheat bread offer more fiber and nutrients than their refined counterparts.
Using brown rice instead of white or swapping out your white bread for a whole-grain loaf can help you get more fiber and nutrients while still enjoying your favorite meals.
Incorporate Lean Proteins
Protein is an essential part of a healthy diet. Lean proteins like fish, poultry, legumes, and tofu can help you build muscle and feel full after meals. These should be a bigger part of your diet than fatty proteins like beef and pork, which can be high in saturated fat.
Using a plant-based protein for a meatless Monday or opting for chicken or fish over beef can become a sustainable habit with long-term health benefits.
Limit Processed Foods
Have you ever heard that old advice to shop the perimeter of the grocery store? This comes from the fact that a healthy diet should limit processed foods, which are often shelved in the middle aisles of the supermarket.
While some processed foods are okay and can be convenient, it is important to emphasize whole, minimally processed ingredients. Whole foods retain nutritional profiles while avoiding excess additives like sugar, unhealthy fats, and sodium.
What are Some Quick Healthy Meal Ideas?
Sometimes, we don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen prepping elaborate healthy meals. These ideas for quick, nutritious meals can help support eating healthy even when you’ve got a busy lifestyle. Even better, many are also easy to customize to suit your taste and dietary preferences.
Veggie and Hummus Wrap
Veggies and hummus are the perfect pairing. They provide all the nutrition of vegetables with an extra dose of protein and fiber from the hummus.
To make an easy, healthy veggie and hummus wrap, you will need a whole grain wrap, your favorite crisp fresh veggies, and your hummus of choice. Spread the hummus on your wrap, add in your veggies, and roll it up to create a satisfying meal that’s easy to take on the go.
Greek Yogurt Parfait
Greek yogurt is an excellent source of protein and can be the perfect way to start your day. Layering the yogurt with fruit turns it into a delicious parfait that will help you get some of your recommended daily fruits right at breakfast. You can even top it off with nuts for added fiber and a little honey for sweetness.
Tuna Salad Stuffed Avocado
Avocados are a great source of healthy fats; tuna is rich in protein and Omega-3s. Combining them creates a quick and tasty superstar meal.
To create your tuna salad, combine canned tuna with diced veggies such as cucumber, onion, or fennel. Then, add a light dressing of your choice—mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, or a light vinaigrette all work well. Mix the tuna with a halved avocado and mush it up. Delicious and nutritious!
Egg and Vegetable Scramble
Eggs are a powerful source of protein, and they’re also super quick and easy to make. Try an egg and vegetable scramble to add a healthy dose of veggies.
To make this simple, healthy meal, chop up some of your favorite vegetables. Then, throw them in a skillet with a bit of oil. Whisk a few eggs and add them to the skillet, stirring everything together to make a scramble that will leave you feeling satisfied.
Chickpea Salad
If you’re looking for a tasty and satisfying no-cook meal, chickpea salad is a great option. Chickpeas are a healthy source of protein and fiber, and adding some veggies makes this dish even more nutritious.
To make this dish, you will need canned chickpeas, plus some vegetables and herbs. To give the salad extra flavor, you can also make a light, homemade vinaigrette with olive oil and vinegar. Dice up your veggies, chop your herbs, and rinse and drain your chickpeas. Toss everything together in a bowl with the vinaigrette, and your healthy meal is served.
Which Meal Delivery Services Have Healthy Food Choices?
Eating healthy daily is super important, but it can also be overwhelming. Thankfully, the growing trend of healthy meal kit delivery services can help. In recent years, the number of meal kits offering healthy options for busy people who still want to eat well has grown.
With weekly recipes to choose from and high-quality, fresh ingredients delivered right to your door, meal kits can make eating healthy much easier and more accessible.
Factor
If you have a busy schedule and need healthy food fast, Factor is a great meal kit option. They provide chef-prepared, dietitian-approved meals that arrive fully prepared. These fresh, never-frozen meals simply take a few minutes in the oven or microwave, and then you have a balanced, healthy meal.
BistroMD
Meal kit service BistroMD provides doctor-designed, chef-prepared meals to support your health needs and weight loss goals. They offer plans to help you eat healthy and manage various health conditions, including Menopause, Diabetic Friendly, Gluten-Free, Heart Healthy, and more. Their flash-frozen meals arrive ready to heat and eat – a quick and convenient solution to eating healthy daily.
Nutrisystem
Nutrisystem is designed to help you eat healthy every day for weight loss. This service offers fully prepared meals, bars, and shakes to support healthy, balanced weight loss. You can easily incorporate their pre-packaged foods into your balanced, healthy eating when you need something quick that’s still healthy and properly portioned.
Veestro
If you are vegan or vegetarian and want a meal kit that will help you maintain a healthy diet, Veestro is a great option. This company is committed to providing 100% plant-based, organic meals to support your dietary needs. Simply choose how many meals you’d like to receive and select from fresh and previously frozen options. Then, you will receive the fresh meals right to your door, ready to heat and eat.
Can Meal Planning Help Maintain Healthy Eating Habits?
Meal planning can be a powerful tool to help you establish and maintain healthy eating habits. When you plan your meals for the week, it’s much easier to balance your nutrition. You’re also prepared with options so you don’t lean towards impulsive, less healthy foods when you’re hungry or busy.
In addition, planning your meals ahead of time can reduce your stress throughout the week and help you save money by reducing food waste. Reviewing the whole week’s meals at once is also a great opportunity to add variety to your diet, leading to more mindful eating and better overall health.
Bottom Line
There are many great strategies for eating healthy every day. Planning out your meals, focusing on adding more fruits and vegetables, and opting for whole grains are all key habits to cultivate. You should also limit processed foods, use lean proteins when possible, and learn the correct portions for what to eat.
A weekly meal planning session or a subscription to a healthy eating meal kit service can help you focus on building these habits to maintain a balanced diet to support your physical health, mental clarity, and overall well-being. Healthy eating might seem intimidating, but healthy habits and a little planning can make it an achievable goal.
