What a rough couple of years with many typical activities, including some jobs being moved into our homes rather than spending so much time out and about living the life we would like to. Due to this there has been a significant rise in baking and cooking at home. Now that we are past potentially unrealistic new year’s resolutions, this would be a great time to reign in some easy habits in order to continue, or flat out start a better eating strategy for your health and wellbeing.
1. Plan To Prepare Your Meals In Advance.
After a long day of meetings, virtual learning, responsibilities, and other stresses life throws your way, it can be daunting spending an hour or more in the kitchen on your feet preparing a healthy meal. It would be so much easier to take a path of lesser resistance and choose for unhealthy food from a restaurant or even a T.V. dinner.
Set yourself up for success by preparing ingredients for your meals for a week in advance. Over the weekend or during downtime, spend a few hours planning out your meals and then preparing your meats and vegetables along with any other ingredients for your week ahead. By doing this in advance, it is then easily thrown together into a delicious, nutritious, budget-friendly meal very quickly.
When you do give in to those easy temptations from a nearby restaurant, spend a little additional time to do yourself a favor and make good decisions. Review the menu and look for ways to make your favorite dishes healthier. Instead of French fries, how about getting a side salad? It is very easy to opt for veggies instead of rice. There are a lot of alternatives you can select from. You can also consume a glass of water prior to eating which will help with the possibility of overindulging yourself with food.
2. Make The Most Accessible Snacks Fruits And Vegetables.
I know this happens to me. When I get hungry, I reach for a snack that is typically easy to get to and ready to eat. After analyzing this behavior, I decided to make some changes. If you follow Tip #1 above, you will be shopping for the upcoming week in advance. While doing that, think about what healthy snacks you may want to have. Take a little additional time to prep some fruits and vegetables prior to putting them in the refrigerator.
Wash some apples, grapes, or pears and set them out in a bowl so you can grab them when you decide to have a snack. You can also utilize carrots, celery, or peppers by slicing them up and putting them in a container in your refrigerator. By doing this, it greatly increases the potential for choosing a healthy option when snack time hits you.
3. Experiment With Healthier Substitutes.
If you are anything like me, I do have favorite recipes and meals that I love. If you are trying to eat healthier, it is not hard to reinvent them by finding a few substitutes. Cauliflower rice is easily substituted for starchy rice. This alone, would save hundreds of calories if you eat rice regularly. It can also be mashed up in order to create a healthy mashed potato. You can find a lot of options for ways by just looking for alternative healthier products online.
4. Observe How Food Makes You Feel.
With all the options we have today for dairy, meats, and soy, it is now easier than ever to adjust your diet based on your digestive needs. Pay attention to how your body reacts and feels after a meal so you can start to identify foods that may need to be eliminated if you happen to be allergic or sensitive to those items. What you put in your body also affects your mood, energy, skin, and hair. Start the day with food that gives you energy. By doing this alone, your day will be more productive.
If it is challenging to identify foods that are affecting you negatively, there are many tools to assist you in finding out what may be causing you issues. This includes at-home food sensitivity tests, removing certain items by elimination, allergy test, and many other options. It may take some time to determine what foods you should avoid, but your body will thank you for taking the time to figure this out.
5. Reward Yourself Or Others With Something Other Than Food.
We do this typically without even realizing it. We use food to bribe, console, or reward our loved ones or ourselves. In most regards, the food that is chosen is not healthy. Cookies, candy bars, bacon cheeseburgers, chips, and even soda are often a reward which is utilized for the bribe. These options come with unhealthy consequences in the form of empty calories, fat, and fleeting satisfaction.
To avoid this, find an alternative to food in order to reward yourself or loved ones.
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