TOP 20 TIPS FOR HEALTHY EATING:
1. Veggies first: Eat all the vegetables on your plate before you eat anything else. This way you will ensure the good stuff reaches the gut first. Helps satiate your hunger and not feel guilty wasting excess food that might not eventually be “healthy”.
2. Add Whole-Grain Flour: Your favorite cake recipes will still taste as good if you substitute half of your regular flour with whole grain flour. You’ll get more fiber, more protein, and less of an empty-calorie crash. Also play around with various flours apart from wheat like corn, oat, rye, spelt, etc. and vary the quantities to maintain the texture and taste.
3. Bite the Fruit: Dunk the juicer and enjoy the fruit as it is. Ancient science has always believed that pealing, slicing or juicing breaks down the fiber and loss of nutrition due to contact with air. So just bite into your favorite foods, exercise your teeth, freshen up your breath and give your gut the fiber it needs. For veggies avoid over cooking and mashing it up.
4. Small Plates: Cheat your brain into thinking that you have a plateful of food and see the immediate difference in your intake. We measure our food consumption or satiety on what we see as less or more food and also on the number of times we refill our plates.
5. Cook large portions of wholesome grain or beans once a week: Use small portions of this cooked meal in everyday breakfast, lunch and dinner, the whole week. Oats and quinoa can make a great breakfast cereal and a great salad bowl.
6. Skip the Milk: No cream, no sugar. The next time you decide to sip in your tea or coffee avoid the dairy part and sugar and see the difference. It will take some time but you will get used to it and your body will thank you for it.
7. Mix with Healthy Alternatives: Stay with your favorite foods and avoid ditching them completely. Choose limited portions and fill the gap with other healthier alternatives. This will keep you happier and stick to a diet plan. For instance: Use ½ portion of steamed cauliflower to cover up reducing ½ the portion of potatoes in your favorite mashed potato dish.
8. Roast them: Avoid the urge to fry food, even if it is the best virgin unsaturated olive oil. Roasting at high temperatures still gives food a flavorful crispy outside with vastly less oil required and way less load on the body.
9. No-Meat day every week: Curb the urge to eat your favorite grilled steak atleast once a week. Allows you to be inventive in cooking with veggies and experimenting with soups and salads. Vegetarians on their part can try different alternatives like a vegan diet once a week.
10. Avoid Junk: Junk food or processed food contains unwanted fat, sugar, salt, artificial dyes, preservatives, etc. Sticking to a natural food diet, along with home-made food is far more beneficial than the “false” satiety from that quick junk snack.
11. Water the Alcohol Down: The next time you are with friends, getting intoxicated, remember to have a glass of water in between every drink. Keeps you hydrated, satiates your craving for alcohol and helps smooth release of waste toxins.
12. Get your Lunch Box: If you can coerce yourself to fill in your lunch box atleast once a day every week, you can help yourself eat at the right time and avoid eating cafeteria food or binging on your fav joint-delivered food.
13. Join Community Supported Agriculture: If you are lucky to find something close to you where you prepay a seasonal subscription fee directly to a farmer (or multiple farmers) and, in exchange, get a lovely array of fresh fruits/vegetables on a regular basis throughout the growing season. Almost all such produce is organic.
14. Fizzle out the Soda: If you thought diet soda is “healthier” ask your gut and teeth what impact it has on them. Stick with seltzer or even better with water, and dress it up with lime or lemon, a sprig of a fresh herb, or a few drops of cocktail bitters to add flavor without adding sugar.
15. Avoid Sweets and Carbs in your Breakfast: Blame your mid day blues on the high carb breakfast. Avoid the blood sugars spikes and mood swings associated with carb and sweet dense foods at the start of the day.
16. Know your Portion Size: Understand your calorie, carb, protein and fat requirement for each day and ensure that you stick to it.
17. Egg it up: You can cut out a lot of saturated fat and still end up with something delicious by ditching around half the yolks and adding extra whites instead.
18. Color your day: Bright colors in fruits and vegetables usually signify concentrated nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc.), which are very good for you. The more different colors you eat, the more diverse the range of nutrients you’re getting.
19. Ingredient Swap: Find out substitutes for not-so-healthy cravings to cut on all that fat, and calorie intake. For instance swap the mayo with Avocado pulp in your next veggie sandwich. Wake up the food scientist inside you and see what alternatives you can find for all those “guilt-full” foods.
20. Sow the Seeds: Want some topping ideas for your desserts and salads? Well seeds pack serious huge nutritional punch. Try out chia, pumpkin, flax, and quinoa seeds to add nuttiness and nutrition in your diet. more