Simple Tips To Help You Make Better Food Choices
We should eat healthy food. It sounds simple. But being surrounded by lots of processed and unhealthy food, it is not always an easy rule to follow. Especially so when we don’t or can’t cook, we have to eat out, or we are travelling.
As difficult as it can be there are still a few easy to follow tips that I use to eat well with less effort. Some of them may look complicated in the beginning but soon they can just become a simple part of your routine.
Yoghurt With Added Coriander Makes Perfect Snack
Each of these tips can help you to feel better in your body:
Eat breakfast within one hour of waking up.
Keep no junk food at home. If you don’t see it you won’t eat it.
Healthy snacks you must have at home are nuts, yoghurt, fruits and cheese.
When it comes to coffee try to stick with decaffeinated. Consume caffeinated drinks only before noon otherwise, it disturbs your sleep.
At an unknown restaurant prefer eating vegetarian food. Eat non-vegetarian only at a trusted place.
Add loads of vegetables to your rice, noodles, pizza, Sandwiches. Make sure having some vegetables with every meal.
Eat your fruits full, don’t cut them
Eat light meals on a flight, and if you can, choose something your stomach is used to.
Avoid excess consumption of flavour enhancers like Ajinomoto or MSG in your food. They are high in sodium which negatively affects the water-salt balance in the body.
Eat one of any fermented food like pickles, yoghurt, kimchi, dosa, idly, kombucha as often as you can for probiotic bacterias.
Eat fruits or raw vegetables during the daytime. As the day ends prefer cooked food because your metabolism is slowing down at this time.
Try to use the same standard glass or bottle for drinking water each day so you can track your daily water intake.
On the days when you are more physically active than usual, you can eat a bit more or have something a bit sugary but on lazy days avoid overeating or any sweet indulgence.
Use real cane sugar instead of syrups or synthetic sugars. But keep a check on your consumption.
Make sure to read food labels. The first two-three ingredients should be healthy ingredients as they make the largest share of the food. You don’t want to eat something which has sugar or refined flour as the main contributors.
When you go out try different cuisines every time. I rotate Indian, Italian, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai or Mexican. Sometimes Chinese and Turkish too.
Garnish your food with fresh herbs coriander, mint, basil, rosemary or parsley to add more flavour and nutrients.
Rotate your protein sources. Don’t eat the same beans or tofu every day.
A Smoothie Date With A Friend (Freshly Made And No Added Sugar)
Keep your food timings the same every day. When I plan my lunches or dinners with friends I always make sure to tell them that I am an early eater. Most people also welcome early eating.
Prefer seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Excuse yourself for a few cheat days. Stick to your good food habits most days.