From clear containers to a 12-second trick – 12 hacks to help you eat healthier that nutritionists swear by
IN a world where we’re surrounded by ready meals, takeaways and convenience foods, it can be a struggle to maintain a healthy diet.
In fact, a government independent report found that more than half of our calories come from hyper-processed, often nutritionally depleted, food.
This can mean we’re falling short on essential vitamins and minerals.
According to , 60 per cent of the population are considered to have insufficient levels of vitamin D, with low levels of vitamin B12, iron and calcium also being prevalent in the UK.
So how can we make healthy eating a little easier? These experts share their simple hacks.
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1. Theme your meals
When life gets busy and you find yourself stuck for dinner ideas, it’s easy to reach for fast food and takeaways.
“Take the mental load out of meal planning and allocate a theme to each night of the week,” suggests , BANT registered nutritionist.
“This could be Mexican Mondays (a quick taco mix with a protein like chicken or beef, red cabbage, tomato salsa and guacamole and black beans), Chilli Tuesdays (a vegetable chilli with any veggies you have in the fridge cooked in one pot with kidney beans), and so on.
“Make enough so you have leftovers for lunches.
“It’s much easier to follow themed dinners than a full meal plan.
“And that way, you can stay on track with your health goals.”
To remind yourself to drink water, pop a glass of water on your bedside when you go to sleep, or put a glass next to your toothbrush.
3. Pre-prepare smoothie mixes
A smoothie is a quick and easy way to boost your nutrient intake.
Claire recommends preparing freezer packs of frozen smoothies so you can quickly make them even when you’re time-poor.
She says: “Simply add the pre-made packs to a blender and add your liquid.
“Frozen fruits and veggies are usually more cost-effective and nutrient-dense as their vitamins and minerals are preserved.”
She recommends a breakfast smoothie with frozen spinach, mixed berries, avocado and banana, with added almond milk.
“Or go tropical with frozen mango, pineapple, cauliflower and cucumber then add coconut water,” she says.
“Trust me on the frozen cauliflower in this; it’s a great way to add an extra veggie and you won’t taste it, it’ll just add a nice creamy texture.”
4. Freeze berries
Staying on the frozen fruit wave, Jenna says frozen fruit can help satisfy a sweet tooth and cool you down during the summer months.
Jenna recommends freezing berries in ice cubes.
“You can then add the ice cubes to your water which can make water taste more interesting and may encourage you to stay hydrated,” she said.
You could also freeze grapes or berries in yoghurt for a healthy dessert.
How to lose weight safely
Losing weight should be a long-term commitment to healthier living, rather than any drastic measures.
The NHS tips - which can be adopted slowly - include:
- Get active for 150 minutes a week – you can break this up into shorter sessions
- Aim to get your 5 A Day – 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit or vegetables count as 1 portion
- Aim to lose 1 to 2lbs, or 0.5 to 1kg, a week
- Read food labels – products with more green colour coding than amber and red are often a healthier option
- Swap sugary drinks for water – if you do not like the taste, add slices of lemon or lime for flavour
- Cut down on food that's high in sugar and fat – start by swapping sugary cereal for wholegrain alternatives
- Share your weight loss plan with someone you trust – they can help motivate you when you have a bad day
Read about:
- The five fat loss foundations
- The calorie formula for weight loss
- The perfect portion sizes for meals to lose weight
- Sun Health's 8-week weight loss kick start plan
5. Sprinkle seeds
Need an extra boost of fibre, healthy fats and micronutrients?
Claire says: “Pour a bag of mixed seeds into a jar and keep on your kitchen worktop as a reminder to sprinkle onto your meals.”
You can find seed mixes or ‘seed toppers’ for as little as 75p per 100g.
6. Eat bitter foods
Start each meal with a small salad of rocket, fennel and papaya sprinkled with some sprouted seeds to get the digestive juices flowing.
“Bitter-tasting foods include bitter greens such as rocket, kale, watercress and spinach, as well as cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.”
Explaining how digestive enzymes work, Andrea says that our body produces and secretes digestive enzymes within the gut to break down fats, proteins and carbohydrates.
Andrea says: “Amylase is secreted in the saliva, which starts to break down carbohydrates into sugars in the mouth.
“Further enzymes are released in the stomach and then again in the small intestine.
“Some foods also help to support digestion, these include capsicum (peppers), ginger, peppermint, aniseed and fennel, citrus fruits, dandelion, artichoke and chamomile.
“Some foods also contain naturally occurring digestive enzymes such as sprouted beans and seeds, bromelain in pineapple and papain in papaya.”
7. Pre-chop your veg
If healthy food is accessible and ready to eat, then you’re far more likely to eat it.
You might even opt for the healthy choice over the not-so-healthy choice, such as your 3pm chocolate bar.
Jenna suggests: “Pre-chop your vegetables and leave them in a glass container in the fridge.
“Hull your strawberries and leave them in a bowl of water in the fridge too.
“This can help to encourage you to eat strawberries as a snack or pop a few onto your yoghurt in the morning.”
8. Hide high-sugar snacks
Do you keep a biscuit jar on the side? Or perhaps a bowl of chocolates on the coffee table? It’s time to switch things up.
As Jenna explains, leaving the biscuit tin on the side can encourage you to reach in every time you walk past it.
She says: “When foods are easily accessible, you’re more likely to pick at them mindlessly.”
Instead, place sugary, unhealthy treats in high cupboards, or at the back of drawers where the effort to reach and get them could actually put you off even wanting them in the first place.
9. Make friends with microbes
Within our gut lies our microbiota, which is made up of a mixture of beneficial, potentially harmful and benign microbes, according to Andrea.
“If potentially harmful bacteria levels increase and tip the balance, they could be capable of causing gastrointestinal conditions,” she says.
“Believe it or not, these microbes can actually be influencing what we eat.”
She suggests supporting a healthy gut microbiome by eating fermented foods, such as kefir, sauerkraut and live yoghurt.
Plus, she recommends eating prebiotics - the preferred energy source for beneficial bacteria which is found in foods such as garlic, onion, leeks, slightly green bananas, Jerusalem artichoke and asparagus.
Bloating: Foods to eat and avoid
Eating the right foods can prevent bloating as well as reduce when it occurs.
But it depends entirely on what your symptoms are.
If you are bloated and constipated, eat:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Bran flakes
- Oats
- Skin-on potatoes
- Dried fruits such as apricots and raisins
If you have trapped wind, avoid:
- Cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and kale
- Beans (baked, kidney, butter)
- Lentils
These foods, including pulses like beans and lentils, are good to add into the diet slowly as they are high in fibre.
While they are not advisable to help in the moment, they do help in the long-run by boosting gut health.
Try adding them slowly into your diet.
If you are bloated with diarrhoea, you may have a stomach bug and should eat:
- Plain foods: bananas, white rice, bread or toast
- Boiled potatoes
- Oatmeal
- Small and frequent meals
Other tips for preventing bloating are:
- Exercise regularly
- Chew with your mouth shut
- Eat smaller more frequent meals than large meals
- Avoid fizzy drinks, alcohol or caffeine
- Limit processed, sugary, spicy or fatty foods
10. Make one large salad
After a long day at work, the last thing you probably want to do is start chopping and slicing.
But, keeping a big, clear box of pre-made salad in the fridge can save you time, so there’s zero excuses not to get your five-a-day!
Jenna says: “Often throwing together a salad at the end of a busy day can feel like too much effort.
“However, if you have a large bowl of salad in the fridge you can add it to any meal as a side or incorporate some sources of protein and healthy fats for a complete meal.”
For extra ease, buy a vegetable chopper - a box with a blade that dices for you.
11. Swap your protein
With meat prices on the rise, why not try some vegetable protein? It also contains extra fibre and nutrients.
“We eat a lot of animal protein these days, often three times a day, and much of it is highly processed and not necessarily good for us,” says Andrea.
She suggests having at least one or two days per week where you use vegetable protein such as lentils, beans, tofu, peas, nuts and seeds.
12. Breathe right
Did you know stress can get in the way of our digestive function?
Eating when stressed can cause you to reach for all the wrong foods, too.
“If we can help our nervous system to change from ‘fight or flight’ mode into ‘rest and digest’ mode before we eat, we could help reduce digestive disturbance and increase nutrient absorption in the gut,” reveals Andrea.
“One way to do this is through a breathing technique called 3-4-5 breathing for two minutes before eating.
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“And it’s so easy to do: Breathe in for a count of three, hold for a count of four and breathe out for a count of five.
“Breathing with a longer exhale helps to support our parasympathetic ‘rest and digest’ branch of the nervous system.”