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Nutritious And Delicious: Healthy Eating Tips For Summer


Diet plays a critical role in boosting health and wellbeing. If you’re on a mission to improve your health, changing your diet is an excellent place to start. In this guide, we’ll discuss some simple steps you can take to ensure every meal is nutritious and delicious. 

Image credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/assorted-sliced-fruits-1128678/

Cook at home

Advances in technology and the availability of ready-made meals and takeouts mean that we don’t necessarily have to cook but there are significant benefits of making your own meals. Cooking at home enables you to take control of the ingredients you use, the way you prepare dishes and your portion size.

If you buy ready-made meals or you order in, you never really know what is on your plate. Often, fast food and meals that you cook in a microwave contain added sugars and high salt content, and they may not be as nutritious as dishes you can rustle up at home. 

Try to cook as much as you can. Search for recipes online or buy books if you need inspiration or ideas for your menu and vary your diet. Write a list of the dishes you love to order when you go out or pick up the phone to order a takeout, and recreate them at home using healthier cooking methods and ingredients.

From a southern potato salad recipe that is perfect for an alfresco lunch to fresh pasta dishes packed with vegetables, there are endless options. Cooking can also save you money and it will make it easier to stick to suitable portion sizes if you tend to pile plates high. 

Eat the rainbow

One of the best ways to enhance your diet and add essential nutrients is to try to eat a colorful array of foods. Experts recommend including a rainbow of fruit and vegetables in your diet. Including a diverse range of fruit and vegetables will ensure you consume different minerals and vitamins and reduce the risk of deficiencies.

There are many ways you can up your intake of vegetables and fruit, including adding a side salad or a serving of mixed vegetables to every main meal, making homemade soups, smoothies, and pasta sauces, and sprinkling berries or bananas on oatmeal for a healthy breakfast or natural yogurt for a light, nutritious dessert. Experiment with different ingredients, get ideas from the Internet, books, and TV cooking shows, and try to aim for at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. 

Picture from https://pixabay.com/photos/vegetable-skewer-paprika-tomato-3317060/

Increase your intake of whole grains

Carbohydrates are often seen as the bad guys by people who are trying to lose weight or improve their diet. The truth is that our bodies need carbohydrates for fuel but some foods are much better for us than others. Upping your intake of whole grains is an excellent way to choose carbohydrates that will provide nutritional value.

Swap white bread, rice, pasta, and sugary cereals for brown pasta, rice, and bread, and whole-grain cereals that will keep you fuller for longer and increase your fiber intake. Research suggests that a diet rich in whole grains can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some forms of cancer, and obesity. 

Plan ahead

One of the main reasons we snack and graze and order takeouts is a lack of time. If you work long hours or you have children or grandchildren to look after, you might not want to spend hours cooking in the evenings. If time is an issue, start planning a menu in advance.

You can set out dishes for each night of the week and prepare lunches and healthy snacks to take to work with you. Look for quick and simple recipes or batch cook and then freeze and defrost portions during the week. From soups and 10-minute pasta dishes to meat, fish, and vegetables, you can create a hearty, tasty, healthy meal with minimal effort. For lunches at your desk, make sandwiches, salads, soups, or pasta salads the evening before. This will save you time and a substantial amount of money if you’ve been visiting a cafe, a local store, or a deli daily.

Single meals with healthy food

Picture source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/variety-of-dishes-1640771/

Summer is upon us and it’s a wonderful time of year to expand your culinary repertoire, experiment with new ingredients, and increase your intake of vitamins and minerals. If you’re on a quest to boost your health and wellbeing, enjoying a healthy, balanced diet is an excellent place to start. Try to cook at home as much as possible, search for quick, easy, healthy recipes, vary your ingredients, increase your intake of whole grains and fruit and vegetables, and plan a menu in advance to make healthy eating simple and stress-free.





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