You can easily start eating a healthy diet that provides you with your nutritional needs just by making a few changes. Substituting nutritious foods for unhealthy foods only takes thinking before you eat and eating only the amount you need. You can make an easy diet for your nutrition plan a part of your daily routine with simple tips.
Food Pyramid
The nutritional food pyramid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends a diet consisting of grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat animal products. The USDA emphasizes consuming whole grains by choosing at least 3 oz. of whole grain bread, cereal, crackers, rice and pasta each day.
Low-Fat Choices
A healthy diet also includes eating more dark green and orange vegetables, dry beans and peas, and fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruits. Consume low-fat or fat-free dairy milk instead of whole-milk products. Eat lean meats and skinless poultry to reduce fat intake. Bake, broil or grill meats and poultry. Try to include a variety of fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds in your diet.
Easy Approach
Using a few common sense approaches provides an easy diet with necessary nutrition, MayoClinic.com advises. Eat smaller portions of foods. Take slightly less than you think you will need and see if that satisfies your hunger. Do not eat everything on your plate if you don't feel hungry. Save the extra food and calories for later.
Content
Check food labels for nutrition information. Buy low-fat, low-calorie items. Many commercially packaged foods and snacks contain trans fats, which raise cholesterol levels. Buy products with no trans fats. Avoid French fries or fried foods, often processed with trans fats, in restaurants.
Alternatives
Replace butter on bread or sour cream on baked potatoes with low-fat or nonfat varieties. Salsa, a nonfat condiment, can flavor your baked potato. Replace butter when preparing foods with olive oil, high in unsaturated fat, which helps reduce cholesterol. Olive, canola, sunflower, soybean and sesame oils or low-fat dressings make healthy alternatives on salads.
Snacks and Drinks
Simple substitutions provide you with nutritious snacks. Instead of munching on a bag of tortilla chips, have 3.5 oz air-popped popcorn, which contains whole grains and far fewer calories. Enjoying 2 tbsp. of healthy peanuts instead of a glazed doughnut cuts your calories by more than half. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to avoid temptations for high-calorie sweet drinks, such as sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened iced tea, soft drinks and fruit drinks. Choose unsweetened tea or diet soda instead.
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