Our diet has a huge impact on our health, and unfortunately, a lot of us have difficulties maintaining a healthy nutritional balance for extended periods of time.
Whether it’s due to stress, our obligations, or simply because of the food we like, it’s very easy to end up cheating on your dieting plan, putting you back to square zero.
However, it doesn’t have to be that difficult, and with just some minor changes to how you approach food, you can bring balance into your dietary habits, ultimately improving your body’s overall health.
We’ll go over some kitchen and healthy eating snacks to keep you healthy while also consuming delicious food, so keep on reading to find out more.
Frozen foods
Even though it’s often frowned upon due to it being an alternative to consuming fresh foods, frozen produce may actually help you increase the nutritional content of your meals.
There are 2 reasons for this, the main one being that some products simply aren’t available at every time of the year, and you may have trouble finding them during winter time when a lot of it isn’t in abundance.
On the other hand, we must remember that frozen produce is harvested when it’s perfectly ripe and usually frozen immediately after, meaning that its nutritional values are locked from that point on, whereas fresh produce is allowed to ripen while being transported.
If you look at it this way, eating frozen produce essentially means that you’re eating fresher products, even though they may not actually be “fresh”.
Spice up your morning coffee
Waking up and taking on the world without a hot cup of joe feels practically impossible at times, and while coffee on its own is fine, adding unnecessary amounts of sugar to it can be detrimental to your health.
Sure, it does make it taste better, but with all the additives modern coffee shops add to your brew, a single cup can go from 0 to almost 500 calories in a flash, and that’s no way to respect your diet.
Instead, why not try adding some natural additives that might make the taste more interesting for you, like some powdered cinnamon or cocoa powder, both of which can give your coffee a unique aroma?
On top of this, both cinnamon and cocoa powder are packed full of phytochemicals, which are plant-based compounds that help maintain and improve our health.
Sauces are key
Store-bought dressings are a great alternative when you haven’t got too much time on your hands to prepare a proper meal, but they’re full of additives that you wouldn’t find in a homemade sauce.
If you really want to keep your body healthy, while also learning something new every day, try exploring the near-infinite world of sauces and dressings you can make in the comfort of your own kitchen.
From maple syrup to sun-dried tomatoes, you can practically use anything, all the while knowing that every single ingredient you’ve used was completely natural.
By doing this, you’ll include additional nutrients in your diet while also being in control of the number of sugars, sodium, and oils that you’re ingesting with every meal.
Additionally, you may want to cut out the artificial flavoring entirely, as most of it can be harmful if consumed regularly, and instead opt for tiny amounts of MSG in your food, which will help improve the taste of virtually any dish.
Keep track of your food’s fat content
Similarly to how most people on a diet try to cut sugar from their meals, fat is also an integral part of most dishes, but you should still try to keep it in lower quantities.
However, fat may be even more impactful on your health, and unlike sugar, which is usually divided by 4 for an optimal diet, you may want to divide your fat intake by five, and you can do a lot of this work by simply cutting some foods and snacks from your diet entirely.
A single bowl of potato chips can have almost 20g of oil, which is over 4 teaspoons of pure fat that’s going straight into your gut, after which it’ll be stored on your stomach, hips, and thighs.
That’s the last thing anyone on a strict diet needs, but you may also want to factor in some beneficial fats as a replacement, such as coconut oil and avocados.
Microwaved potatoes
Potatoes out of the oven are comfort food for many of us, but sometimes there’s simply too much work for the meal to be worth your while.
Instead, you can cook this food in your microwave oven just as easily, and while it may take some time for them to cook perfectly, they’ll come out just as tasty and ready to be filled with all your favorite toppings.
For optimal results, you may also want to take a fork and poke a few holes in the potatoes to help them cook thoroughly.