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Sneak in veggies.

 This one is easy. Super easy. Are you making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner? Just add in shredded zucchini. I promise they will never know(and most likely neither will your husband.) I add the shredded zucchini to the hot sauce and stick in my immersion blender for a minute or two. Depending on how picky your eaters are you may not need to do this. 

Also, did you know that 99% of cookie recipes use double the sugar that they need? Try it next time, cut the sugar amount in half, and your cookies will still taste good. If you are all used to the sweetness, try cutting out ¼-1/2 a cup at a time. Within no time you’ll be at half the amount of sugar and not even miss the difference. Now your chocolate chip cookie is a little better for you and you don’t need to feel guilty about eating that second cookie 😉

Replace starches with another vegetable or whole grain.

Enjoy your starches though? Then don’t worry, just replace half of the serving! So do half the serving your starch, and replace the other half with a veggie)  Eating spaghetti? Try zoodles instead(zucchini noodles) I love using this spiralizer for that! Or not a fan of zoodles? Use spaghetti squash. If you normally serve spaghetti and meatballs(or lasagna) with garlic bread, serve it with Cesar salad instead.

Or if you really love having your garlic bread with it- don’t omit it, but just do half the amount you normally do and add a Cesar salad too. 

A really easy way to add more nutrients to every meal is to add a salad or a second veggie.  Honestly, if you like having that starch in your meal, then do it. We do. Seriously. Every night. But just make less starch and more veggies. In all honesty,  if you have a big family it can get expensive to not have them fill up on some starch. So just be smart about it! 

Instead of using white rice use brown rice or quinoa!

Eat the right amount!

Do you always eat until the food is gone or until you are stuffed? I know I always did! And still to this day I have to tell myself to stop eating- you don’t have to eat until your full to have had enough food! Eating the proportions you need can go a long way in your journey to eating healthy!  I’m giving you a printable for the serving sizes that are recommended you eat, but remember, these are recommendations!

 If you’re working a hard physical job, then yes you absolutely need more. If you have a high metabolism and always seem hungry, then yes, you need more! But just make the right decisions in which foods to eat more of! Eat more proteins, especially in a physically demanding job, eat more veggies and your healthy grains.

An easy way to start eating the proportions you need to is by starting with one part of your meal at a time. Like having the correct portion size for your proteins, leaving the rest of the plate alone. Then after a few days or even a week, do the next section, eating the correct portion size for your starch or grains, and so on.

By making small changes at a time, and slowly teaching your body that you do not need to over stuff yourself when eating, you will be able to make this change!

Don’t try to change the portion size to half the amount for all your meals, all in one day, because I promise, either evening will come and you will be so hungry and eat way more snack foods than you need.

 

Replace fats with healthy fats.

Believe it or not, you are much better off using real butter than vegetable oil. I promise you its true. Yes, there is more fat, but it’s a healthier fat. Or use olive oil, avocado oil. Go for the oil that has the least amount of saturated fat. Fats aren’t bad for you if you have them in moderation. Saturated fats on the other had are bad. No matter how little there are. So just limit the saturated ones!

This goes for those cookies to, use butter- not margarine. Even replace the margarine with half butter and half coconut oil if you don’t want to go all the way with butter. And not only will your cookies taste so much better, but the fats that you are eating will actually be fats that are much better for you! Especially if your replacing half of those with coconut oil.

See? By making simple little changes to your eating habits suddenly makes it healthier! You don’t need to go on fad diets (because we all know that no diet is going to last unless you make it a lifestyle change.) I use these simple little tricks to eat healthier every day!

This still lets me eat that pizza for dinner, or have a few handfuls of chips on the weekend. Here’s an extra little tip- put a few handfuls of chips into a bowl, and then put the rest of the bag back in the pantry. You’ll be much less tempted to eat the entire bag if it means you’ll have to get up and go back to the kitchen to get more! It’s also much easier to say no if that bag isn’t sitting right in hands reach.

 

Also, did you know that buying a block of cheese and a box of crackers for your late night snack will cost you just as much as your bags of chips? Or if you eat a couple oz cheese and a handful of grapes instead of half that bag of chips? Not only that, but you’ll feel so much better about yourself because you ate healthier!  Not junk food, and didn’t feed it to your family either!

Here’s my challenge to you. Take one of these tips on making food healthier and try it for a week, then the next week add another tip. Before you know it you’ll have made all of these simple healthy eating habit changes. And, don’t forget to tell me in the comments which change you are going to make first. I can’t wait to hear from you!