Nutrition is the foundational basis of living a happy, healthy and balanced lifestyle.
However, there’s no point beating around the bush; healthy eating can seem like some seriously hard work if not executed efficiently. Although on the contrary, all it takes to live a healthy lifestyle is a bit of planning. We’ve put together a nutritionally-based guide on how you can live your life to its freshest and fullest.
Utilize the five food groups
When assessing you and your family’s nutrition, a great place to start is the five food groups.
Are you feeding you and your kids a variety of vegetables in at least two meals a day? Make things fun by including a selection of colorful vegetables, which also will ensure you are feeding your family a wide range of nutrients. As well as this, make sure that there is a hearty serve of protein in lunch and dinner, and a serving of whole grains at every meal.
Don’t forget about fruit or dairy, either! Pack some fruit for morning and afternoon snacks for you and your family. If you’re finding it hard to get your loved ones to ingest dairy, an increasingly common (and effective) option is to buy calcium supplements.
Failing to plan is planning to fail
You’ve probably (definitely) heard this one before, but there is no way that you can succeed at anything without having a proper plan in place.
Nutrition is no different.
The more that you schedule healthy eating into part of your weekly diet, the easier your lifestyle is going to be. All it takes is half an hour at the end of the week to plan the following seven days of meals, and then making sure you do your grocery shopping on the same day each week. Once your routine is in place, it will easily become unshakeable. Opt for two red meat meals, two fish meals, two chicken meals and one vegetarian meal per week.
This one may come as no surprise, but it is vitally important that you keep a cap on your weekly treat limit. It is a great life tool to teach kids from an early age that there are foods you need to eat everyday and foods that you should only eat very occasionally. If you are going to eat dessert, limit it to 1-2 times per week, perhaps on weekends. As well as this, make sugary or fatty snacks an infrequent delicacy to get into the routine of looking forward to an irregular treat, instead of constantly craving it.
Get the whole household involved
Whether you live with your friends, family or kids, there’s no doubt that the members of your household are going to be more passionate about healthy eating if they are involved in the process. Include your loved ones in the list making, menu decisions and grocery shopping. Let everyone choose some recipes, and involve everyone in the cooking, or split it up so that the chores are even. Healthy eating and cooking practices are contagious, so try to get everyone involved and you’ll have some budding nutritionists on your hands in no time.
Healthy eating is a particular part of life that requires conscious attention and effort in order to succeed. Make sure that you involve your household in meal planning, whilst always thinking about including a balanced variety of food groups and nutrients. Last but not least – don’t forget to treat yourself, but only on special occasions.