Practical Healthy Eating for Busy People

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Healthy eating is easier than you think (Photo credit: pixabay.com)

Whenever I am out doing my grocery shopping, I can’t help but look into other people’s grocery carts to see what they are buying. It often amazes me at just how much unhealthy food that many people are consuming. In this modern day society, many of us are tempted to survive on red and processed meats, packaged meals, takeout food and sugary snacks. I especially noticed this trend the past few years. Doesn’t society know that healthy eating for busy people actually exists?

The sayings – ‘Delicious food is always not good for you’ and ‘Healthy food tastes awful’ are often embedded in the minds of our society. It’s sad to say that nowadays, we often associate deliciousness with unhealthy food and shy away from healthy food, thinking that they do not taste as good.

To make matters worse, we live in a fast-paced world that often demands a lot of our time – leaving us with less time to prepare healthy meals at home and to think about our eating diets.

Have you been aspiring to maintain a healthy eating diet but are unable to do so until now?

Well, the first thing you should get out of your head if you want to start eating healthily is the thought that healthy food tastes awful. Secondly, you must be prepared to change the way you eat and sacrifice by eating less unhealthy food.

Seriously, healthy food can be tasty too!

I absolutely love eating healthy foods. It makes me feel guilt-free and helps me to maintain a healthy body and mind while helping me to boost my energy levels. The best thing is that healthy eating is just a normal part of my life and I feel good about it every day without any torture!

Curious to find out how I did it?

Effective Healthy Eating for Busy People

Drink Water

Although you may be used to drinking fizzy drinks or sugared juices, you should seriously try drinking water instead. I found that water helps me to quench my thirst far better than any other sugared drinks. A bonus point is it’s cheaper to drink water too!

Healthy Snacks

When you feel like snacking, try to cut down on your intake of sweet snacks like sweets, chocolates and cakes. Try alternative healthy snacks like cut fruits instead. They feel so much more refreshing than unhealthy snacks and provide you with essential vitamins to help your body stay healthy.

Cook your Meals

Canned soups and vegetables, frozen dinners and instant pastes may seem like the easiest alternative for us when we are busy. However, these contain hidden sugar and sodium that are not good for us. If you want to prepare a quick meal, why not make a simple stir-fry dish with fresh vegetables and lean meat? By cooking your own meals, you can ensure that only healthy ingredients go into your meals. If you are too lazy to cook, try making simple salads with fresh vegetables instead. Make sure to put less sugar and salt while preparing your meals though, if not it will defeat the purpose of being a healthy meal!

Eat Lots of Fruits and Vegetables

A meal is never complete if it does not have fruits and vegetables. Try eating lots of red, orange and dark-green vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes and broccoli. You should also eat some fruits as a dessert after your meal. Fruits and vegetables are good because they provide you with vitamins, minerals and fibers to help you stay healthy.

Eat More Whole Grains

Although white bread may taste good, they contain refined grain which is not good for you. Instead of eating white bread, why not eat whole-wheat bread instead? Although white bread may taste smoother, you will soon discover the delicious taste of whole-wheat bread after eating it regularly. Other whole-grain products which are good for you are such as whole wheat, brown rice, bulgur, buckwheat, oatmeal, rolled oats, quinoa and wild rice.

Eat Lean Protein Foods

Choose to eat lean protein foods such as chicken breasts, lean ground beef, beef stir-fry cuts, dry beans or peas, and eggs. I always cut off the fats from my chicken drumstick and thigh skin before cooking so that I don’t get unnecessary fats in my meals.

Eat Seafood

Although it may be expensive to eat seafood, an occasional seafood treat can be good for you. Seafood are rich in protein, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids (heart-healthy fat) that are good for you. I found salmon to be a really good fish that helps me to stay healthy.

So that’s it. These are the techniques I use to eat healthy. They are not that difficult to follow, right?

Do you have other tips on healthy eating for busy people? I would love to hear from you.

References:

http://www.fitness.gov/eat-healthy/how-to-eat-healthy/

http://authoritynutrition.com/how-to-eat-healthy/

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/healthy-eating.htm

https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/eating-well/tips-eating-well/how-add-variety-your-diet

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20676415,00.html

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/collection/healthy-eating

http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/01/guide-the-31-healthiest-foods-of-all-time-with-recipes/

Caroline Poh

2 Comments

  1. Howdy! This blog post couldn’t be written any better!
    Going through this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
    He continually kept preaching about this. I’ll forward this
    information to him. Fairly certain he’ll have a
    good read. Many thanks for sharing!

    • Hi, Mac. I’m glad you enjoyed reading this article. I hope your friend will love reading it too. It’s so important to stay healthy despite our busy lifestyles. After all, we need to be healthy to keep us strong.

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