Here are the 10 Best Practical Nutrition Tips Anyone Can Use
Nutrition and healthy eating can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. These practical nutrition tips can be used to make it more accessible for everyone.
Maybe you have no energy, work a lot, or just don’t have the time to eat healthy. Even just cooking dinner can be a struggle sometimes especially if you live in a small space, don’t have access to appliances, are chronically ill, or lack motivation for a multi-step meal. Check out these practical nutrition tips to add healthy food to your life with ease!
10 Practical Nutrition Tips for Anyone
Here are 10 practical nutrition tips that are simple, yet effective. Make nutrition more accessible for anyone.
1. Steam Stuff in the Microwave
Many people underestimate the value of a microwave. It can remove the need to use a stove, toaster, and oven all in just a couple of minutes. Plus, studies have shown that microwaving does not reduce the nutritional content of food when compared to other cooking methods.
Simple recipes, like omelets in a mug, simply require an egg, salt, pepper, and a bit of spinach for a quick 3-minute recipe that can be breakfast or dinner. Better yet, invest in a microwave steamer, which can allow you to steam fish, meats, and grains in the microwave. This removes sauteing, boiling, and frying, allowing you to make meals quick and easy.
2. Eat Slower
Some issues like bloating or overeating can be due to consuming your food too fast. This leads to digestion problems, acid reflux, cramping, and bloating.
To fix this, try to chew food thoroughly, and take a breath between bites. If you need to, put your utensils down or place your sandwich down while you chew. This can help you slow your eating, savor your food, and enjoy your meal more.
3. Sneak in Veggies
Many of us lack proper portions of vegetables in our diets. Let’s be honest, carbs usually taste better. However, vegetables contain vital nutrients that are needed for our wellbeing, so it is important to consume them.
Add vegetables to any dish. For example, if you’re cooking pasta, add spinach to the sauce, or add broccoli to the pasta water to cook. This allows you to increase vegetables while still enjoying your favorite dishes.
4. Use Frozen Fruits and Veggies
On that note, don’t ignore the convenience of frozen fruits and vegetables! Freezing is a form of minimally processed foods. It does not decrease nutritional content and can be a great way to keep things from going bad.
Frozen fruits and vegetables are also great for making smoothies. Simply add a bunch to a blender with some healthy fat like avocado or peanut butter, add some sweetener, and enjoy a nutrient-dense drink that acts as a meal!
5. Save the Scraps
The part of cooking that can be overwhelming is the clean-up. If you’re peeling carrots, potatoes, etc., you’re going to be left with a bunch of scraps.
To fix this, have a freezer-safe bag or container by you that you peel. Put all the scraps there to avoid mess, and save them. These can be used in the future once you have a bunch of scraps to make a highly nutritious vegetable broth!
6. Simple Meal Prep
Meal prep is all about putting in a bit of effort at the start of the week to have constant rewards throughout the rest of the days. While meal prep can be making large portions of food, dividing it up, and eating it, that can be boring if you’re just doing chicken and rice every day.
Try simple meal prep hacks, like making soup and freezing it in portion-sized ice trays. That way, you can simply heat up a portion whenever you want, instead of having to eat it every day through the week. You can also make a lot of rice and freeze it, so you have a quick carb to add to any meal.
Take making a vegetable, cracker, cheese, and fruit tray you can snack on throughout the week too! The convenience of a tray will help you reach for healthy snacks more consistently.
7. Get a Food Chopper
Chopping vegetables can be annoying and hazardous! Save time and your fingers and invest in a food chopper! This can make it really convenient to chop anything from fruits to vegetables and more!
This can be used to make a quick salsa, taco topping, or even for a quick salad. It will help with adding vegetables to dishes with ease too.
8. Boost Protein
Increase protein in every meal whenever possible. A simple way can be to add bone broth to soup or collagen powder to juices and smoothies. Protein keeps you full for longer and is vital to your wellbeing.
Plus, more protein in meals is especially needed if you do any sort of physical activity or workout. Protein is needed to repair muscles and keep the body healthy. Check out this guide on how much protein you need to eat!
9. Add Don’t Subtract
Adopt an add don’t subtract mentality. This means you focus on adding to meals instead of taking them away. Food can still be enjoyed and you can find ways to make it better and more nutritious.
For example, any pasta dish can be made more filling by adding protein to it. Make it even more nutrient-dense by adding vegetables, and healthy fats like olive oil too.
10. Balance
There is no health without balance. You don’t need to focus on making every meal the best version of itself. That can lead to more stress with food or even an eating disorder. Eat the cookie, treat yourself to takeout, have a cappuccino.
As long as you have a balance, you can eat what you want while still maintaining health.
The Takeaway
These practical nutrition tips can make healthy eating easier. Try them out and watch how accessible good meals and food become.
Remember that health starts from within, so eat well, work out, and take care of your mental wellbeing. Try to take care of gut health as well! The microbiota affects the entire body, from your metabolism, muscles, and immune system, to digestion, and more! Get all the resources you need about microbiota health for free here!
