Healthy Eating Plans

Lauren Ashton, Nutritionist

By Lauren Ashton
Nutritionist based in Melbourne, Australia

Lauren has put together some guidelines on creating healthy eating plans. Enjoy the adventure into becoming a healthier you!

Check out Lauren`s 3 Day Healthy Diet Plan

Once in a while we all make those promises to ourselves to eat healthier and exercise more regularly. We know the importance of a healthy diet. But...… in most cases it becomes quite a challenge to keep it up and we fall back into our old habits.

Rapid diet changes are not sustainable, so it is important to create healthy eating plans and prepare. Write down all the changes you want to make. Consider our healthy eating guilde Include a realistic timeline that clearly outlines when you want to achieve each change. You will find it is much easier to achieve your healthy eating goals if they are broken down into smaller goals. Make your journey into a healthy lifestyle an adventure. Take the pressure off and enjoy becoming a healthier you.

Eating healthy doesn`t mean that you have to get rid of all those foods you love to eat. It just means you need to reduce the portions/ quantity and be realistic. Eating a chocolate bar one or twice a week is not only going to give you about 700 calories that you don`t need, it`s also going to put your blood sugar levels into a tail spin. That`s not good for your weight, your mood or your health.

Here`s a healthy eating tip: Make every calorie count. Make them count towards a healthier body, a healthier mood and a more active lifestlye.

When you take all that bad food from your diet, you are going to be able to fill the caloric space with lots of healthier options. So this is an opportunity for you to try out some of those healthy eating options you've always wondered about. Consider balance There are so many healthy foods out there that taste delicious. (I`m not talking about protein bars) Discover what you like and you will find in no time that the cravings you once had for 'junk' foods are now cravings for health foods.

Here`s another healthy eating tip: It is really important that you break out of the habit of buying 'junk' foods for the pantry. Having bad food lying around the house makes it easier to just grab them as a snack. If you don`t buy them in the first place then you are forced to find a healthier option… which keeps you on track towards your goals. As hard as it is to resist buying all your favorites foods as you trail down the aisles at the supermarket, you need to stop yourself and remember the goals you are working towards!

Healthy Eating Plans - Plan Your Alternatives

Here are a few examples of some foods that can be replaced with healthy eating alternatives:
White bread --> multigrain bread with added extras like soy, linseed or chia
Whole milk --> Reduced fat milk or even better skim milk, rice milk, soy milk
Can of tuna in brine --> can of tuna in spring water
Can of fruit in fruit juice --> fresh piece of fruit
regular/sugary cereal --> muesli topped with fruit
Coffee --> healthy green tea
Choosing the low/ reduced fat, salt and sugar option is always the best! In most cases you can't even taste the difference!

Healthy Breakfast Idea

This is a quick and delicious muesli recipe that is jam packed with fibre, protein and gives you the energy you need to start to your day!

2 cups of rolled oats
1/2 cup All-Bran/ high fiber cereal
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1/3 cup sultanas/raisins
1/4 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup finely chopped dates

All you do is simply put it all in a bowl, give it a good mix around, pour in your milk and then you can top up with other fruits if you wish!
Click here for more healthy breakfast ideas.

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