10 Healthy Eating Tips That Make Nutrition Easier

Start with one healthy eating habit you can repeat

Trying to change breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and grocery shopping all at once is overwhelming. Choose one habit that feels manageable enough to repeat, including on a busy day.

That might mean eating breakfast before leaving for work, bringing lunch from home twice a week, or adding a vegetable to one meal each day. Give the change enough time to become familiar before adding something else.

The goal is to create routines that still work when motivation is low, the day runs long, or your original plan changes. A habit that fits into real life will take you further than an ambitious plan that lasts until Wednesday.

Build a balanced meal with a flexible plate guide

Canada's Food Guide plate offers a simple visual starting point: half vegetables and fruits, one-quarter whole grain foods and one-quarter protein foods. The proportions are intended as a reference rather than a precise serving guide.

A balanced dinner could be roasted chicken with brown rice and a salad. It could also be lentil curry with vegetables and a whole grain flatbread. At breakfast, it might look like oatmeal with berries, nuts and yogurt.

Instead of focusing on what needs to come off the plate, look at what might round it out. Could it use a vegetable or fruit? A source of protein? A whole grain or another filling carbohydrate?

At your next meal, try asking, "What can I add?" instead of starting with what you think you need to take away.

Add variety without reinventing your grocery list

Eating a variety of vegetables and fruits helps bring a broader mix of nutrients and flavours into your meals. Variety can mean trying something unfamiliar, but it can also mean preparing a familiar ingredient in a new way.

Add frozen spinach to pasta sauce, roast parsnips alongside potatoes or mix blackberries into the yogurt you already eat. Turn raw peppers into a stir-fry, roast broccoli until the edges are crisp or blend fruit into a smoothie.

Fresh produce is only one option. Frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes and unsweetened canned or frozen fruit can be convenient, nutritious choices that are easy to keep on hand. Canada's Food Guide includes fresh, frozen, canned and dried foods as options for building balanced meals.

Trying a new vegetable every week can be fun. Finding a second way to prepare one you already like works too.

Keep protein in the mix

Protein is having a huge moment right now. But for a good reason. Protein is a nutrient the body uses to build and repair tissues. Some options include beans, lentils, tofu, eggs, fish, poultry, lean meat, yogurt, milk, nuts and seeds.

Diversifying your protein options helps ward off boredom. Add chickpeas to a salad, stir lentils into soup, top toast with an egg or pair fruit with yogurt or nut butter.

Look at the meal as a whole. An apple may be enough when you are only slightly hungry. During a longer afternoon, pairing it with cheese, yogurt, nuts or seeds can turn it into a more substantial snack.

Keeping one or two quick protein sources available also makes meals easier to assemble. Think eggs in the fridge, canned beans in the pantry or edamame in the freezer.

Plan two or three meals at a time

Meal prep can get stressful. Especially if you're trying to plan out every bite for the next seven days.

If you're newer to meal prep, start by choosing two or three meals that use some of the same ingredients. A tray of roasted vegetables could be served with chicken one night, added to a grain bowl the next day and folded into an omelette later in the week.

Before grocery shopping, check what you already have and build a few meals around it. Planning even a couple of days at a time can make shopping more focused, reduce food waste and help with decision fatigue about what to eat.

It also helps to look at your schedule. A late meeting can be quite different than a quiet evening at home. Choose simpler meals for the packed days and save the new recipe for a night when you have more time.

Meal prep the part of your day that gets rushed

If mornings are rushed, prepare overnight oats or boil a few eggs. If lunch keeps becoming an afterthought, portion leftovers while cleaning up dinner. If vegetables regularly go unused, wash and cut enough for the next two days.

You can also prepare building blocks instead of complete meals:

Cooking a little extra can also give the next meal a head start. Extra rice can become fried rice, and leftover chicken can go into a salad, wrap or pasta dish.

Meal prep is the most useful when it's solving a problem in your routine. The aim is to make the next meal easier, rather than spending your weekend filling matching containers.

Let convenience foods do some of the work

Unpopular opinion: healthy eating does include some shortcuts. In fact, the right convenience foods may make home meals more realistic on busy days.

Frozen vegetables, canned beans, pre-cut produce, bagged greens, cooked grains, canned tuna and rotisserie chicken can all reduce preparation time. Canada's Food Guide specifically recommends keeping practical ingredients such as frozen vegetables, canned chickpeas, bagged greens and pre-cut vegetables available for quick meals.

A frozen meal can be paired with a salad or extra vegetables. Canned soup can become more substantial with beans or leftover chicken. A store-bought salad kit can turn into dinner with tofu, eggs, tuna or another protein food.

Choose shortcuts based on the problem you need them to solve. Pre-cut vegetables may cost more than whole ones, but they offer value when they save time and get eaten. A freezer backup you enjoy is more useful than ingredients for an ambitious recipe that never gets made.

Season your food from the heart

Healthy eating should taste good. Herbs, spices, citrus, sauces and other flavour-building ingredients make familiar foods much more enjoyable.

Try harissa on roasted carrots, za'atar over eggs or flatbread, jerk seasoning on sweet potatoes, chili crisp on rice bowls or cardamom in oatmeal. Lemon juice, vinegar, fresh herbs, salsa and yogurt-based sauces can also wake up a meal without requiring a complicated recipe.

Health Canada recommends herbs and spices as a way to build flavour and offers seasoning combinations for fish, tofu, vegetables, eggs, pasta and meat.

Start with flavours you already enjoy. If you regularly order jerk chicken, curry, shawarma or tacos, bring similar herbs, spices and sauces into the meals you make at home.

Healthy eating can and should include the foods, flavours and cultural traditions that matter to you.

Keep water where you can see it

Hydration matters and becomes easier when water is already within reach. Keep a bottle on your desk, drink water with meals and bring some when you exercise, commute or spend time outdoors.

There is no single hydration target that fits every person. Your needs can shift with activity, temperature, health and other individual factors. Drinking regularly throughout the day is generally more practical than realizing late in the evening that you barely drank anything.

When plain water loses its appeal, try cucumber and mint, berries and basil or citrus slices. Another great way to stay hydrated is electrolytes. There are few good options on the market, but a more affordable option is to make one on your own.

Try this homemade citrus electrolyte drink

Combine:

Stir the sugar and salt into the boiling water until dissolved. Add the juice and cold water, then chill it in the fridge.

Choose seasonal produce when it works for you

Shopping seasonally can bring some variety to your routine and help you take advantage of produce when it is widely available.

In Canada, that might mean berries, peaches and tomatoes in summer; apples, squash and pears in fall; or carrots, beets and other root vegetables during colder months.

Fresh vegetables and fruits are usually less expensive when they are in season. Frozen and canned options are also nutritious choices and may be more affordable when fresh produce is out of season.

A farmers' market can introduce you to food grown nearby and offer inspiration for your next meal. Your usual grocery store works just as well. Check the weekly flyer, look for produce displays or choose one seasonal ingredient to build into a meal you already make.