5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Diet

Meat and potatoes tend to make up a large portion of most peoples diets. But often people take the easy option and chose frozen oven chips/fries. While oven cooked potato products are obviously healthier than fried options; they do still contain a lot of processed fats and salts.

Why not try a baked potato instead? It's easy to cook, and it doesn't have to take forever. If you are in a real hurry you can cook it completely in a microwave, though for the best results I recommend just using the microwave to get it started, then transferring it to the oven to finish it off nicely. The results are worth the extra 20 mins cooking time!

What makes a baked potato better?
First of all cooking a whole, fresh potato from scratch means no added fats or oils. And no added salts for preservation. On top of that a potato is packed full of vitamins and minerals, especially if you eat the skin.

It's a small change but by removing oven cooked potato products from your diet, you will actually be cutting out a lot of unnecessary saturated fats, which has numerous health benefits. In addition you will also be taking in a lot more vitamins by eating a fresh, healthily cooked potato instead.

Serving suggestions:
If you want to keep it simple, try it with an olive oil spread and a pince of salt.
If you want to add more flavour just great some cheese on top.

You don't have to give up snacking between meals to be healthy. In fact it's much healthier to be eating little and often than it is to be starving yourself for long periods between meals. The body likes consistency.

Fruit is a great way to keep your sugar levels balanced between meals. Try forgetting the Mars bar and pack a few portions of fruit for those morning and afternoon snacks at work.

There's a fruit for you
A lot of people claim they don't like fruit, but with so much variety out there, it's hard to believe. There's a fruit for everyone. If you don't like the sharp citrus taste to oranges, try a banana or an apple. Or if you want to try something a little different from the main 3, get yourself a pallet of blueberries. They have one of the highest vitamin c contents of any fruit, and their anti-oxidant properties have tremendous health benefits.

Forget vegetable oil, and any other processed cooking oils for that matter. Olive oil is the only oil you need. Unlike other cooking oils, olive oil is actually beneficial to health, not detrimental.

Using olive oil actually helps to lower cholesterol and reduce the negative effects of unhealthy fats already in the blood. Cooking doesn't have to be any different, just supplement olive oil where you would normally use vegetable or other household cooking oils.

Forget boxed meals and make sure you have good sources of protein in your diet. There's room for all animal meats but try to focus more on fish and poultry, whilst limiting red meats to a couple of times a week.

Animal protein is considered one of the best sources of protein, as it best matches the protein requirements of the body. Poultry and fish are especially good as they tend to be lean and low in unhealthy fats. Try to have a portion of meat of fish with your two main meals, and pick from lean selections or cuts where possible.

Eggs are another source of protein. They are incredibly versatile and can be cooked in a number of ways, which makes them an ideal meal or snack. In the past there has been some concern about cholesterol; but as long as you are cooking them healthily, the amount of harmful fat from the egg itself is actually very minor, and easily offset by the amount of vitamins an egg has to offer! You mite have been told before to ditch the yoke and just eat the whites, but there's actually a lot of good stuff in the yoke, including vital B vitamins for the body.

Make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet
Protein is essential for the body to function, and you need it in large amounts to be healthy. Most people can benefit from lowering their intake of carbohydrates and upping their intake of protein. Try to make sure you get a healthy portion of protein with every meal.

Snaking is healthy. Don't fall into the trap of thinking starvation between meals is good for you. The body likes consistency. Keeping your blood sugar levels at consistent levels throughout the day will reduce your risk of diabetes in later life and help produce better overall health.

Maintaining consistent sugar levels also maximises your physical and mental performance throughout the day.

Focus on choosing the right snacks, instead of cutting snacks out. We already mentioned fruit, but there's plenty of other things to snack on without resorting to potato chips or sweets. Try nuts!

Just remember the key is choosing snacks that are natural and break down slowly. Avoid processed fats and fast burning sugars.