How to Eat Healthy Every Day

A healthy diet is the foundation of both physical and mental wellbeing. The benefits you can get from eating healthy every day include enhancing your energy, improving your immune function, maintaining a healthy weight, and reducing your risk of chronic illnesses, like breast cancer.

Eating well doesn’t have to be difficult or overwhelming. With a few practical tips, you can make small, sustainable changes that will add up over time. So, let’s dive into some simple ways to eat healthy every day.

1. Plan ahead: meal prep and shopping list

A little planning goes a long way when it comes to eating healthy.

Take some time to plan your meals and create a shopping list every week. This can help you make sure you have balanced and nutritious foods, avoid last-minute unhealthy choices (like ready meals, takeout or eating out), be more efficient when food shopping, and save money.

To make it even easier, you can use our Weekly Wellness Planner, which we’ve specially designed to help you plan balanced meals for the week and keep track of your grocery shopping list, as well as track your exercise, sleep and daily water intake.

Extra tip: you can batch cook (and freeze, if needed) or prep ingredients in advance (like chopping veggies, cooking grains, or marinating proteins) to save time throughout the week and ensure that healthy options are always ready to go. Or simply double a recipe when you cook it and freeze the extra portion to use another time.

2. Choose whole foods, not processed foods

Whole foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins (low in saturated fat, e.g. chicken, turkey, white-fleshed fish or tofu), and whole grains (e.g. oats, wholegrain brown rice, or quinoa) are packed with fibre, vitamins, and minerals that your body needs, in addition to other healthy compounds like polyphenols. They also help keep you full and satisfied for longer.

When choosing whole foods, consider:

• Keeping it simple: focus on versatile ingredients (e.g., leafy greens, skinless chicken, wholegrain brown rice).
• Trying something new: variety is key.

Limit processed foods that are often high in unhealthy fats, sugars, and salt, which can lead to weight gain and an increased risk of chronic conditions.

3. Master the art of reading labels

It’s important to know what’s in the food you’re buying so you can make more informed choices.

Learn how to read nutrition labels: know what to look for and the amounts. Pay attention to:

• Ingredients – are listed by weight on a label, from most to least. If the first ingredients are high in saturated fats (like cream, butter, or fatty meats) or sugars, they make up most of the food. Fewer ingredients are usually better.
• Portion sizes – the best way to compare products is by using the “per 100g” value, as portion sizes vary.
• Fats (specifically saturated fats) – check “of which Saturates.” Low is under 1.5g per 100g, high is over 5g per 100g.
• Sugars – low is under 5g per 100g, high is over 22.5g. Check the ingredients for added sugars like sugar, honey, syrup, or fruit juice.
• Fibre – look for at least 6g per 100g (that’s high fibre).
• Salt – low salt is under 0.3g per 100g, high is over 1.5g per 100g. If sodium is listed, multiply by 2.5 to get salt content.

If you’re in a time-crunch, you can always take a quick look at the front of pack labelling with the traffic light system, this will tell you whether a food has high (red), medium (amber) or low (green) amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt. However, keep in mind, not all packaged foods will have that and it’s only a snapshot of the nutrition information for the product.

4. It’s all about where you put your products

There is a psychological hack, known as the “nudge theory”, which is based on the idea that you can design an environment that will nudge you to make certain choices. Essentially, where you place your food can influence what you eat.

In practice, this means try putting your healthier food options (like fruits and veggies) at eye level, front and centre in your fridge/cupboard. Place less healthy choices in the back or in harder-to-reach places. Or avoid purchasing unhealthy foods so you are not tempted by them in the house.

By making healthier food choices easier to find and access, you’re more likely to go for them.

5. Be portion wise

It’s not just about what you eat, but also how much you eat.

Keep in mind that your age, sex, height, and activity levels all play a part in determining what portion size you should be eating, but here is a rough idea:

• Fruits and veggies: 5+ portions per day
• Starchy carbohydrates: 3-4 portions per day
• Protein: 2-3 portions per day, and aim for non-meat and/ or low-fat options where you can
• Dairy and/or dairy alternatives: 2-3 portions per day, and try lower fat products (e.g. cottage cheese or soy yoghurt)
• Healthy fats (unsaturated oils & spreads): 1 portion per day

A simple way to measure out a portion that is right for you is by using your hands as a guide. You can find more information on how to get Portion Wise from the British Nutrition Foundation.

Download our Weekly Wellness Planner to help you start planning your meals and weekly shopping and with that you get a handy portion guide.

6. Build a balanced plate

Alongside knowing portions, it’s important to know how to build your plate properly.

A simple trick is to use the “half-plate” method, here’s how it works:

• Half (½) your plate should be filled with vegetables (aim for variety and colour).
• The other half should be divided between lean protein and wholegrains:
  • A quarter (¼) lean protein (fish, tofu, chicken, etc.).
  • A quarter (¼) whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, or whole-wheat pasta).
• Include some dairy or dairy alternatives on the side, and a small amount of healthy fats (like olive oil or avocado).

This method helps make sure you’re getting a variety of nutrients and keeping your meals both healthy and satisfying.

Remember, you want to aim for a colourful plate and don’t forget to hydrate, consuming around 6-8 glasses of water a day.

7. Make it a lifestyle, not a diet

Focus on creating sustainable habits instead of short-term dieting. By adopting small, consistent changes like the ones listed above, you’ll create lasting habits that support your well-being. For example, try to start by making changes to your breakfast, then later progress onto your lunches, then dinner.

It may take time but try to stay consistent. It’s about progress, not perfection, so be patient with yourself.

Start small, stay consistent

By making small, gradual changes and sticking with them, you can eat healthy every day and reduce your risk of breast cancer and other chronic conditions. But, as with anything, it’s all about consistency.

Remember small, achievable changes to your eating habits can lead to big improvements in your health over time. So, start where you are, plan your meals, choose whole foods, and be patient with yourself.

Want to get our recipe book packed full of healthy recipes full of flavour? Sign up to get our free Organic Flavours recipe book.

References:

• NHS. 2023. Processed foods. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-eat-a-balanced-diet/what-are-processed-foods/
• British Nutrition Foundation. Understanding food labels. Available from: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/creating-a-healthy-diet/food-labelling/
• Arno A. et Thomas S. 2016. The efficacy of nudge theory strategies in influencing adult dietary behaviour: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4967524/
• British Nutrition Foundation. 2019. Find your balance Get portion wise – An easy guide for finding the right balance for you. Available from: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/media/csapwcse/457881-2.pdf
• NHS. 2022. The Eatwell Guide. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/the-eatwell-guide/

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