How To Eat Better Without Eating Less

It's easy to assume that eating better, would mean eating less food.

As women, it's literally drummed into us from every mainstream diet we've tried. To eat smaller portions, less snacks, have less meals eaten out and cut down on your calories.

And while how much and what you eat does matter for how you'll look and feel, I don't agree that constantly trying to make your meals and food smaller is a particularly helpful way to think about food for your health. 

So instead, if you want to improve your diet and make it healthier, I want you to try something completely different.

Enrich your diet, don’t restrict it

One of the common ways that women tend to approach healthier eating, is to completely overhaul your diet. Biscuits, crisps, fizzy drinks - they all get either eaten in bulk as a 'last supper', or thrown in the bin before starting a new diet. 

Then you decide to follow a new meal plan, which means you need to buy weird and wonderful expensive ingredients you can only order online or go out of your way to find in a health food shop. 

Before you know it, you're only on Wednesday that week and already struggling.

You're struggling to find the time to follow new recipes.

You're struggling to fight your cravings which are getting stronger as the week goes on.

You're struggling to see how you'll be able to eat out with friends or family without being able to stay within your meal plan.

You're already struggling to stick to this new way of eating and doubt you can sustain it for the next 12 weeks. 

So instead, I want you to take the diet you already eat, and ask yourself what natural or healthier ingredients could you add in to your meals or snacks?

Start asking yourself what you can add into your diet to enrich it, not restrict it instead.

Here's how you can get started: 

1. Add more plant-based foods 

Whole fruit and vegetables are packed full of fibre, vitamins and minerals which help keep us regular and our gut microbiome happy. 

How you can add more plant-based foods into your diet: 

• Rather than just having a peas as your veg for dinner, add in broccoli, green beans and leeks too. 
• Add blueberries and strawberries to your porridge or yoghurt. 
• Throw a big handful of spinach in your pasta or scrambled eggs. 
• Add more colour to your salads: think sweetcorn, beetroot, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, bell peppers and mixed leaf salads. 
• Keep fruit like satsumas or grapes nearby while you work for an easy, low-effort snack. 

2. Make your meals more filling 

As you've probably realised from this week's theme; you can eat a healthier diet without cutting out foods or making your meals necessarily smaller. 

Quick and easy ways you can make your meals a lot more filling, is to add in more low-calorie volume:

• Add a rainbow salad to half of your plate - the more natural colours and textures the more variety of nutrients you'll be benefitting from. 
• Got an apple to snack on? Add peanut butter or full-fat Greek yoghurt with ground cinnamon for protein and fats to keep you feeling fuller, plus the cinnamon can help stabilise your blood sugars too!
• Add chia seeds to your Greek yoghurt snack for an easy way to boost your intake of healthy fats. Chia seeds are high in fibre and protein which can help you feel a lot fuller for longer. 

3. Boost the flavour

It's easy to be focused on carbs, proteins and fats when building a meal. But don't underestimate the power and flavour of herbs and spices. 

• Add fresh basil, coriander and mint to pasta and curries to elevate the flavour (and instantly make them look better too!)
• Swap out ultra-processed ready-made sauces for lower-calorie and healthier versions instead. Using tins of chopped tomatoes with minced garlic cloves, garam masala, paprika, ground coriander, cumin and turmeric can lower inflammation and provide a boost of antioxidants. 
• If garlic agrees with you, add a good clove per person of minced garlic to flatbreads, stir-fries, stews, marinades, pasta and curries. Garlic is fantastic for relaxing your blood vessels, protecting your cells from oxidative stress and is a natural prebiotic which can feed the good bacteria in your gut. 

4. Upgrade the meals you're already eating 

Healthy eating doesn't mean only eating 'clean' foods and never having a pizza again! 

Rather than cutting out the foods you're already eating, what can you add in to make them 10% healthier? 

For example:

• Adding a colourful bowl of salad alongside your pizza to share.
• Swapping frozen wedges for homemade versions using sweet or white potatoes. Keep the skins on for an easy way to add extra fibre and save time in the kitchen too!
• Swap out 50% of your beef mince for lentils in your chillis or spaghetti bolognese for more flavour and a really easy way to support your gut health. 

You honestly don't need to cut things out of your diet or restrict your life by not eating out. But thinking about smaller, everyday things you can add into your diet is a far easier and more sustainable way to support your overall health. 

Start with these simple ways to get started, and ask yourself what's just one thing you can add to your next meal or snack to make it healthier?