The Healthy Eating Guide

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Many healthy eating gurus will tell you that snacking is bad for you, an equal number will tell you that grazing is what you should do – so which is right.  In my view, both have merit.  It really depends on your body type, your lifestyle and the balance of your overall diet.   Eating smaller meals more often prevents snacking – but isn’t it the same thing?

The real question there perhaps is ‘Why are you Snacking?’ If it’s because you are hungry, then the chances are you are not eating enough to supply your energy needs, if it boredom or habit, liking eating Popcorn when watching TV then you should perhaps look at your behavior patterns – or what you choose to snack on.  Very often people think they are hungry when what they actually want is a drink so if you find yourself continuously tempted when you know you aren’t hungry – have a drink instead.

If you do feel the need to snack then try and make sure you choose foods that are healthy.  Cereal Bars are better than chocolate bars, fruit or vegetables are better still.  It’s easy enough to have a box of prepared fruit or vegetable sticks in the fridge if you are at home.  When you are out or at work then cereal bars are a more practical choice.  Crisps, sweets and chips are not good but a handful of crunchy nuts and seeds are more satisfying and much healthier.

If you find that it is thirst, not hunger that is driving your snack habit, consider what you drink.  Sweet fizzy drinks give you a quick sugar buzz that will soon drop and leave you feeling worse than before.  If you don’t want water, try fruit juice diluted with water as a thirst quencher, fruit or green tea can be good too, if it’s something more substantial you want a fruit smoothie can go down well but they can also give you something of a sugar buzz as they don’t take long to get into your bloodstream.

The main thing you should bear in mind when you choose a snack is ‘Does this fit sensibly into my diet’, if it does, great!  If not, think again and try to follow the healthy eating guidelines by choosing something different.

There are few healthy eating guidelines – it’s much simpler to eat healthily than you might think. A good diet should include foods from all the basic groups and all in moderation. There is nothing wrong with having some of the sugary or fatty foods that we sometimes crave if you are sensible about it and don’t over indulge.

Protein is one of the most important food groups but we don’t need as much as we think, to follow good healthy eating guidelines you should choose low fat where possible - chicken, turkey and fish are good. You need some oily fish too for it’s health benefits so Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel and the like are great choices. Red meat has come in for some bad press of recent times but a reasonable amount does no harm and if you limit it to a couple of times a week you will have no problems.

Dairy Products also come in for a lot of bad press, but again you do need some – semi-skimmed or skimmed milk is best, though young children need whole milk. Cheese, eggs, cream and so on are things that again, should be eaten in moderation but there is no need to remove them from your diet in order to eat healthily.

Fresh green vegetables are a must as they contain loads of vitamins and minerals which are essential for good health, kale, spinach, broccoli are all good as well as other ‘non-green’ veges like sweet corn, sweet potato, squash and carrots. Along with the veg comes the fruit and there is so much choice – apples, bananas, pears and all the lovely rich soft berries.

Healthy eating also means you need carbohydrates, potatoes, nuts, beans and other pulses. Seeds like pumpkin, sunflower and linseed are a tasty addition to lots of dishes and are pretty good eaten on their own. Oats are a big favourite of mine, good for so many things. Buckwheat, Rice and Barley come pretty high on the list too.

We do all need a bit of sweetness in our lives now and then, honey and maple syrup are good and better than processed sugars. Flavour can come from herbs and spices and doesn’t have to be Salt based all the time, I love the rich tastes that come from herbs like Basil and the sweet spicyness of Ginger.

Most important of all is fluid, we need lots of fluid to stay healthy, water is best but most things will do the job just as well apart from sweet carbonated drinks. Fruit teas chilled in the fridge make a really refreshing drink and there are no end of choices around.

Following these simple healthy eating guidelines with regard to food groups is the first step to a healthy diet and a healthy you.