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When it comes to improving your health, you need to focus closely on your diet. It’s not always easy to eat healthily; in fact, it takes a little practice! The key is not to be too restrictive and to implement lifestyle changes instead of quick fixes. To support your healthy eating journey, here come twelve handy tools and tricks.
1. Daily Harvest
With the Daily Harvest application, it’s simple to buy healthy and delicious foods. Daily Harvest picks the best ingredients sourced from the top organic farmers near you. Behind the application is a team of chefs and nutritionists who turn these exclusive ingredients into tasty dishes for you. Simply choose what takes your fancy, and Daily Harvest will send these meals directly to your doorstep. The app will provide meal suggestions based on your dietary needs and preferences.
2. Side Chef
With the Side Chef cooking app, you can learn great recipes, eat better, and even save some money. Firstly, Side Chef asks users to input their allergies, preferences, and dietary requirements. With this data, the app will provide you with personalized recipes based on your health goals. Simply watch the step by step cooking videos to learn some new and tasty recipes. Side Chef links up to ‘Amazon Fresh’ so you can buy the ingredients there and then. Once you’ve raised your confidence levels, you might even like to try making up some recipes of your own!
3. Noom
Noom is a psychology-based healthy eating and fitness program that helps users develop healthy habits and reach their personal health goals. With the Noom app, you’ll benefit from flexible coaching and personalized feedback. There are plenty of tools here to monitor your exercise, food, weight, and blood pressure. You’ll find lots of interactive content and a comprehensive database of foods. Noom isn’t about simply losing weight; it’s about creating a healthier lifestyle that you can sustain.
4. Green Kitchen
Green Kitchen is a top app to learn vegetarian recipes. If you’re not a veggie, never fear; it’s still a great tool to establish a greener and healthier diet! The app provides 100+ yummy recipes and thorough instructions, colorful pictures, shopping lists, and smart timers. It’s simple to save your favorite recipes, plan your weekly meals, and share ideas with your friends. Each recipe includes an estimated time frame, so you can choose based on how much time you have to spare. To help you to eat more healthily, Green Kitchen is the perfect app.
5. Calorie Deficit Calculator
If you’re looking to lose a bit of weight, the calorie deficit calculator is a fantastic tool. With the calculator, you can estimate how many calories you should consume, whether you’re looking to gain, maintain, or shed the pounds. Once you’ve input your goals and information, the calculator can tell you how to reach your target weight. With the calorie deficit calculator, your weight goals no longer need to be complicated!
6. Yogic Foods
Yogic Foods is an app where you can learn new vegetarian and vegan recipes. It’s aimed at people who practice yoga, (but it’s still a great app even if you’re not a yogi)! One of the best things about the app is that it focuses on both mental health and physical. Here you can find out which foods you should eat to lift your spirits or to provide you with more energy. To learn more about the connection between food and mood, this is a great app to download.
Tips To Improve Your Diet
7. Set Yourself Goals
When you’re looking to improve your diet, it can help to set yourself a few goals. A set of goals can help you to move in the right direction and track your progress. A few examples might be:
- Reduce your intake of junk food and sugar
- Attempt one new healthy recipe per week
- Experiment with vegetarian cooking
- Eat more raw vegetables and fruits
- Lose weight and improve your physical strength
When you are setting goals remember to set a time frame and to keep your goals realistic. Unrealistic goals without a time frame will only serve to demotivate you.
8. Keep A Food Diary
When you’re attempting to improve your diet, it can help to keep a food diary. Keeping track of what you eat can be motivating, and can also help to establish patterns. Some people like to add notes about their emotions on a particular day, whether feeling happy, energetic, or low mood. There is a strong connection between what we eat and how we feel. Once you’ve established a connection, it can help motivate you to make positive changes. You can purchase a pen and paper journal or use a tool such as MyFitnessPal.
9. Drink More Water
One of the easiest ways to improve your diet is to drink more water. It’s advised that you consume at least eight glasses a day. Failing to drink enough water can leave you dehydrated and affect your brain function and energy levels. Drinking more water can also support your digestive system and aid weight loss goals. If you’re struggling to drink enough water, try adding fruit slices for a little more flavor.
10. Less Salt, Sugar, Fat
Most sugars and fats are packed with calories while containing a very small amount of nutrients. When you consume fatty and sugary foods in excess, you’ll put yourself at risk of developing various health conditions. Too much salt is similarly unhealthy, so it’s advisable to keep your salt, sugar, and fat consumption low. To do so, consider the following ideas.
- When you are cooking with meats, choose lean varieties and prep without the use of fat.
- Go for unsaturated fats, for example, olive oil when you are cooking.
- Limit your consumption of processed or fast foods.
- Avoid adding too much extra salt as a cooking ingredient.
11. Immune Boosting Foods
Eating the right foods can strengthen your immune system, helping your body to prevent infection and disease. For a few immune-boosting options to add to your diet, consider the following.
- Spinach: To keep your immune system nice and strong, spinach is an excellent choice. It’s full of vitamins, antioxidants, and folic acid. It supports cell function, tissue growth, and supports the body to produce hemoglobin.
- Acai berries: These nutrient-dense berries are packed with antioxidants, helping to defend the body against free radicals. Acai also contains zinc, copper, and magnesium. Some studies have indicated that these berries can improve cognitive health.
12. Mood-Boosting Foods
When you’re feeling low and sluggish, the first thing you should do is take a look at your diet. There are lots of foods that have the power to improve your mood and leave you feeling energetic. For a few mood boosting foods, try getting more of these into your diet:
- Fish: A number of studies have indicated that fish can improve our mood and increase cognitive function.
- Kefir: This is a kind of fermented probiotic drink, which shares many similarities with yogurt. It’s been suggested that drinking kefir can improve the mood and support the digestive system.
For a few more mood-boosting options, try bananas, coffee, or brazil nuts. When you take the time to practice mindful eating habits you can improve your mental health as well as your physical.
Once you’ve made a little progress with your healthy eating goals, it’s far easier to gain momentum and keep going. Remember to give yourself at least one cheat day per week (so that the whole thing doesn’t feel like too much of a chore)!
