Little changes to go a long way

While you may not have made straight-up resolutions, eating and living healthily is something to aspire to every day of the year! Below are a few simple ways you can gradually adjust your habits to make your life healthier.

Easily include more veggies. It’s tough to try to include more vegetables in your diet if you don’t have a game plan! Try these ideas to start:

• Whenever you make tomato sauce, drop a few chopped carrots in the sauce. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, then gently mash the carrots using a potato masher or immersion blender. No one will tell the difference!
• When making smoothies, add a handful of spinach or oats. The flavor will be undetectable, and you’ll be getting some great vitamins and nutrients!
• Stop buying iceberg lettuce. There is very little nutritional value in it. Instead, buy leafy green lettuce, arugula, and spinach. They are packed full of vitamins and minerals.
• Sauté onions and peppers with your sausages. If you’re cooking up sausages, add some onions and bell peppers to the pan, and enjoy them piled high with the caramelized, meltingly delicious veggies rather than on a bun.
• Make your own bread. Especially if you use whole-wheat flour, making your own bread is far more cost-efficient and nutritious than buying it. The active/prep time is generally very minimal, though rising times vary. Try out a guide like this or this to get started on easy ways to make bread.
• The day you buy veggies (this is easier if it’s a Sunday or Saturday), take them all out, wash them, and then chop them all at once. Take half an hour and just chop, chop, chop, separating into different baggies. Of course, this pertains to vegetables that won’t wilt once chopped, like carrots, onions, celery, zucchini, beets, and so on. Keep them in the fridge or freezer, then pull out the bags whenever you need them! Having chopped vegetables on hand will make it easy to add them to soups, salads, sauces, omelets, and more.

Eat healthier snacks. Make it a priority to clean the junk food out of the pantry this year, and re-stock the house with healthier snacks like these:

• Bell peppers: It’s always good to have a few on hand, as they’re easy to cut into strips for munching after school, after work, or any time.
• Nuts and seeds: Whether you mix your own or you’re just a fan of a certain type plain, a handful of nuts or seeds (think pumpkin) is a deliciously simple way to snack. Full of protein and energy!
• Dried fruit: At the beginning of the week, bake up a batch of dried fruit slices. Aren’t sure how to make your own? Check the article here.
• Almond butter: A healthier version of peanut butter made with almonds instead of peanuts, almond butter is just as (if not more) delicious. Use it on celery with raisins, apples with a dash of cinnamon, or just a spoonful by itself!
• Roasted chickpeas: Drain a can of chickpeas, pour it onto a baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees. They should be dry and crunchy when they come out (you may need to leave them a minute or two more). Toss with a few splashes of olive oil and a handful of fresh herbs and garlic powder. Deliciously simple and healthy!

Try simple exercises. There are plenty of exercises you can do any time, anyplace. Try these easy exercises to build a whole workout into your daily TV-watching schedule, or try these even simpler ones.

Drink more water. Everyone says it, and doubtless you know it can help your complexion, metabolism, with weight loss, and decrease fatigue, but how to do it?

• Keep a water bottle with you. Not the free ones you picked up years ago and never want to use because they make the water taste like plastic, but a quality bottle. Fill it and take it everywhere, and keep sipping from it!
• Use lemons and limes. Every time you fill your water bottle, squeeze some fresh lemon and lime juice into it. Before you squeeze them, save the zest in a plastic baggie in the freezer so you can easily add it to foods if needed. Especially first thing in the morning, the lemon juice will kick-start your metabolism for the day.
• Order water instead of soda when you’re out to eat. Save yourself the chemicals, calories, and cash!

Do you have little tips and changes you use to help keep you on track? Share your ideas below!