{health} Healthy Eating Tips

{Image via Lovely Package}

I just finished perusing through this month's Health Magazine. I really liked a few of their tips in their article about easy ways to cut calories throughout the day. They weren't too unreasonable, and you probably wouldn't even notice the difference! Here are some of the ones I may start abiding by / already do:

Better Your Breakfast:
- Make your own parfait instead of buying one. Use a cup of fat-free plain Greek yogurt (I cannot praise Greek yogurt enough. So delicious. TRY IT!), a half cup of sliced strawberries or blueberries and a quarter cup of Kashi GoLean Cereal. Saves: ~151 calories.
- When ordering eggs, ask for them to be cooked dry. Chefs often overpour the oil or butter. Saves ~250 calories.


Snack Smarter:
- Nosh on 20 salted edamame pods instead of 20 potato chips. Saves ~100 calories.
- Pour a tablespoon of peanuts and a tablespoon of chocolate chips into a ziplock bag and take it to-go rather than indulging in a pack of Peanut M&Ms from the vending machine. Saves: ~127 calories.
- Instead of a Snickers bar, have a tablespoon of Nutella on a small apple. Saves ~125 calories.


Lighten Your Lunch:
- On a Caprese salad, hold the olive oil. Good mozzarella and fresh tomato need only balsamic vinegar and a little basil. Saves: ~120 - 240 calories.
- Use a tablespoon of dry-roasted sunflower seeds instead of croutons on your salad. You'll get a healthy crunch with more protein, vitamins, and minerals. Saves: ~30 - 50 calories.


Downsize Your Dinner:
- Toss your salad with a squeeze of orange and a tablespoon of olive oil instead of two tablespoons of ranch dressing. Saves: ~100 calories.
- Rather than sauté veggies in olive oil, stir-fry them in fat-free vegetable broth and toss with a teaspoon of olive oil after they're cooked. Saves: Almost 200 calories.
- Swap sour cream on a baked potato for nonfat Greek yogurt. Save: More than 60 calories.
- You don't have to change the foods you are eating to cut calories, just reportion them. Nonstarchy veggies, such as green beans, should take up half of your plate, and carbs and protein, like potatoes and steak, should each fill a quarter of it. Saves: ~250 - 300 calories.


Dessert:
- Instead of a cup of vanilla ice-cream, try half a cup of vanilla ice-cream topped with a half cup of frozen berries. It look like a full bowl of ice-cream and give you antioxidants. Saves: More than 100 calories.
- Instead of eating a slice of peach pie with vanilla ice-cream, try a grilled peach topped with two dollops of whipped cream. Saves: ~324 calories.

I have never been a calorie counter (and I never will be) nor am I a perfect food consumer. I overeat sometimes and enjoy sweets a little too much. I like to think that I counteract those times with all of the healthy things I eat as well. I like how this article showed how easy it is to tweak your eating lifestyle just a little bit, but save so much throughout the day. If you want to see the rest of the items, check out a copy of Health in a store near you!