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Tips for healthy eating
This fact sheet aims to provide some tips to make healthy eating easier. You can still follow these tips and eat healthily when on a budget!
Use small plates
to help reduce portion sizes.
Have set mealtimes and focus on eating without distractions
helps to reduce the amount eaten. Try to avoid eating between meals; if you must have a snack, make it a healthy one e.g. whole fruit.
Eat nothing from evening meal to breakfast
gives digestion a natural rest and reduces the amount eaten. Remember to keep drinking water to stay hydrated.
Use herbs and spices to flavour food
helps to give food extra zest and reduce salt intake.
Eat good quality protein
helps make you
feel fuller for longer e.g. lean red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, low-fat dairy (such as milk and cheese), legumes, pulses, nuts and cereals. Protein recommendations in the diet can be met with small amounts of good quality proteins, so need not be expensive.
Use oils that have health benefits
both olive and rapeseed oils have health benefits and are good for cooking with. Rapeseed oil contains omega-3 and, in the UK, is usually the oil used for cheaper, generic, vegetable oil (check the label).
Plan meals
helps to ensure you buy healthy food and stick to a budget.
Buy seasonal fruit and veg
tends to be fresher, more nutrient dense and cheaper.
Limit junk foo
tends to be nutritionally poor, energy high and full of fat and sugar.
Buy supermarket own brands
tend to be cheaper and just as nutritious.
Grow your own fruit and veg
tends to taste better, is cheaper than shop bought, keeps you physically active and boosts mental well-being.
Cook from scratch
you know exactly what you are eating, tends to be cheaper, can be fun, mentally rewarding and tasty!
FoodSwitch UK
FoodSwitch UK is a free app which allows you to scan food and drink barcodes to immediately see whether they are high, medium or low in total fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt. FoodSwitch UK also looks for similar, but healthier, alternative products; this provides an easy means of making healthier food choices. Find out more.
