One of the objectives of a healthy and conscious lifestyle is to eat healthy without spending a lot and without waste.
Healthy eating means, choose the best foods but also having regular times for both meals and snacks and not giving up sporting activity. Healthy eating does not mean diet but protecting our health and therefore it is the first form of prevention which however does not make us give up the pleasure of food.
Healthy eating shouldn’t become a form of obsession but one conscious choice and balance, for example in calorie control: 50-60% carbohydrates, 20% proteins and 20% fats. Keeping these percentages in mind, the Mediterranean diet turns out to be the healthiest of all.
How to eat well
Healthy eating doesn’t just mean looking at the quantity and quality of food but also the way we eat. We must learn to eat slowly, at the table, without television or smartphone and why not, even choosing the right company. Swallowing food voraciously, eating on the run and perhaps with a smartphone in hand is counterproductive and bad for your health.
The current economic crisis has forced us to review our habits, even and above all when we go shopping. A research conducted by Astra Ricerche reveals that 40% of Italians have reduced their food consumption in the last two years and 90% put many anti-crisis behaviors into practice and anti-waste by buying fewer products and preferring discounted or promotional ones.
It takes very little to spend less and eat healthy while always checking calories. There are many products on the market that have a high nutritional value and are cheap. Here are some examples for shopping that is nutritionally rich but poor in terms of costs:
- Fare three meals a day Always;
- Always choose, both at lunch and dinner, products such as seasonal fruit and vegetableslegumes and cereals;
- The ideal would be to eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day and if you go to the supermarkets at closing time, you will also find many discounts;
- Always eat one for lunch or dinner portion of cereals and derivatives such as bread, pasta, rice or potatoes together with a portion of vegetables;
- The pasta with tomato sauceeasy to prepare, it is a complete and economical dish: pasta, tomato, extra olive oil, basil and parmesan or parmesan;
- No ready meals or calorie snacks and include legumes in your diet at least twice a week with which to invent many recipes;
- Eat little meat, and a little fish, once or twice a week. Same thing for dairy products, cheeses and cured meats. In the case of cured meats, prefer freshly sliced ones at the counter rather than bags and always accompanied by vegetables.
As mentioned before, fruit, vegetables, legumes, fish and meat are healthy foods but there are other foods that are good for you:
- eggs, can be cooked in various ways and are cheap.
- Where possible, choose tap water and avoid carbonated and sugary drinks;
- Prefer extra virgin olive oil both for seasoning and for cooking;
- Try to make one list of things you need without being enchanted by anything else and use everything you have available in various ways to avoid waste. If you have some vegetables left over for lunch, they can become the basis for a good pasta or risotto for dinner;
- Everything we have said so far must always be accompanied by a physical activity, preferably in the open air. Even a nice and healthy walk or jog helps the body and mind stay healthy. Walking helps lower cholesterol, diabetes and blood pressure.
Eating healthy foods shouldn’t be an obligation but a pleasure and introducing good habits, eliminating those that are bad, helps our body stay healthy and fit. To get closer to healthy food, we just need to get used to:
- reduce sugar and salt;
- don’t overdo the coffee;
- do one balanced diet;
- break your appetite with snacks of fruit or yogurt;
- fare physical activitypreferably outdoors.