Simple & easy tips to improve diet please....

[FrostyGlassSlipper]

DH and I would like to improve our diet. We have been meal planning our evening meals and this has helped ensure we eat more veg and also save money.

We have come up with the following:
Drink 1 litre of water each day.
Eat breakfast each day (and meal plan it)
Buy wholemeal bread instead of white
Have a fruit juice each day
Have at least one piece of fruit as a snack each day.

Any other ideas please. They need to be quite simple or we;ll lose motivation.

Thanks

don't buy crap then you can't eat it.
remember that the less processed it is,the better
eat porridge for breakfast. cheap as hell and brilliant for you.0

Hi FGS, I think I'm a dreadful example because we're really not that healthy at all (esp this time of year!), but cutting up fruit & veg in advance (e.g. carrot sticks, pepper) and leaving in open view works quite well. I've been trying to have carrot and hoummous on my lunchtime roll rather than cheese etc so an extra portion of veg slotted in (plus veg sticks on the side if they're there!) Soup is the major way we started to eat more veg, though as we'll all eat it (and easy to prepare too).
And I do find it I'm at work and there's a pile of fruit on my desk I will eat it all rather than be bothered to hunt something else down. Same goes for a fruit/seed/nut mix in a box, if I take it in it gets eaten.

Moondog is right. My advice is don't buy anything with more than 3 ingredients in it and cut out all sugar and sweeteners, your health will improve vastly - but it's not simple or easy...

Eh??
It is simple and very very easy.

I meant cutting out sugar - I've done it and it's hard. most people wouldn't manage it, I think...[eats chocolate]

I don't mind a bit of sugar. I drink cocoa every night, although it is the only sweet thing I touch. I think weird sweeteners ar worse.

I had candida in the gut made worse by antibiotic use and too much sugar in the diet and it caused me all sorts of problems includng acne and mood swings due to blood sugar imbalance etc etc
However, i'm back eating what i feel like and dealing with the consequences becuase it's so hard to stay off the choc!

Oh dear. Don't store up trouble!

Mix up your grains. Even eating more healthily it's easy to find yourself having bran flakes for breakfast, sandwich for lunch and pasta for tea - all wheat.

Try rice or corn cakes with toppings for breakfast or lunch.
Have oaty breakfast cereals
Have rice instead of naan with curry or chilli
Use quinoa instead of rice from time to time - pricey yes, but very easy to cook and the kids like it too.

Also, bung nuts and seeds on top of stuff. Adds interest to lots of things and boosts your essential fatty acid intake like almost nothing else.

Eat when you're peckish, but as pps say don't have crap around, then you have to snack healthily. We weren't designed to eat only three times a day.

Yes good advice Mij.
I second al lyuo say.

Have a banana with your cereal or porridge = 1 portion of fruit.

Have one portion of salad (e.g. handful of cherry tomatoes or 5cm chunk of cucumber)- if you want it really easy - with lunch)

See, with one drink of fruit juice as well that's 3 portions without even trying.

Learn how to make quick veg curries or soups. Once you get into it it is easy and cheap, make loads and freeze a few portions. I use organic stock cubes, whatever veg I have to hand, and spices.

Vegetable soup for lunch is a good way of getting extra vegetables in. Fruit smoothies are good too - you can even blend a banana into fruit juice for a very easy one.

Eat loads of dried fruit - easy, not too expensive and great for snacks or food on the move: raisins, apricots, prunes, figs all taste good with nuts (also a good source or protein).

Try to replace products made with white flour to wholemeal eg buy brown spag, rice, lasagne sheets....

make veg soup and eat it all the time - just stick leftover veg in water and simmer, with bit of stock if you like, then blend and eat, sooo easy and healthy and yummy

If you like spicy things add a bit of balti paste or something like cumin (dried) to your soups.

I do a really easy parsnip soup, add a bit of natural yogurt at the end. Very nutritious and yummy.

Sorry I disappeared. off to read everything now...

Eat cherry tomatoes if you feel like sweets

Some very good ideas. I went through a phase of making soups but then got a bit jaded with it all.

Will definitely try buying brown rice/bread/pasta.

And the idea of chopping up vegetables like peppers and carrots is a good one for us. DH loves humous but often has it with bread.

I'm a bit of a one for hoummous and wholemeal pitta myself! Actually this is a bit of encouragement for me too, I've been rubbish lately (aside from soup!)
Parsnip soup sound v.nice, I could use leftover ones from Christmas day maybe, roast veg lovely in soup.
Mij, ideas with quinoa? I have some, but have never used it. I tried couscous but ds1 wouldn't have a bar of it although I quite like it. I do eat soooo much wheat, even though mostly wholemeal (I hate brown rice though, urggh). They're good ideas.

Linseed on any cereal (because I don't eat oily fish). Forgot that before.

Perhaps we can motivate each other a bit AQ?

yes, I definitely need that, have just eaten g&b whilst on this thread, pathetic (even after veg soup with wholemeal pitta).

I am eating rolo ice cream.....sigh.

I think we might have a lot of work to do but in my defence I am sort of following moondog's advice. If I have none left I cant eat it and I have promised to DH I wont buy any more...

There's another (big) bar of g&b in the cupboard! I went to Tesco tired and hungry with no list this morning, it was a mistake! Must go cut up some carrots for tomorrow [aq mutters to herself...] Shall we congratulate each other on the good stuff and waive bad stuff for now?

Yes, I made sure I had 3 lots of veg with dinner, and I have hidden the weetabix minis with chocolate chips so DD1 and I cant eat them for breakfast.

Come back tomorrow and tell me what good things you are doing as I need to be bombarded with ideas.