As most of us know, maintaining a healthy diet is of vital importance to maintaining a healthy weight, living longer, feeling better and looking better. But it can sometimes seem daunting when looking at the sheer volume of, sometimes conflicting, healthy eating advice out there.
Should you cut out all dairy and fats? Are carbohydrates bad for you? Will drinking wine lead to all sorts of diseases?
There are so many diets out there and so much advice that it can all leave you feeling more confused than before you started looking into healthy eating.
The best advice to follow is to use common sense and eat natural foods wherever possible. You don’t need to undergo a total diet overhaul and cut out whole food groups in order to eat and feel a little bit healthier; small changes can make a big difference.
For instance, if you love sandwiches, make sure you use wholemeal bread as it will keep you feeling fuller for longer and will give you more long-lasting energy. For healthy sandwiches, try using a low-fat spread and lots of salad in the filling to bulk it out and leave you feeling satisfied, without feeling you’re missing out.
Cutting back on a popular sandwich ingredient like mayonnaise and swapping it for low-fat cream cheese for example, can transform a sandwich from fatty to healthy with ease. Choosing ingredients that are naturally lean, like wafer-thin ham and tomato, will make your snacks much healthier than if you opt for a pre-mixed sandwich filling with lots of added preservatives.
And if you are a fan of egg or bacon sandwiches in the morning, simply swap the oil for a low-calorie cooking spray, cut the fat off the bacon and choose wholemeal bread. Hey presto, healthy sandwiches in minutes!