Are You Stuck Eating the Same Foods on Repeat?
They say that variety is the spice of life. Are you stuck eating the same foods on repeat? Eating the same limited foods on repeat not only limits your enjoyment of food but also limits the variety of nutrients your body benefits from.
Your body needs a number of serves from the food groups below daily for health:
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Lean meat and alternatives
- Dairy and alternatives
- Wholegrains
If you are stuck on a repeat of restricted food choices this can make eating bland, boring and limit your body to numerous important nutrients for health.
Below are easy ways to add in more variety, nutrients and flavour to your week.
- Go Nuts for Nuts
Nuts are often ignored as they are perceived as fattening. This is far from the truth and enjoying 30g of nuts daily can be enjoyed as part of a weight loss diet. Nuts contain healthy fats, protein and vitamin and minerals. Nuts can be enjoyed as a snack by themselves, added to cereal or porridge, added to salads and stir fried and included in baked products like muffins.
- Legumes are a Game Changer
Legumes are a nutrient powerhouse. They are in both the lean meat and alternatives group and vegetables group. Half a cup is considered a serve of vegetables, and one cup is a lean meat or alternatives group serve.
Legumes can be easily accessible using tinned varieties. There is no need to spend hours soaking if time poor. Legumes can be added to soups, pasta dishes, into pizza, onto toast (yes baked beans counts in this group) or into salads.
- Mix up Your Grains
Having refined pasta and rice and white bread as your grains of choice can make life quiet boring and bland. Try adding some wholegrain options like quinoa, it can be used like rice and is not only a rich wholegrain source but a complete protein too. This means it adds all the amino acids that your body needs to make a protein.
Try swapping up bread for some wholegrain containing crackers like Corn Thins slices. Corn Thins slices add a delicious crunch and benefits of wholegrains including more fibre than the refined varieties. Try one of the many delicious recipes on the Corn Thins website: https://www.cornthins.com/
Take home message: Add some spice and enjoyment back to life while reaping the benefits from a more varied diet. It will help you to meet you daily food group needs for health and make eating in a balanced way enjoyable and maintainable.
References
- Nuts for Life. https://www.nutsforlife.com.au/resource/nut-health-benefits-and-facts/
- World Cancer Research Fund International https://www.wcrf.org/research-policy/evidence-for-our-recommendations/limit-red-processed-meat/
- Heart Foundation. https://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/wellbeing/healthy-eating/nutrition-facts/is-meat-good-for-you