Adopting a healthy eating routine is vital for providing your body with energy and essential nutrients. It reduces the risk of illness, enhances longevity, and supports overall mental and physical well-being.

In our day-to-day lives, we are flooded with responsibilities and activities. It often becomes extremely easy to sideline one of our fundamental duties: caring for our health and well-being.

We frequently find ourselves too occupied to spare time for breakfast, sit down for a proper lunch, or even make a trip to the grocery store.

Ironically, we sometimes neglect the most crucial aspect of our lives—our health and well-being—to pursue everything else that relies on this very foundation.

Yet, it’s important to remember that when we prioritise our health, we’re not just investing in our well-being. We’re also enhancing our energy levels, cognitive function, mood, fitness, and much more.

Prioritising health boosts our efficiency.

Today, I’m sharing with you 6 healthy eating habits that will assist you in prioritising your health and enhancing your efficiency in tackling day-to-day challenges.

What does healthy eating actually mean?

Does it mean following a particular diet? Sticking to only organic foods?

Or is it something completely different?

There are people who, for various health reasons, need to adopt a particular diet. For most healthy individuals, eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean following a specific diet.
On the other hand, choosing organic foods can be a part of a healthy eating pattern. Still, it’s only a fraction.

You can put it this way: healthy eating is about prioritising your health by providing your body with the right amount of calories and a sufficient amount of all the essential nutrients.

It might seem simple when put in writing, but in reality, it demands planning, consistency, and patience.

That’s precisely why I’ve compiled this list for you!

By embracing specific practices and behaviours, the journey becomes not only more manageable but also more enjoyable.

Essential healthy eating habits

Habit no. 1: PRIORITISING NUTRIENT-DENSE FOODS

Your focus should be on nutrients rather than calories!

Nutrient density is a measure telling you how much good stuff a food has compared to how many calories it packs.

Nutrient-dense foods are fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean meats, fish, nuts, and seeds – the unprocessed goodies.

By choosing nutrient-dense foods, you are more likely to get all the necessary nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, without excess calories.

By building your diet around nutrient-dense foods, you are ultimately reducing the risk of nutrient deficiencies and chronic diseases.

Calories are a significant factor to consider. But, focusing solely on them can sometimes be misleading.

Let me give you an example. Foods such as nuts boast a relatively high calorie count. Still, they are also packed with essential nutrients, making them nutrient-dense choices. On the other hand, there are foods marketed as low-calorie treats that simultaneously lack vital nutrients.
You may opt for the low-calorie treat solely based on the calorie count. But you’ll find more nutritional benefits in nutrient-dense options like almonds or hazelnuts.

Habit no. 2: EATING A VARIETY OF FOODS

As you had the chance to read in my story about 3 main principles of healthy eating, no single food or food group has all the necessary nutrients our body needs.

To get enough protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, we need to combine foods from all major food groups:

fruits and vegetables,
grains,
the protein group (beans, pulses, eggs, fish, meat, poultry, nuts),
dairy,
fats and oils

On a regular basis.

Also, we need to achieve variety within a single group. That would mean if one day we chose carrots, broccoli, apples and strawberries from the fruit and vegetable group, the other day we could go with spinach, beetroot, orange and blueberries.

The more varied and colourful your diet is, the better!

Eating a variety of foods is also extremely important for your gut health. An unbalanced gut microbiota can have adverse effects on our immune system and the ability to fight harmful bacteria, plus many more.

If you want to learn more about this topic, read my interview on probiotics with an awarded researcher, Deni Kostelac, Ph.D.

Habit no. 3: BALANCING MACRONUTRIENTS

Nutrients your body requires in larger quantities are water, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats – often called macronutrients.
Water, while crucial, doesn’t provide calories, so we’ll set it aside for now and focus on these energy-providing macronutrients.

Each of these nutrients plays a distinct role in our bodies. That’s why it’s essential to maintain a balanced intake.

An easy way to achieve this balance is by visualising your daily intake on a single plate.

Fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables, allocate a quarter for grains, and reserve the remaining quarter for protein-rich foods. Leave a small portion for fats and oils, and you’re well on your way to achieving a well-balanced intake of macronutrients.

Habit no. 4: CUTTING BACK ON CERTAIN FOODS

There is growing evidence that high consumption of ultra-processed foods is linked to an increased risk of obesity, depression, cardiovascular diseases, all-cause mortality and more.

Ultra-processed foods can be defined as formulations of ingredients without culinary use (such as high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, protein isolates, hydrogenated oil, and various additives) going through a series of industrial processes.

Let me give you a few examples:

carbonated soft drinks;
mass-produced packaged breads and buns;
margarines and other spreads;
breakfast ‘cereals’;
cookies, pastries, cakes, ice creams;
pre-made pies, pasta and pizza dishes;
‘nuggets’ and ‘sticks’, sausages, burgers, hot dogs;
‘instant’ soups;
and many other products.

They are made to be delicious, but they are, nutritionally speaking, very poor and should be consumed wisely.

You are taking positive steps toward enhancing your health by prioritising whole, nutrient-dense foods and reserving highly processed foods for special occasions.

Habit no. 5: MAKING A WEEKLY MEAL PLAN & PREPARING MEALS AT HOME

We’ve come to a habit that is one of the most important ones if you want to stick to a healthy eating pattern for a long time.

Creating your weekly meal plan might initially demand a bit more time, but as you continue, you’ll notice how much quicker and more efficient you become.

Begin by drawing up a table to list meal ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. If this feels overwhelming, start with a smaller number of meals that you’re confident you can prepare for the upcoming week and gradually expand.

Crafting your weekly meal plan, prioritise nutrient-dense, unprocessed, or minimally processed foods, and keep in mind the importance of balancing your macronutrients using the plate visualisation method.

I find it helpful to maintain a Pinterest board where I save recipes I’d like to try. When it’s time for my weekly meal planning, I already have a stash of ideas at my fingertips, making the planning process much smoother.
Once your meal plan is ready, take a tour of your fridge and pantry. Create a shopping list for the upcoming week, noting the items you need to replenish.

By the way, keeping a well-stocked kitchen can significantly simplify things. It means that weekly, you’ll only need to make trips to the store or the fresh farmers’ market for fresh and perishable produce.
Read my pantry essentials list for ideas on what to always have in your pantry.

Here is why I think weekly meal planning is amazing:

Variety: By creating and writing down your weekly meal plan, you have a much better overview of your overall dietary pattern, and you can control better how varied your diet is.

Choice of ingredients: You have the ultimate control over what goes in your dishes. Choose fresh, whole, minimally processed ingredients, and read the nutritional labels for smarter choices. When preparing your meals, you can control how much fat, oil, sugar and salt you are adding to your dishes as opposed to when eating in restaurants or buying ready-to-eat meals.

Portion management: By preparing meals at home, you have much better control over your portion sizes, which can help you manage your weight better and prevent overeating.

Time-efficiency: By writing all your ideas for the upcoming week, you can avoid unnecessary visits to the store and use that time more efficiently.

Cost-savings: A shopping list with approximate quantities reduces impulse purchases and food waste, saving you money in the long run.

Awareness: Planning your meals and making them at home makes you more appreciative of the food and encourages eating slowly and more mindfully.

Sustainability: Meal planning, organised grocery shopping and cooking at home can reduce the amount of food packaging and waste and thus lead to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Habit no. 6: HYDRATING REGULARLY

Water is the most vital nutrient of all since it is essential for all bodily functions, including temperature regulation, nerve conduction and various chemical reactions.

Even though proper hydration is extremely important, our thirst signal is not very sensitive. We get thirsty when we are already 1-2 % dehydrated, so don’t wait until you’re thirsty!

Have a bottle or glass of water always at hand to remind you to stay hydrated.

If plain water is not your favourite drink, add lemon, lime or orange slices for added flavour or try making yourself unsweetened iced teas. I’m sure you will find an option that fits your taste buds.

Water intake recommendations can vary, but I’ll mention the one from EFSA, which recommends a daily water intake of 2 litres for healthy women and 2.5 litres for males. This value includes water from all sources, including plain water, other beverages, and moisture obtained from food.

Remember that simultaneously attempting to incorporate all these healthy eating habits can be overwhelming. It may even lead to quitting.
Instead, consider adopting one habit at a time until it becomes a seamless part of your routine.

Once you’ve mastered one, move on to the next.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. And for more nourishing, nutritionally balanced recipes – follow my blog regularly 😉