5 basic tips for a healthy daily diet

 

We all want to be healthy and we know that, to achieve this, nutrition is essential. To eat well, it is just as important to enjoy food as it is to obtain the nutrients that our body needs to be healthy. Combining the two options is possible with a pleasant, sufficient, complete, balanced and sustainable daily diet.

In general, you don't need a big revolution or drastic measures to eat better. We can eat healthy every day, without a strict and restrictive diet, just by changing some habits. A good way to start a healthy daily diet today is by applying these 10 simple tips.

1. Plan meals

Pre-planning your diet by days or weeks is the best way to eat balanced. When we don't have anything planned, it is very easy to get carried away and eat the first thing we find at home or buy prepared food. With a clear menu it is easier to distribute the necessary weekly portions of each food and maintain an adequate daily diet.

The Nestlé Menu Planner is a good tool for planning meals and also offers ideas to avoid falling into monotony.

2. Cook

When we have planned our daily diet, it is much easier to start cooking. Cooking is essential for healthy eating, because we control the cooking process and use fresh ingredients. When it comes to cooking, we must prioritize techniques such as sautéing, steaming, baking and grilling and leave frying for special occasions.

The Mediterranean diet is a good reference for a daily healthy diet because it is based on vegetables, legumes, fish, eggs, nuts, etc. with easy, affordable, quick and delicious recipes to enjoy daily.

At Nestlé Cocina we have many ideas for daily cooking, all of them organized by type of dish or main ingredient so that it is easy for you to find what you are looking for. It also includes a section of especially easy and quick recipes, so that time is not an excuse.

3. Eat a lot of fruit and vegetables

What can never be missing from the diet for a day is 5 pieces of fruit and vegetables (3 fruits and 2 servings of vegetables) at least. Vegetables should be generously present on the table daily and, if possible, at every meal. Fruits are best eaten whole and with skin to take advantage of all the nutrients and fiber they offer.

At lunch and dinner, vegetables should represent half of the plate. We can prepare vegetables roasted, sautéed, steamed and in the form of salads, either as a main dish or as the best garnish for another recipe.

For dessert, nothing better than a piece of whole natural fruit.

4. Incorporate more vegetable protein

Vegetable products are the protagonists of a healthy daily diet. Not only fruits and vegetables, but also other plant foods such as tubers, legumes, cereals and nuts. Precisely these last three foods are especially rich in vegetable proteins. By combining the intake of legumes with cereals or cereals with nuts during the day, for example, you obtain quality protein.

Legumes, in this sense, are especially interesting. Therefore, it is advisable to eat at least 3 servings of legumes a week.

5. Eat whole grains

A balanced daily diet should include cereals, which are one of the main sources of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide most of the energy needed and should represent between 50% and 60% of the calories ingested, depending on the level of physical activity.

Within cereals, whole grain versions offer many more benefits than refined cereals. Whole grains have all the fiber of bran and are also richer in vitamins and minerals, present in the germ. Thanks to fiber, its sugars are released more slowly and do not cause sudden increases in blood sugar levels.