Increasing the nutritional value of your diet doesn\u2019t have to be difficult or time consuming. But it does help to think, and shop smart.<\/p>\n
The key is to get into the habit of buying some \u201cstaples\u201d in your shopping list and then knowing how best to use them at key meals throughout the day to add that extra \u201cpunch\u201d to your diet.<\/p>\n
What follows isn\u2019t rocket science, or even that surprising. But there\u2019s a world of difference between thinking; \u201cYeah, I know that\u201d and \u201cYeah, I do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The secret is turning knowledge into habit. So here\u2019s how easy it is:<\/p>\n
Fruit<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Fruit is packed full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and really helps to keep your immune function firing. Best of all, fruit rarely needs cooking, or much preparation at all.<\/p>\n So:<\/p>\n And if you\u2019re concerned about fruit going off, then buy it frozen. Or freeze it yourself. You can put it into a smoothie straight from the freezer, or it can be easily defrosted overnight.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nuts<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Maintaining a supply of nuts in your cupboards such as almonds, walnuts, or a bag of mixed nuts provides a great way to boost your \u201cgood\u201d fat intake, and provides an extra source of protein. They\u2019re a great snack between meals to help manage your feelings of fullness, but if that\u2019s not your thing, you can also try\u2026<\/p>\n A new trend of the moment is \u201cnut butters\u201d. If you like peanut butter, why not try, almond or cashew butter. A spoonful can go into all smoothies, whilst you might have it with an apple as a snack during the day. You can make them yourself, or more conveniently, you can buy them\u00a0in health food shops, and increasingly, supermarkets. Choose the crunchy type, and the ones without added sugar.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eggs<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Good news. Eggs are now officially good for you. No ifs, no buts, and no restrictions no the number of eggs in your diet anymore (common sense applies, of course).<\/p>\n They\u2019re a great source of protein (7g per egg to be exact). And because they\u2019re easy and quick to prepare, they\u2019re perfect for breakfast, whether poached, scrambled or as an omelette. What\u2019s more, a hard boiled egg can be a tasty snack between meals, or added easily to a salad.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Salad<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Salad is a really good and nutritious habit to get into – the classic combination of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and pepper provide a boost of vitamins and minerals. It also makes a perfect base for salmon, tuna, or chicken \u2013 or any other protein source for that matter<\/p>\n The problem is not that we\u2019re not buying enough salad, but that we\u2019re binning too much. So don\u2019t just buy it, use it. As a starter with your evening meal. Or as a simple addition to lunch. Either way, it takes seconds to prepare. And if it feels a bit bland, it only takes a few seconds more to spice it up with a handful of berries or nuts (both great nutrition-boosters in their own right, and both a requiring almost no additional preparation.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Vegetables<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n As we all know, many vegetables can be a meal in their own right. But here, we\u2019re talking about using them to add extra nutrients, quickly and easily, to other foods.<\/p>\n For instance:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lentils and pulses<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Frankly, even the most avid carnivore should try to cook a vegetarian meal at least once a week (partly to challenge your cooking skills, and partly for the variety). But even if you\u2019re not a vegetarian, lentils and pulses are a great storecupboard staple. They\u2019re an excellent source of protein and iron and can be easily added to a salad, casserole, stew or soup. And if you\u2019re batch cooking \u2013 always a good plan for the busy and time-poor \u2013 they\u2019re great for taking on the flavours of a dish and increasing the number of servings you get out of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Increasing the nutritional value of your diet doesn\u2019t have to be difficult<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,99],"tags":[47],"class_list":["post-1387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-nutrition","tag-nutrition"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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