How to eat a healthier diet

Try to eat three meals a day including a regular breakfast. This way you are less likely to want to snack during the day.
If you do snack, don't feel guilty. Snacking is fine provided you plan your snacks and don't just grab anything at anytime. Try to have a variety of snacks, not just the obvious bag of crisps or bar of chocolate. Try including healthier options such as fruit, yogurt, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, oatcakes or carrot sticks dipped in houmous.
Even if you don't have much time in the morning, always eat a healthy breakfast. Porridge is a great winter warmer and in the summer you could switch to wholegrain cereals or yogurt and chopped fruit.
Don't always stick to sandwiches at lunchtime. Go for variety with soups, salads, jacket potatoes, even sushi.
Add an extra portion of vegetables to your evening meals. (If you cook all your veg together there won't be any extra washing-up.) Try to ensure your vegetables or salad cover at least one third of your plate.
Eat more fibre - wholegrain bread, pasta and rice contain three times more fibre than the processed varieties and are more nutritious.
Eat less salt - to make sure you stay under the recommended 6g a day, always check the labels of processed foods as they can have a high salt content. If the salt is declared as sodium multiply by 2.5 to get the salt value. Limit salt used in cooking and sprinkled on your food as well.
Eat less fat - look for low-fat alternatives and grill or bake food rather than frying. If you do use oil, use the minimum necessary.
Eat more super foods - these are foods with high levels of vitamins, minerals, Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants: broccoli, oily fish, onions and garlic, red grapes, bananas, nuts and seeds, avocado, peppers, apples, green leafy vegetables such as dark green cabbage, spinach and kale, berries, especially blueberries and blackcurrants, sweet potatoes, papaya, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, lentils and beans.
Drink more water - 6-8 glasses is your daily target.

To find out more about how you can eat a healthier diet, go to

www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet www.bdaweightwise.com

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