mbg Deputy Commerce Editor
mbg Deputy Commerce Editor
Braelyn Wooden is the Deputy Commerce Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism from Northwestern College, together with a certificates in advertising and marketing.
January 20, 2025
Elevate your hand should you assume the diet house can really feel crowded with recommendation. Even with my information as a dietician, I can see how the inflow of knowledge will be overwhelming (particularly when a number of it’s so contradictory).
The principle factor to recollect? Consuming to your well-being doesn’t must be sophisticated. Analysis exhibits making your food plan just 25% more nutrient-dense1 can cut back threat of heart problems, neurodegenerative illness, and respiratory illness by as much as 46%.
Reasonably than eradicating whole meals teams out of your food plan, give attention to methods you may make your present go-to recipes much more nutritious. Beneath, you’ll discover my favourite tricks to making more healthy decisions all through the day as a registered dietitian nutritionist.
Add a protein to your breakfast unfold.
Protein is crucial for feeling full. It’s the best macronutrient for keeping your body satiated2, and your breakfast most likely doesn’t have sufficient of it. There’s solely 6 grams of protein in an egg or a cup of oatmeal, which gained’t put you on monitor to hitting 100 grams of protein per day.
A straightforward option to spherical out your plate is including a serving of Greek yogurt or turkey bacon to your unfold. It’s also possible to add protein powder to your morning espresso—which comes with a aspect of inflammation-fighting polyphenols— to show it right into a tasty, creamy latte.
Skip the sugary sodas and substitute them with glowing water.
Analysis discovered that those that drank a number of sugar-sweetened drinks every day had an 85% higher risk of liver cancer3 in comparison with those that had three or fewer sugar-sweetened drinks per 30 days.
A crisp can of glowing water is the right various to get your carbonated repair with none sugar or sweeteners—and I’m keen on Waterloo Glowing Water. The model creates distinctive taste combos like Raspberry Nectarine and Cherry Limeade—they usually really style like their inspiration (moderately than a whisper of taste).
Waterloo Cherry Limeade Glowing Water
Use contemporary herbs and spices to taste your meals as a substitute of salt.
Extra salt consumption is linked to heart disease, and it’s simple to go overboard when making an attempt to boost the flavour of your favourite meals. A fellow dietician shared their desire for contemporary herbs and daring spices as a alternative for utilizing salt with me final 12 months as considered one of her non-negotiable wholesome decisions—and I’ve been making an attempt to observe in her footsteps ever since.
Add one new vegetable or fruit to your grocery record every week.
It’s simple to lose sight of plant range if you’re targeted on protein—and rule of thumb is to goal for at least 30 different plants per week to assist your intestine well being. Since that quantity can really feel intimidating for a lot of, I prefer to advocate including at the least one new fruit or vegetable to your grocery record every week. This encourages you to hunt out new produce that you might have beforehand ignored to extend the biodiversity of your food plan.
Exchange common pasta with a bean various to spice up fiber.
At the very least 95% of Individuals aren’t consuming the recommended amount of fiber4. Consuming extra greens, complete grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds might help carry you nearer to the purpose—and I prefer to search for alternatives the place I can sneak extra of those into my food plan.
My favourite swap is changing common pasta with lentil pasta. It provides additional fiber to my plate with out drastically altering the style of my favourite recipes. What’s extra, it presents a small bump of protein to my plate. Simply you should definitely search for glyphosate-free choices.
Ensure your snacks additionally embrace protein and fiber.
Let’s face it: Carbohydrate-heavy meals are inclined to dominate the snack aisle. That’s why I prefer to make an lively effort to all the time embrace protein and fiber into my afternoon pick-me-up. My go-to is cottage cheese and contemporary peppers. It’s wholesome, scrumptious, and satisfying.
Discover extra nutrient-dense variations of your favourite meals to fulfill a craving.
I’m a agency believer within the 80/20 rule; you’ll usually see me speak about my love or peanut butter cups in content material. Whereas I don’t plan to take away them from my food plan altogether, I additionally know these tasty treats don’t supply the identical gasoline as different meals.
That’s why I like to seek out methods to recreate my favourite sweat treats with extra nutrient-dense elements. For instance, peanut butter stuffed dates usually fulfill the identical dessert craving—they usually include added fiber and antioxidants.
Bulk out your recipes by including frozen veggies.
Produce is often flash-frozen proper after harvest, which suggests it will possibly even have extra vitamins than its contemporary companion that’s traveled 1000’s of miles to reach in your plate. This makes frozen produce an effective way to bulk out your meals with out racking up your grocery invoice.
My favourite method to make use of this hack is with rice. I’ll add frozen cauliflower rice to my stir-frys or grain bowls to assist add much more vitamins to my meal with out drastically impacting the flavour or texture of the recipe.
Gown up plain greek yogurt.
My most self-practiced dietitian recommendation is selecting plain Greek yogurt as a substitute of flavored. Some yogurts pack upward of 17 grams of added sugars per serving (greater than a doughnut).
Slicing out all added sugars is not obligatory or possible for me, however avoiding pointless sugars actually helps your blood sugar, gut, and emotions of satiety.
Plus, it’s a lot extra versatile to have plain Greek yogurt for different recipes.
Waterloo Raspberry Nectarine Glowing Water
The takeaway
One of the best ways to make your food plan really feel extra nutritious is by specializing in what you may add to your plate moderately than what it’s best to go with out. My recommendation is to seek out methods so as to add satiating components to your plate with protein and fiber that may assist gasoline your physique. You’ll not solely really feel extra happy within the near-term, however you’ll assist give your physique the instruments it wants to guard itself within the long-run.
