When it comes to eating healthily, it can be tricky to wade our way through all the conflicting advice available on social media feeds and internet searches. How do we truly know what’s best?

Sometimes it’s good to have some handy hacks up the sleeves of our workout hoodies so that we can work them into our routines and have a good day, safe in the knowledge that we’re doing all we can to eat healthily. 

Here’s our top 10 healthy eating tips and tricks!

1. Avoid having treats in the house - if the biscuit tin is empty and there’s no multipacks of crisps, then you’re avoiding temptation. If you have kids in the house, try to instil healthy eating habits in them by snacking on fruit.
2. Fill up on protein – a high protein breakfast, such as eggs on toast, our Peanut Butter and Banana Toastie or this Fig and Nut Butter Smoothie will help to keep you fuller for longer, and less likely to snack!
3. Stay well hydrated – we can confuse hunger with thirst, so make sure you always have water to hand to keep you well hydrated and to help you avoid pointless snacking that won’t quench your thirst.
4. Plan your meals – preparing lunch the night before or even planning your meals for the week on a Sunday, will help you stay focussed and less likely to grab an unhealthy meal when you’re tight for time.
5. Use vinaigrette based dressings rather than oily or creamy based dressing on your salads.
6. Choose your meat wisely – opt for leaner white meat such as chicken or turkey breast over dark meat such as beef or lamb which can often be fattier. The darker meat from the legs and wings of chicken and turkey can also be fattier than the breast, so choose carefully here, too.)
7. Use herbs and spices more – there’s only negligible calories in herbs and spices, so experiment with them to add flavour and heat. For example, sprinkle garlic powder and black pepper over pasta instead of parmesan cheese and add basil to tomato based sauces rather than creamy ones.
8. Be condiment wise – ketchup can be high in added sugars, so look for versions that are lower in sugar. Mustard has fewer calories than some ketchups, so try using that instead of ketchup or mayonnaise to dip your low cal Sweet Potato Chips
9. Don’t underestimate tinned food! If the main reason your healthy intentions might slip, make the most of tins. Tinned vegetables, tomatoes, pulses and soups are healthy and nutritious foods. Look for soups that are heavy in chopped vegetables and use tinned (or frozen) vegetables to add more of your five a day to main meals. Tinned beans and chickpeas are also low fat, high protein foods that can be easily added to pasta and rice dishes.
10. Switch out your carbs – carbs aren’t the enemy, but if you do want to reduce your carb intake, try using lettuce leaves to wrap your burger or try these Lettuce Wraps. Even pizza can be lower in carbs, try this buckwheat version!