3 Easy, Need-to-Know Changes to Start Eating Healthy

If you know me, you know how much I love Nutella. And you’d also know that I live a pretty healthy lifestyle. Put those two things together, and you’ll find me at the local ShopRite standing in front of those big loose nut dispensers, filling a flimsy produce bag with hazelnuts so I can go home and roast them in preparation for some homemade Nutella.

I think we often have this misconception about how to start eating healthy. A misconception that eating healthy has to be this huge overhaul in our lives. (If you’re a black and white thinker like me, it may seem like all or nothing. You either eat super healthy or throw caution to the wind and fully indulge all the time.)

But I want to share with you that “eating healthy” is a looooot less scary than you might think. It doesn’t have to be this huge change all at once. I think that’s why we have trouble starting anyway, because it’s too scary to try to change everything about your diet in one fell swoop.

This post will teach you how to make 3 healthy changes to your eating habits with planning and effort by implementing small, doable changes which will allow you to improve your inner health and wellbeing.

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1. Start Choosing a Few More Healthy Things When You Shop

It all starts at the grocery store.

Put simply, you will eat healthier if there’s only healthy food in your house.  You will opt for cleaner food if you have easy access to it.

So the first small change you can make to eat healthier is simply to BUY healthier.  You will set yourself up for so much success if you are putting whole foods in your cart, then into your cabinets and fridge, and eventually into your belly!

| Related Reading: How to Eat Healthy Without Going on a Diet: The Ultimate Guide

Here’s how I do this.  My husband goes food shopping every Friday.  So Friday mornings, I consult my trusty cookbook of our favorite recipes I’ve accumulated (or look up a healthy dinner recipe on Google or Pinterest) and I make him a grocery list that includes the ingredients I need for that healthy meal.  Of course, I include fruits and veggies too, healthy snack options, and any ingredients I need to make my weekly sweet (I love a healthy dessert to unwind with).

(Try this meal prep cookbook for healthy recipe ideas! It’s from the author of one of my favorite food blogs!)

This way, I’m set up well for the week to cook healthy meals easily since I have everything on hand, and nothing extra that may be tempting.

When you can shop smart and healthy, you remove the temptation to go grab a cookie or bag of chips because there’s none of that to even grab in the first place!

But what if you don’t do the food shopping and there’s others in your house who don’t care about eating healthy?

Addressing Eating Healthy within the Household

If possible, it’s super helpful to get your family on board with this healthy eating implementation.  They’ll benefit from it too!  And the aspect of support and accountability is really helpful in committing to making healthier choices.

But that’s what’s ideal.  And we don’t live in an ideal world.

So what about when you’re living with others who aren’t on board with you eating healthy, or when you don’t do the shopping?

It’s up to you to make the choice to get healthy food in the house.  Whether you ask the food shopper to pick you up a few healthy options and pay for them yourself, or you just make a quick trip to the store, YOU have to be intentional about getting that food. 

And once you have it, make it super easy to grab that food.  Place it in the front of the cabinet or fridge.  Or maybe ask if you can have a designated area for the food you were intentional about choosing to have in the house.

(Try a food organizer to keep your food easy access!)

2. Meal and Snack Prep

I know you’ve heard this tip before about how to start eating healthy.  And maybe you have some not-so-great preconceived notion about meal prepping.

But let me tell you this: Meal prepping truly changed the game for me!  Seriously, changed . the . game.  Just hear me out…

Get rid of the image of containers stacked up in the fridge containing boring food with no flavor.

(Try this meal planning diary to help you get started!)

| Related Reading: 15 Unique Healthy Snack Ideas that are Guilt-Free & Minimal Prep

Let me tell you about my version of meal prep…  

I give myself a bit of time on Sunday afternoons after church (this is just the time that works well for me, but you can pick any time you want!) and I cook for the week.

Yep, we eat the same one or two meals all week long.  And nope, it doesn’t bother us in the least bit!

If it’s a one-pot meal type deal, I cook the meal and plop it in a nice big container, and put it right in the fridge.  Then each weeknight for dinner, we just take our portions out and heat them up.  It makes weeknight dinners ridiculously easy.

If I cook a meal that has a few components, like chicken, rice, and a veggie, I’ll simply prep all the items separately.  Start with the rice, and cut the veggies while the rice is cooking.  Roast the veggies, and prep the marinade or whatever else for the chicken.  Then put each food in its own container and bam, easy dinners all week long.

If the idea of having the same thing for dinner for a week freaks you out, cook two things during your prep time and alternate what you eat each night.

(They even make cool meal prep containers! If you’re like me, containers and organizing items get you pumped and give you the motivation to use them!)

When I cook just one meal, I usually double it so we have enough to get us through the week.  If I decide to cook two meals, I’ll choose one meal that’s maybe a bit more involved, or sounds really good to us, and cook something else super simple (maybe shredded chicken, or taco meat).

A Note About Being Intentional

Being intentional about spending a little bit of time prepping food once a week makes it so much easier for you to make healthy choices.  Your dinner is already taken care of, already planned out and cooked for you. 

So when you’re hungry and tired after your day at school or work, you don’t have to toss around the idea of ordering in or going out to eat, or eating something premade that’s not as good for you since the hard work is already done. 

Again, you’re setting yourself up for success by preparing food ahead of time.  You’re taking the guesswork out of it.

*Note: Being intentional is great, but there will be times when you slip up and maybe don’t meal prep or fall off the healthy-eating-wagon. That’s okay too. Just get back up and start fresh.

| Related Reading: 19 Easy Ways to be More Patient with Yourself

What about Snacks?

You can apply the same concept of spending a little time prepping in the kitchen for the week to snacking. 

It’s soooo tempting to snack on the things that are super easy to grab, like Goldfish or Entenmann’s doughnuts.

I like to bake a batch of healthy cookies on the weekend or Monday night to enjoy throughout the week when I want something sweet.  

Apply the same concept of looking up a recipe ahead of time and buying the needed ingredients during your weekly shopping trip.  Once you’ve done that a few times, you’ll probably find a recipe or two you love, and then you can just keep the necessary ingredients on hand. 

I make sure I always have things like honey, oats for oat flour, maple syrup, peanut butter, coconut oil, cocoa, coconut milk, and bananas on hand because I know most of my go-to healthy dessert recipes have some of those ingredients.

This is my go to healthy sweet snack.

3. Make Creative Swaps

I love Nutella, but I don’t love the ingredients or nutrition facts so much.  Absolutely, I eat Nutella and don’t deprive myself of things ever, but sometimes I make my own as a healthier alternative.

Scones are a favorite of mine to have with coffee or tea, but they’re typically made with lots of butter.  So since I love them and still want to eat them, I sought out a healthy version of scones that uses coconut oil instead of butter and almond or oat flour instead of all purpose flour.

The point here is that you don’t have to stop eating the things you love.  You can seek out healthier versions of your favorites! 

Absolutely, making my own fudge (try this recipe) or making 2 ingredient waffle batter from scratch is more work.  But my body thanks me for choosing better-for-me ingredients.

(I love my little waffle maker like this one for the weekends to change up my breakfast and still eat something filling and healthy.)

When people ask me how to start eating healthy, my go-to is to tell them about making simple swaps like this.

And you can start with just one swap!  Don’t think you have to swap out everything all at once.  That’s the whole point of this post is to let you know one swap is enough to get you on the road to eating healthier.  It’s one intentional choice at a time.

Change is possible, one swap at a time. I’ve also written about how to change your life completely, so check that out if you need even more ideas.

Let’s Bring it Home

You now have 3 simple ways to start eating healthier.  And please don’t try to put them all into practice at once.  The point is to start super small with just one little change toward eating healthy until that feels doable and comfortable.  Then you can implement more and build on it so it eventually becomes a lifestyle.

So if you’re wondering how to start eating healthy, start with one of these: 

• Start choosing a few more healthy things when you shop, and keep them in reach so it’s a no brainer to pick a healthy option.
• Spend time once a week prepping healthy meals and snacks so you’re not tempted to eat something unhealthy for convenience sake.
• Look up and make a healthier version of your favorite snacks, made with better-for-you ingredients.

I hope that you now feel confident about starting to eat healthy knowing it’s about super small changes over time instead of a massive overhaul.  When you slowly and intentionally implement healthy habits, they’re more likely to stick and become your lifestyle.  Remember that eating healthy isn’t all or nothing and it’s not deprivation in any way, it’s about small, slow implementations made with planning and effort.  

Related Reading:

How to Eat Healthy Without Going on a Diet: The Ultimate Guide

15 Unique Healthy Snack Ideas that are Guilt-Free & Minimal Prep

What I Eat in a Day and Why + 6 Tips for Healthy Eating

Going Dairy Free: An Honest Talk About Bloating