Healthy eating tips for any diet plan

Feeding your family a healthy diet can be a daunting task. There are so many different ways and ideas to eat healthy that it can be hard to decide which way to go. Regardless of the eating plan you choose to follow, here are some healthy eating tips that are easy to achieve and will work for the whole family.

1. Eat from small dishes like a salad plate
When my toddlers started eating table food, I brought in plastic kid’s plates to preserve my china. What I didn’t realize is that I would eventually be eating the adult version of the small plate as well. It can be difficult to fit too much food on a small plate. Since I don’t like to eat off plastic or paper plates, my husband and I eat off the salad plates that are part of our everyday plate set. Of course, this smaller plate idea may be a ploy by my husband to do less cleanup after dinner.

2. Easily measure your portion size with your hands
I admire people who weigh and measure their food to make sure they have the right portions. If I had a food scale in my kitchen, my five-year-old would use it for a science experiment with wooden blocks, a stuffed animal, and some maple syrup. I’m not the type of person who has the time, energy, or inclination to measure food portions, so I use the following system: A portion is the size of my fist, and an ounce of something like cheese is about the size of my thumb I use these guidelines to help me understand what constitutes a reasonable portion of food, but I never believe that this type of measurement is an exact science. Beyond that, if the food doesn’t fit on my plate, I probably don’t need it.

3. Clean the kitchen on the go
After finishing my meal and thinking I might still be hungry, I sit for a few minutes just to be sure. Some nutritionists suggest that it takes 20 minutes for your body to feel full. I tried to sit this long this time as my five-year-old kept asking, “Are you done yet? How much longer? Is it three minutes? Mommy, why are you sitting there?”

Since the recommended 20-minute meal time is out of the question, I adopted the “clean-as-you-go” food prep strategy. I prepare the proper portion of healthy food and then put the food away. If I’m really hungry after finishing my first serving, I’ll take the food out and make some more. Chances are you’re not hungry and don’t want to go back to cleaning the kitchen just to overeat. Being tidy can play a role in keeping you fit and healthy.

4. Listen to your body
On days when I feel like life is spinning out of control and I’m about to lose control, I just want to sit back. And eat. But I learned to ask myself, “Am I really hungry?” Ask your body if it is really full and listen to its response. You may be hungry, or just want a glass of cold mineral water and five minutes to yourself with the newspaper. Or maybe you’re nervous or anxious and just need to sit down and breathe.

5. Eat in one place in your home
But when I first got married, I ate everywhere in my house and left a trail of crumbs everywhere. My husband banished me to the kitchen table to sit with a napkin in my lap. But I realized that by eating in one place, I was actually eating less and enjoying it more. Now I eat alone or with my family at the kitchen table. I sit in a chair, putting down my fork between bites and placing a napkin on my lap and a glass of water on the table. How civilized.

6. Turn off the TV to foster an emotionally healthy environment
After having our second and third children, my husband and I were tired at the end of the day. I convinced him that if he was very careful, he could enjoy healthy meals on the couch while watching TV. We began to park ourselves on the sofa in the family room and eat dinner in front of the television. We did some work on our house and were forced to unplug our television for several weeks. And back to the dinner table we went.

Our conversations at the dinner table grew longer and more interesting. We ate more slowly and enjoyed our food. As a mother I realized my family ties when we eat together at the table. I know television is not good for young children, but I never realized how much turning off the television could foster an emotionally healthy environment for my entire family. To this day, I still believe that turning off the TV is one of the best healthy eating tips out there.