Eating healthy is a simple matter of identifying faulty, or bad eating habits, and smartly replacing them with healthier alternatives. A sustained nutritional plan therefore is subject to smart switches and eating hacks that are easy to remember and can be integrated into your daily habits. So in this post I will be enumerating 10 such smart and healthy hacks that will enable you to stick with your meal plan or diet better.

  1. Stop getting cheesy with it!

Most of us love Italian food, and pasta and pizza are two staples that none of us can resist. While pasta or pizza itself isn’t that much of a cause of concern, the extra cheese (read extra calories) that it comes with is definitely a worry. So here’s a tasty alternative to the ‘extra’ cheese; top your freshly made pasta or pizza, with a little garlic powder, freshly grated pepper or bell peppers instead.

  1. Small is the way to go

Small portions, small snacks and smaller plates are all an important part of a healthy diet. Portion control is extremely essential, and one of the ways to control your portions, is to actually use a smaller plate. If too much food can’t fit on the plate, you will automatically eat less, right? So switch from the Thali model to the small paper plate model and weight loss or maintenance is suddenly not a problem any more!

  1. Get it on the side

Salads are one of the healthiest things one could eat. We often times end up destroying a salad however by going overboard with sauces, dressings and add-ons. A simple way to avoid that is to get your sauces and dressings on the side. In fact it would be a great idea to avoid thousand island, barbecue sauce, mint sauce and others altogether. Instead of these a vinaigrette or apple cider vinegar, and olive oil are excellent substitutes.

  1. Always dab your deep fried food

Deep fried food is one of the most tempting things to us. We are drawn to it like bees to honey. While deep fried food is unhealthy and avoiding it altogether is a good idea, if you occasionally indulge in a deep fried treat, make sure you dab it with a tissue before you take a bit. This helps get rid of the oil that’s accumulated on the surface, makes the food a little less oily and can sometimes save upto 50 calories in food consumption!

  1. Get raw with it

Raw veggies are the way to go, especially when on a diet. Veggies like carrots, beets, cucumbers and others can be consumed raw and their health benefits are legendary. Dice a variety of these veggies and carry them in an airtight tiffin. Snack on them whenever you have the urge to eat a potentially unhealthy snack like chips or fries!

  1. Substitute butter with avocados

Warm toast and butter is a popular breakfast item. There’s just something so satisfying about it, isn’t there? Butter however is as we know a fatty customer and not always the best thing to have. Still want something just as tasty and satisfying, top your toast with avocado. It’s tangy and spreads easily and will add a really awesome flavour and tang of health to your morning toast.

  1. Add yogurt to your diet

Yogurt is chock full of antioxidants and good bacteria that helps in digestion. In almost any form, from a chaas to a dip, adding yogurt to your diet is a great way to ensure that your gut stays in good shape.

  1. Hydrate obsessively

While the levels of water necessary differ wildly, there is no arguing about the fact that a healthy body needs water. So ensure that you top up your stock every few hours. Mark out a drinking bottle with times of the day, and sip yourself to better health.

  1. Once you go black, there’s no going back

Chocolate, especially dark chocolate has long been considered to be a superfood. From antioxidants to flavonoids, this food is full of good things and also excellent for your libido. So the next time you crave a sweet treat, end up with a piece of dark chocolate, instead of the regular Kitkat or 5 star!

  1. Fresh fruits over dried ones

Fresh fruits are delicious and contain lesser sugar and empty calories as against dried fruit. For instance a small serving of seedless fresh grapes contains about 15 grams of sugar, as against a similar bowl of raisins which contains nearly 6 times the sugar (86 grams)!

These simple eating hacks will definitely help you get healthier and maintain the lifestyle without compromising too much on taste! In case you have any queries about health, nutrition and fitness, you’re welcome to hit me up on Facebook or Instagram or leave me a message in the comments section below.