If you’re a complete newbie to the healthy lifestyle like I was a few years ago, not to mention that I was super fat as a kid, there are two pieces of advice that helped me the most to start taking care of my body better.
The first one is go for a type of exercise you dislike the least. That helped me go from hating exercise, to being okay with it, to loving it a few years later. By using the search mode principle, I found some exercise I was okay with it, and then continued from there.
The second advice is: add a few healthy foods to your diet, to slowly start transitioning to a new healthier lifestyle. Luckily there are a few types of foods that are super healthy, tasty, don’t need lots of preparation and are inexpensive.
These foods will provide you with the perfect package of micronutrients – antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other healthy nutrition properties.
Even more importantly, they will trick you into slowly starting to love healthy food instead of junk food. Here are super healthy foods I eat almost every day (at least 4 of them in a day):
- Berries
- Avocados
- Nuts
- Broccoli
- Olive oil
- Green tea
Blueberries or any other type of berries
Number one on the list are blueberries. Berries are a type of fruit that contains the lowest amount of sugar and high amounts of antioxidants, fiber and vitamins A and C. Next to that, they are delicious and don’t need any heavy preparation.
You just wash them a little bit and enjoy their superior taste; or you can add them to many other foods like yogurt, oatmeal, on top of protein pancakes, and so on.
Blueberries are great for your brain and prevent memory loss, they help prevent urinary tract infections, and are generally delicious for your health. The only downside is that they aren’t the most inexpensive food, but they’re absolutely worth the cost.
- Every day, eat a small cup of blueberries as a snack
- Sprinkle a palm of blueberries on some of your favorite dishes
- When it’s hard to get fresh blueberries I use frozen ones, which is not ideal, but still an option
- Alternatively, you may go for raspberries, goji berries, acai berries or blackberries (but those cost more)
Avocado
Avocados are considered to be one of the best superfoods. They contain lots of healthy fats, soluble fiber, vitamin E, folate and potassium. They help keep your blood sugar levels stable and your eyesight sharp.
The downside is that they have a very specific fatty taste, they’re rich in calories and they can be a bit expensive if you go for the organic ones.
I don’t like them so much that I would eat them alone or in a salad, but I eat them daily in a smoothie that I make for myself. Well, to be completely honest, my girlfriend makes it for me.
- Avocados are a great basic ingredient for a smoothie
- You can also add them to a salad or make yourself delicious guacamole sauce
- Just eat them in moderation, since they’re packed with calories
Nuts
Nuts are a great source of healthy fats, they taste delicious and serve as a very handy snack. They help lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and raise “good” HDL cholesterol, they’re generally considered as one of the best brain foods (trail mix) and you can take them with you everywhere you go.
There are many different types of nuts – almonds, walnuts, pistachios, almonds, brazil nuts, cashew, macadamias, and so on, so your taste buds will never get bored.
As you probably know, nuts are considered to be allergenic food, so be careful about any potential allergic reactions. Peanuts are the most delicate ones, because they aren’t even technically nuts. And most importantly, don’t eat too many of them, because they’re rich in calories.
- Eat a handful or 20 – 25 nuts every day as the perfect snack
- Try different types of nuts and find the ones that work best for you
- Always add a few of them to your favorite smoothie, together with chia and flax seeds
- If possible, buy organic nuts, but don’t eat too many of them if you want to lose weight
Broccoli
The two foods I used to hate the most are broccoli and olives. I was flicking olives off my pizzas and I thought to myself: who eats this weird green alien tasteless vegetable or whatever the hell it is. Today, broccoli is my number one favorite food. I couldn’t survive without broccoli now.
If you’re wondering how I started liking broccoli, it’s simple. For a week or two, I forced myself a little bit to eat it, and then your taste changes. You can really reprogram yourself quickly for whatever you like. We’re able to adjust really quickly (especially your brain), the only unfortunate thing is that we usually adjust to worse habits.
But now back to broccoli. It contains sulfur compounds, which help fight cancer. It’s rich in protein and antioxidants. It contains a lot of vitamins A, C and K as well as folate. You can steam broccoli really fast to use it as a side dish, add it to a salad or make a soup out of it.
It keeps your tummy full for a long time. Already by only looking at a nice piece of broccoli, you immediately know that it’s super healthy.
- To every main meal, add broccoli as a side dish
- You can make a fast and easy delicious broccoli soup a few times per week
Olive oil
Olive oil is packed with healthy fats. It helps lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and raises “good” HDL cholesterol. Olive oil keeps your artery walls smooth and cholesterol-free, and it’s also rich in antioxidants. I use exclusively organic cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil.
For cooking, I use coconut oil, and as salad dressing I always use tons of olive oil. If I somehow don’t eat a salad in a particular day, which rarely happens, I eat a small tablespoon of olive oil or flax oil. My girlfriend is always surprised at how fast I can empty a big bottle of delicious olive oil.
- Add a little bit of lemon and tons of olive oil to your salad
- Eat a tablespoon of olive oil with your lunch
- Only adding olive oil to your diet is far from as healthy a lifestyle as many imagine, but it’s one small step towards it
Green tea
Green tea is an extremely healthy and tasty beverage, filled with antioxidants and just a strong enough stimulant to wake you up and brighten your mood without messing with your sleep pattern, as long as you don’t drink it in the afternoon or before sleep.
Studies show that green tea helps fight heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and keeps your gums, teeth and bones healthy.
Green tea also helps burn fat and improves physical performance. Green tea has also been shown to improve blood flow, lower cholesterol and help with other health issues. There are mixed opinions regarding coffee, but everyone agrees that drinking green tea is very beneficial to you.
- Drink only water, fresh-made mild lemonade, green tea, green drink, nothing else
- Drink one cup of your favorite green tea between breakfast and lunch, and one between lunch and dinner but not after 4 or 5 PM, if you want to get quality sleep. Green tea may interfere with absorption of some minerals, especially iron, so drink it between meals instead.
My super healthy food pack for 2 days.
Other super healthy foods
There are many other healthy foods I eat almost daily. I eat different kinds of seeds, lots of eggs, oatmeal, quinoa, yogurt, tons of green veggies (salad, kale or spinach), a piece or two of seasonal organic fruit, and some types of beans and lentils.
I add cinnamon to some foods and to lemonade. Sweet potatoes are also considered to be a nutrient-rich food, but I don’t eat it since it’s not popular in my country. I also take a few core supplements daily with one of my main meals.
But these are add-ons. The first step you can make is to add the six mentioned foods to your diet. When you go grocery shopping, just add them to your cart without even thinking. Most of them don’t need much preparation and you can consume them immediately. And all of them taste delicious.
- For one of the snacks during a day, eat a palm of blueberries and nuts.
- With one of the main meals, eat a cup of broccoli as a side dish or add it to a salad.
- For a salad always use olive oil or eat a small spoonful of it during lunch.
- Between meals, make yourself a green tea or two.
- Make yourself a delicious green smoothie with avocado, seeds and a few green veggies. Just don’t add too much other fruit in it. This takes the most effort, but it will also benefit you the most.
- From this point on, slowly improve your diet by removing juices, sugary food, fried food and so on, step by step. But first learn to love a few super healthy and super delicious foods.
Add these things to your shopping list and start eating them daily or almost daily. Your body and your brain will be super grateful to you, your mood and your energy levels will improve including your overall health.
It really takes zero effort to add these things to your diet, and they do taste delicious. If not for the first few times, then after a week or so. Bon appétit. Enjoy there super healthy foods every day.
Vsebina
