Celebrate National Food Day by Doing These 5 Things

Today is National Food Day! Yay! But what does that mean? Well, according to nationaltoday.com, “The day toasts nutritious and healthy food and focuses on educating people on healthy eating, good farming methods, and safe food production. It also reminds us of the strides we’ve made in living more healthy lives and growing food in viable, responsible ways.”

And I know what you are thinking because I am thinking the same thing! As someone who is a very picky eater, I struggle with eating healthy, and the fact that I feel like I don’t know how to cook only makes it worse. I know there are others like me, so here are some easy things I am trying to do to eat and live healthier.

First, National Food Day was first created by the Center for Science and Public Interest (CSPI) and started in 1975. They were the ones behind many campaigns including “encouraging healthy foods in restaurants and making sure that the restaurants followed guidelines issued by the Food and Drug Administration. CSPI played a major role in bringing up the matter of high amounts of saturated fats found in popcorn in cinemas. It was also the organization that led the campaigns against trans fats found in fast foods.,” explains nationaltoday.com.

While we all know it is important to eat healthily, it can be hard for many reasons; we don’t have enough time to make meals, we may not be able to afford certain foods and amounts, we may not live close to places that provided safe and healthy foods, and we might just not know how to cook. Here are a couple of things to do or that can help make healthy eating easier for you and me:

1. Make an Eating Plan and/or Prepare Your Meals Ahead of Time

Heartandstroke.ca notes that you should “choose from a variety of different proteins to keep things interesting. Using catchy names for each day can help you plan. For example, try “Meatless Monday.” They also added shopping tips because it is important to make grocery lists!

2. Try Things Like Hello Fresh

I know this one seems intense and expensive, but it might be worth it. I have considered using Hello Fresh many times because they send you healthy meals based on your preferences and give you the right portions, so there’s no wasting. They also add instructions on how to cook everything, so not only do you have a chance to eat healthier, but you save time by not going to the grocery store (maybe even saving food), and learn how to cook different things! I also saw this app commercial on my TikTok for an app that teaches you how to cook as Duolingo does for language. If interested just look up Zest on the App Store.

3. Make 'Healthier' Fast-Food Choices

Don’t worry, I’m not here to tell you to say goodbye to fast food! You can still have fast food, but try making different choices. Maybe create a rule where you will only have fast food once a week. Or switch out your meals. You don’t need to always get supersized meals. For example, I love Canes so much, and I totally could and would eat a box combo when I get it. However, a three-finger combo fills me up just fine. In addition to this, switch out the pop for water or juice, or skip out on fries or a drink completely.

4. Switch Certain Products with Healthier Options

Kind of in continuation of the previous point, we don’t have to cut certain things out of our diet completely, but just evaluate what we are consuming. I have slowly filtered out pop in my life because I switched to sparkling water, and then to just water completely. I switch things like eating Goldfish instead of Cheetos, or whole wheat bread instead of white with my sandwiches. Sometimes it really is the little things that make a big difference.

5. Other Little Things to Include

   1. Eating smaller portions (but remember to snack)
   2. Add fruit and/or vegetables to every meal
   3. Pace your mealtimes, as well as slow down your eating pace
   4. Exercise!

Hopefully this has helped and inspired you in some way. All information is credited to the articles used. For more information visit these articles from healthline.com and greatist.com on more tips and tricks to eating healthier!