There's a myth that frozen food is somehow worse for you, which just isn't true. In reality, frozen fruits, berries and vegetables are usually just as nutritious! These foods are usually picked when they're really fresh, put straight into the freezer and as a result preserve all the nutrients.
Another benefit of buying frozen berries, fruits and vegetables is that they're generally much cheaper and available all year round! You also have the advantage of being able to only defrost and eat what you need, reducing the amount of food waste and saving you money in the long run.
We've all heard the age old saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
When it comes to breakfast, oats are one of the best cereal options to choose from. Oats help us to feel fuller for longer because they release energy slowly throughout the day. This really helps to avoid snacking before lunch and are also really good value for money.
If you're not the biggest fan of porridge, there are loads of ways to work oats into your breakfast like homemade oat granola.
When it comes to eating healthy and sticking to a budget, planning is a must.
Try to plan what meals you're going to eat for the week and get your shopping list sorted. Having a set shopping list is a good way to make sure you're not spending money on items that you don't need or that you could already have in your cupboard somewhere.
When planning your meals for the week, make sure you check what dried goods or frozen food you have to avoid food waste and make your shop cheaper.
If you have or can get access to some outside space, try growing your own vegetables and fruit a try. You don’t need a full garden, even a little room for a planter or two does the job. A single tomato plant can grow between 3 and 5kg of tomatoes!
Foods like courgettes, beetroot, potatoes and even chillies all grow easily soil you can find in most soil and are a great way to stay healthy and save some money too.
Even if you don’t have access to outside space, you can grow lettuce, celery, spring onions, leeks, lettuce and fennel in tap water. All you need to do is place the root in a small amount of tap water and leave it on a window sill. One that gets lots of sunlight is best.
Any healthy changes you make are a good start, and it’s important to try and remember that.
When you're trying to make lifestyle changes it’s important not to get bogged down in trying to be perfect. Try and take small steps because you're more likely to succeed.
If you eat meat, it can be expensive to get enough good quality meat you need to bulk out your meals.
Using less mean and adding more vegetables to keep you full for longer and make the meat you buy last longer. Adding more veg also has the bonus of providing you with a lot more nutrition.
Sleep is the ultimate healthy lifestyle tip and it’s free!
Sleep helps your body produce hormones that help to regulate stress. Sleep deprivation can lead to increased levels of the hormone ghrelin, which can lead to excessive hunger, making it harder to eat healthy.
Whilst we all have the occasional bad night, aim to give yourself an 8 or 9-hour window to sleep in. This hopefully should mean 7 or 8 hours of good quality sleep.