You, your parents, your teachers, your friends and everyone you know can make sure you have a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle. Do not forget that good eating habits are only part of the solution. You must also have a healthy and active lifestyle – do not sit all the time, move, dance, walk or play outside! Here are some suggestions to start changing your eating habits.
Choose healthy snacks and say no to “junk”!
Choose an unhealthy food that you would like to eat less or less often and prepare your strategy. When you want a snack, try to choose ripe fruit, raw vegetables, nuts or whole grain bread rather than a packaged and less nutritious food!
Applies the rule of a third of vegetables
During meals, fill at least a third of your plate with vegetables and try to eat a vegetarian meal once a week. Add at least one dark green vegetable and one orange vegetable or yellow a day because they are full of nutrients.
Take initiatives at school
Do you have a canteen or a vending machine? Take a look at the foods they offer. Are there enough fruit and vegetables? If this is not the case, talk to your teachers about changing the food choices.
Be a critical consumer
Practice your critical thinking when you see the ad on TV or on social networks. Ask yourself if these foods are nutritious or not. Count the number of ads you see in a day and lessen with your parents and teachers.
Go to complete foods
Ask your parents to replace refined “white” cereals with whole-grain cereals (whole rice, flour and whole bread, etc.).
Drinks are important too
Drink plenty of water if you can. Avoid drinks with added sugar that have few nutrients
Protect our planet
Reduces foods that have more impact on the planet, for example, those whose production requires more natural resources, especially water (meat requires more than plants or legumes), or fruits and vegetables that are not in season or grown locally. And do not forget to buy food with the least possible packaging!
Choose local, varied, fresh and seasonal products
Ask your parents to buy local produce, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and focus on fresh foods rather than canned or canned. If you can opt for organic! Organic farming helps to keep our soil healthy.
Offer your help in cooking
Look and learn by watching your parents cook, and offer your help in the kitchen when you see that they are tired.
On the Internet, there are so many easy, fast and healthy recipes you can take inspiration from.
Varies menus with legumes, nuts and cereals
Ask your parents to play the game and add to family meals different types of legumes (lentils, chickpeas, peas, beans), nuts and cereals (such as millet, barley,
oats, whole rice).
Eat local and traditional
Ask your parents, teachers and market traders what nutritious foods are traditional or local. See if you can insert these foods in your menu more often to have a diversified diet and protect local varieties.
Do not be fooled by packaging
You have to pay attention to the nutritional value of the food, not its appearance or its attractive packaging. And look for words like “zero”, “poor” and “light”. They are often used to make people think that the food is more nutritious, which is not always true …
Eat with your family or friends
Participate in preparing a meal with your family or friends at least once a week and eat it all together. Eat-in a company is important to enjoy a good meal and have a good time together.
Decrypt the labels
Ask your teacher or parents to help you read and understand the food labels. Take the time to read the list of ingredients on a label and try to understand if the food contains too much salt, sugar or fat.
