Avocado, oatmeal, green juices, this diet or this one … today we receive a lot of information about healthy eating that can overwhelm and confuse us. Eating healthy is much easier than it seems and it is neither a fad nor does it have to be a sacrifice.

A healthy diet does a lot for our health. Nutrients in food provide energy, repair cells and tissues, and make vital processes in our body possible. Eating well is a powerful weapon against diseases such as obesity, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease.

Eating a healthy and balanced diet is much easier than it seems. To help you be clear about things, let's first see what healthy foods are, then we'll see how to combine them correctly and we'll end up with a list of tricks that will help you make everything easier.

Healthy eating: food

The first rule of thumb is that 90% of the foods you eat must be real food - those foods that are eaten as they are -:

Healthy food

Vegetables
Fruits
Vegetables
Cereals (better whole grains)
Meat (better chicken, turkey, or rabbit than pork or beef)
Tofu, seitan …
Fish
Nuts
Olive oil
Water

The remaining 10% is reserved for a series of products that the less we eat, the better: the ultra-processed. If you follow our collaborator, the dietitian-nutritionist Carlos Ríos, you will know that ultra-processed foods are those “foods” that are nothing like their original form. They are normally loaded with added sugars, salt, fats, and additives.

Ultra-processed to avoid

Cookies
Breakfast cereals
Cold cuts
Packaged juices
Chips
Super bread
Refreshments
Pre-cooked
Diet bars
Inlay

To make it more visual, we have prepared this kind of inverted food pyramid that allows you to see, at first glance and very clearly, the foods that should be more present on your table.

Original text

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Healthy eating: how to prepare your dishes
Now that we know which foods are the ones that should star in our diet, let's see how to combine them and make super healthy dishes easily and quickly.
Carlos Ríos explains to us how we can prepare a healthy dish without much effort: “Combine real foods and cook them in a healthy way (iron, oven, steam…). And at least half of your dishes are of plant origin: vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts … We complement the rest with unprocessed animal foods: meat, fish, dairy products, eggs or with foods rich in carbohydrates like whole grains, tubers. It is easy to eat a healthy and varied diet ”.
In line with what Carlos advises, there is a method that can be used to create healthy dishes with 0 complication: the plate method created by Harvard University. The amounts and proportions of vegetables, carbohydrates and proteins are calculated taking the measurement of a plate. Look at the image.

Harvard plate method

Half the plate, vegetables. Choose fruits and vegetables of all colors and try that in one of the meals of the day they are raw. Taking them in cream or soup is also an option.
A quarter of the plate, light proteins. Chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, legumes, tofu … Limit red meat, and avoid processed meat such as cold cuts. Experts recommend that protein accounts for no more than 15% of the calories in the diet. According to the WHO, 75% of these proteins should be vegetables (legumes, cereals and nuts).
Another quarter of the plate, cereals (better whole grains). Wheat, quinoa, oatmeal, rice… This would be equivalent to a couple of slices of whole wheat bread, a potato the size of an egg, and a half cup of rice, pasta or cereal.
Dessert and drinks: for dessert, a piece of fruit or a yogurt. And to drink, water, tea, coffee or infusions. If you drink milk, a glass a day.
For breakfast: combine a dairy for the contribution of calcium; carbohydrates, such as unsweetened bread and cereals (oatmeal, for example); proteins (egg, cheese, yogurt, tuna …) and fruit.
Mid-morning and snack: these are good times to include a contribution of healthy fats in the form of nuts. You can also opt for a fruit yogurt or fruit with an ounce of dark chocolate.

And how many times do I eat each food?
Up to date:
5 servings of vegetables and fruit (it is not worth making 5 of just one of the two)
4 garnish-size servings of bread, pasta or rice
2 servings of dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese)
1 serving of fat daily; olive oil (3-4 tablespoons), nuts (a handful of 20 g) …
A week:
3-4 servings of legumes
3-4 eggs (if you don't have cholesterol problems, 1 a day even)
4 servings of fish (2 blue at least)
2 servings of white meat (rabbit, turkey, chicken)
1 serving of red meat

10 keys to easy healthy eating
The cereals, better whole. They retain their nutrients and provide you with fiber that helps regulate intestinal transit and protects the colon.
Cooking oil. The best extra virgin olive oil, both raw and for cooking.
Fruits and vegetables, seasonal. It is preferable that the vegetables we eat are seasonal because they contain fewer additives, cost less to transport and preserve and, therefore, are healthier, more ecological and cheaper.
Less salt Too much salt intake is a risk factor for high blood pressure. Flavor your dishes with aromatic plants and spices.
Cooked. Choose to prepare your dishes grilled, baked or steamed.
Read nutrition labels. Carlos Ríos already says it, if a product has more than 5 ingredients, it is probably an unhealthy ultra-processed.
Plan your meals. You will save time, money and eat healthier. Our healthy weekly menu and seasonal shopping list will help you.
Eat mindfully. Chew slowly and savor. You will eat less and the food will feel better than if you swallowed everything in 5 minutes.
Healthy processed. They can make our lives easier: frozen vegetables, canned vegetables or fish, jars of legumes, bags of salad …
Stay active. Eating well is as important to being healthy as doing sports. You don't have to go to the gym, but you do have to walk fast for 60 minutes a day, go for a run, ride a bike, dance… There are many options.