Variety well may be the spice of life, but it’s also a key part of a healthy diet.
The thing is, by eating a wide variety of foods we’re putting our eggs in as many baskets as possible. Spreading the risk.
Variety means we’re much less likely to eat too many things that aren’t good for us. And at the same time it also means we’re less likely to miss out on essential micro nutrients.
I like to think of variety as a nutritional ‘insurance policy’.
Not only that, variety keeps food and eating fun!
So what is the number 1. way to ensure we’re getting enough variety?
It’s as simple as buying different types of food every week.
That’s it.
I used to think it was important to fit as much variety as possible into each day. And then I was talking to a nutritionist friend about it and her approach was to look at the longer term.
Try and eat different foods over the period of a week or fortnight rather than stressing about multiple serves of fruit and vegetables each day.
Back to: Master Your Meal Plan Overview.
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Hi Amy
If leftovers are a problem for you I’d either try buying smaller quantities of ingredients or making smaller meals so you avoid building up leftovers.. we’ll be talking about this more in the next two weeks
Good idea! When I cook,it seems we are always looking at left-overs. I’m guessing there will be less of this as I learn your cooking principles, but still…
Amy,
I may be getting ahead of myself here, since it looks like leftovers will be a topic soon, but with my leftovers, I try and reinvent as much as possible! A big batch of lentils, with basic seasonings (salt, pepper, onion, cumin) becomes several different meals with the addition of hearty greens, or a can of diced tomatoes, or with the addition of some chickpeas and lemon juice.
And using leftovers as a springboard for the next day’s lunch is a way to get them out of the fridge without a lot of waste.
These are just a couple of things I’ve learned, as I practice being more creative in the kitchen, and having a husband who hates tired old leftovers!
Great tips there Maeghan
Thanks for sharing!