How many times have you considered eating healthier? Likely many, but it isn’t always easy with the pace of life we lead. Or perhaps it is with these five simple changes we propose.

You don’t need to overhaul your kitchen or buy new gadgets. It’s about easy habits that only require a small shift in perspective. Unknowingly, as you apply them, you’ll find that you enjoy cooking more each day and eating well becomes easier.

1. Cook more at home

If you cook more at home instead of reaching for ready meals and convenience foods, you’ll have greater control over what you eat, over its ingredients, freshness and, above all, over your preferences.

“Cooking at home means you go to the greengrocer or fruit and veg shop for ingredients, choosing with regard to seasonal produce and what you feel like making and eating, and it allows you to plan the shopping according to the meals you intend to prepare throughout the week,” explains Virginia García, a cooking expert.

It’s easy not to repeat a dish all week if you buy the ingredients yourself and cook at home. Additionally, it’s cheaper and, on the whole, healthier.

2. Discover new recipes

Set yourself the goal of preparing new recipes. You’ll see that you can prepare ingredients you already use in different ways and you’ll discover new textures and flavours. It’s about eating well, but also enjoying your meals.

Ideas won’t be in short supply if you subscribe to Easy Cooking because you’ll have access to 10,000 recipes that you can organise as you wish. In fact, you can create your own cookbook with your favourite recipes and have it always at hand on your mobile. To assemble it, simply click on the heart of a recipe and it will be automatically saved to your book.

 

3. Plan your meals

The shopping list and the weekly menu are, besides the recipes, the two other indispensable tasks for eating healthily. Don’t forget that planning meals in advance is key to buying exactly what you need. “That way we avoid wasting food, we don’t buy more than we need and, above all, we don’t buy other superfluous things that don’t fit within the framework we’ve created,” notes Virginia.

If you become a subscriber to Easy Cooking you’ll have it easy in this regard. You can email or WhatsApp the shopping list for any recipe (and it’s an editable list where you can remove or add what you need). Plus, with the subscription you gain access to a complete weekly menu, from Monday to Sunday, for lunch and dinner.

 

4. Shop more mindfully

Whenever possible, when you go shopping, pay attention to packaging, the origin of the products and their ingredients. “Do you really need all that plastic and the polystyrene tray for a few mushrooms? Are there locally sourced legumes with a smaller environmental footprint? Do I really need this sauce that’s 20% sugar?” asks Virginia García.

So anything you can buy loose is much better. Fewer containers and, in the case of fruit and vegetables, cheaper. And remember, insists the expert, that seasonal and local produce also have a smaller environmental footprint because they don’t have to be transported from the other side of the globe.

5. Make the most of leftovers

Leftovers from other dishes can keep in the fridge for two or three days if stored in a tub. With a piece of chicken breast you can make a delicious salad. And with leftovers of rice, quinoa and other grains you can create a one-dish meal by mixing in some vegetables.

“If you keep making the most of leftovers, you’ll avoid having to shop more often, you’ll come up with much more creative ideas for your meals, you’ll save money and generate less waste,” notes Virginia.

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