Healthy eating: 8 ways to introduce delicious nutrition to your day

It ain’t easy getting healthy and losing weight. For on-the-go people, getting the required “5-a-Day” (now morphing into 8-a-Day) can be a challenge and seem impossibly harried. But a few small changes can have a big impact. These eight little things will provide some solace and introduce a little ray of yummy nutrition into your daily routine. And maybe a little weight loss.

1. Add shelled, organic edamame into salads for added protein. Often found in the frozen food section, 1 cup of edamame has 17 grams of protein and is high in fiber, magnesium and potassium. Buy organic to avoid genetically modified soybeans (not allowed in organic production). You never know…
2. Add seasonal, diced fruit to your green salads to pump up the vitamins. Berries, peaches, pears, plums or apples work well.
3. Substitute up to half of the butter in baked goods with applesauce, which adds moistness, texture, fiber and vitamins.
4. Add bottled salsa to your scrambled eggs or spoon it onto your baked potato or hash browns. High in vitamins C and A, not to mention lycopene.
5. Top a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with sliced, ripe pear or avocado. Also explore green leafies that power flavor plus punch, such as arugula, spinach or chopped fresh herbs. And, of course, a gorgeous tomato.
6. Add shredded zucchini and/or carrots to chili or meatloaf. Kids won’t notice it…
7. Spice up curry dishes with turmeric, purported to be an anti-inflammatory agent.
8. Add a tablespoon of peanut butter to your morning oatmeal for delicious protein. Adds a scoop of magnesium and B vitamins to your day.

Related posts:

7 healthy additions to a real food diet (paleo style) Eating Healthy: Unscrambling the egg myths and truths Seven small, easy things foodies can do to lose weight and stay healthy