We all want to get fit and stay fit, which generally entails making some lifestyle choices with our fitness and our diets. Fitness is generally pretty easy – who doesn’t enjoy going to yoga or Zumba classes? Diets, however, are harder, particularly this time of year. One of the biggest problems with diets is that if we have a sweet tooth, or if we love fried food, it’s very difficult to satisfy that part of our appetites with healthy food. But it’s definitely possible to eat food that’s both healthy and delicious at the same time. Here are some tips…

Buy Produce That’s in Season

We all know the basics about food produce and times of year, which is basically that tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries taste best in the summer. Try to go further than that and really do your research to find out which fruits and vegetables taste best at which times of year so that the food you buy is naturally flavoursome even before you start preparing it.

Season Your Food

It’s absolutely crucial to make sure that you season your food. Get heavy handed with garlic, soy sauce, onion, citrus and herbs like basil, cilantro and rosemary to elevate the taste of your vegetables. You could also marinate proteins like tofu, chicken and fish, which will also make them more tender, or alternatively use rubs consisting of salt, herbs and spices to add flavour to them. Roasting meat, fish and vegetables will make them marinate in their juices, meaning that they’ll taste better when you eat them.

Combine Your Flavors

It’s time to start looking up flavour combinations that are a little out of the ordinary and different to what you already know. It’s a lot easier to stick to cooking the food that you grew up with, but take inspiration from the cuisine of other countries to combine your flavours in new and more interesting ways. You could also start to make smoothies – not only are they extremely tasty but they also mean that you can combine a lot of your daily intake of fruits and vegetables at the same time. Check out Blender Friend if you don’t have one already to find the best one for you.

Make Your Own Dressings

Instead of buying readymade dressings from stores, make your own vinaigrette from a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A lot of the time, low sugar and low fat foods that you buy from stores have chemicals in that aren’t particularly pure and healthy, so it’s definitely best to create your own. You’ll know exactly what ingredients are in them, and they’ll taste better.

Use Stronger Tasting Cheese

We all know that cheese isn’t the healthiest of foods, but everything is okay if it’s eaten in moderation! Instead of eating large amounts of cheese like brie, cheddar and mozzarella, consider going for smaller amounts of a stronger tasting cheese like parmesan – which you can use as a sauce over vegetables like broccoli and parsnips. You could also ask for goat’s cheese instead of mozzarella on your pizza.