Prep and store
Even more important than shopping for healthy foods? Actually eating them. When you get home from the store or farmer’s market, bounty of fruits and veggies in tow, wash and chop them right away and store in a pretty glass container in your fridge. “Studies show that spending more time on food prep is linked to better eating habits,” Dr. Lipman says. It’s all about convenience—if they’re ready for you, you’ll grab them in a pinch. If not? It’s chips and dip time. You can also do this with other foods, like making a batch of quinoa for the week or roasting a bunch of veggies to throw together for quick lunches.
Make lunch your main meal
You probably remember learning in school that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And it truly does have a lot of health benefits. But just because it’s important doesn’t mean it has to be your biggest meal. In actuality, “your biggest meal should be around noon when your digestion is at its peak and you can feed your body when it actually needs fuel,” says Dr. Lipman. So at lunch, emphasize fueling foods like protein and greens (think a hearty bowl of lentil soup and kale salad). A larger meal at lunch also means that you probably won’t be looking for a huge meal at dinner, which is good since you don’t need that much food to fuel yourself just to watch TV and go to be bed.
