5 Tips to Make Your Family Meals a Little Healthier

This blog uses affiliate links and banners. If you purchase something from them I will receive a commission at no cost to you. I am part of the Amazon Associates program. As such, I receive a commission on qualifying products.

If you’re cooking for your family on a regular basis, it’s important to find ways to make your meals a little healthier whenever you can.

There are lots of simple swaps to make your meals more nutritious. It’s not about choosing food you know your family won’t eat. It’s about looking for small and convenient ways to add a few more vitamins to your cooking.

In this blog post, I’ve put together 5 tips to make your family meals a little healthier. I hope these ideas can give you a bit of inspiration for you and your family.

1. Variety is the spice of life

If you want to make your family meals a little healthier, try adding a variety of ingredients.

For example, if your family love to enjoy a bowl of spaghetti bolognese, add peppers, mushrooms, sweetcorn, tomatoes and other vegetables to your sauce. This will sneak lots of nutritious ingredients past your children!

You need to choose a variety of fruits, vegetables, vitamins, nutrients and ingredients to enjoy a healthy and balanced diet. This will also give your family a chance to try out lots of different delicious flavours in their meals.

2. Choose low-sugar and low-fat options

Choosing low-sugar and low-fat options can help you boost your family’s nutrition – and with many products, you won’t even notice the difference.

Many food products are available as low-sugar, low-salt or low-fat options, such as cheese, yoghurt and sauces like ketchup and mayonnaise.

This helps you cook exactly the same delicious meals for your family, but you can make them just a little bit healthier for everyone.

3. Try out a healthy dessert

Although there’s nothing wrong with enjoying something sweet after your dinner – and this is often the inducement for many children to eat their food – you could try out a healthy dessert to make your meal just a little bit more nutritious.

Try swapping yoghurt for ice-cream, or enjoy some dark chocolate instead of a high-sugar option.

It can also help to introduce healthy or convenient snacks into your family’s routine, instead of always choosing sweet treats. It’s not about stopping yourself from eating your favourite foods. It’s just about choosing healthier options for your family whenever you can!

4. Choose whole grains

Whole grains might not sound very exciting, but they can make your meals much healthier. Choose wholegrain pasta or spaghetti for dinner time or swap white bread for wholemeal bread at breakfast.

Choosing whole grains can add a little nutrition to your meals, reducing your intake of refined carbohydrates and sugar.

It’s important to think about which whole grain products you want to add to your diet. You might find that some are harder to get past your family than others – so try out a few different products to see if there are any small, but significant, changes you can make.

5. Cook with olive oil

Refined oils are the best choice for cooking, including olive oil that isn’t “virgin” or “extra virgin”.

Rapeseed oil (also known as vegetable oil) is also a great option. These oils could help you make your family meals just a little healthier. Even better, you could try cooking your food by boiling, grilling or steaming as this can reduce your family’s fat intake on a daily basis.

Adding healthy fats to your diet is also a great way to make your meals a little more nutritious! This includes foods like oily fish, avocado and nuts.

I’d love to hear your tips to make my family meals a little healthier! Tell me all your thoughts in the comments.

Take care everyone x