How to Eat Healthier So You Feel Stronger and More Energized in 2021!

You know how uncomfortably bloated you feel after a meal that's heavy on the pasta or bread, so this year, make a point to have half your plate filled with veggies — even at breakfast. Low in calories, and high in fiber, they offer valuable nutrients to give you energy and boost your immune system. After your meal is done, you'll feel satisfied, light, and alert.

When hunger strikes and you want to grab the quickest thing you can, make sure you have some pre-made healthy snacks on hand like lemon coconut protein balls or pumpkin pie fruit and nut bars. Make a batch on the weekend, and keep them in your fridge so you can grab when you're feeling snacky.

Skip the maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey and add mashed banana to your oatmeal to add natural sweetness plus a little extra potassium.

If you're trying to cut back on sugar, fruit will satisfy your dessert cravings while offering fiber and valuable nutrients. It may take a few weeks to get in this habit, but soon cookies and chocolate will seem too sweet!

Make eating healthy feel more exciting by learning how to cook a new nutritious food, like tofu, tempeh, or dry beans from scratch.

Cauliflower rice is great for cutting down on carbs at lunch or dinner, but you can also swap cauliflower for oatmeal when making breakfast. It offers fewer carbs and more fiber and protein.

Whether you make extra for dinner and pack leftovers like soup, a crockpot meal, or this quinoa and black bean salad, or you make five salads on Sunday night, packing lunch ahead of time is less expensive than ordering out, healthier, and a great way to keep tabs on ingredients and portion sizes.

Eating more veggies throughout the day is one of the best ways to lose weight, so make sure to include them for breakfast. An easy way is to throw them in your blender and make a smoothie, like this banana berry peanut-butter broccoli smoothie. Or, eat a bowl of steamed veggies with your oatmeal.

When you eat one huge salad for a meal each day, you'll not only get your fill of veggies and fiber, but you'll also feel lighter and more energetic afterward. Make this happen by prepping a week's worth of salads all at once.

Aim to eat at least three brightly-colored foods at every meal. Their vibrant hue means they're high in vitamins and antioxidants.

Bloat, acne, fatigue, and congestion can all be symptoms of eating dairy, so try ditching it for even one meal a day, but if you can, commit to one day a week. You can still enjoy creamy dishes like this avocado pesto pasta, vegan lasagna, and cherry chocolate chip ice cream.

When you don't have tons of time to prepare dinner, you can avoid ordering high-calorie takeout by keeping healthy foods in the freezer you can reheat for quick meals like frozen grains or these maple cumin lentils.

If you're trying to lose weight or eat healthier, taking photos of everything you eat will give you a good overall picture of how you eat all day long. It'll keep you even more accountable to eating healthy if you Instagram your pics or send them to a supportive friend who shares your goals.

Cut down on carbs and increase your fiber intake by swapping regular pasta for spiralized zucchini, spaghetti squash, or grated carrots.

Planning out meals and snacks is one way to avoid noshing on junk, so at least once a week, plan out and prep a meal or snack. You can make a week's worth of overnight oats on Sunday night or these mason jar veggies with hummus.

Both chia seeds and flaxmeal (ground flaxseeds) offer fiber, protein, and healthy omega-3s, so find ways to add them to your food. Sprinkle them on cereal or oatmeal, add them to your blender when making smoothies, or use them in your pancakes or baked good recipes.

Skip the high-carb crackers and snack on protein and fiber to satiate hunger longer. These cocoa cinnamon sugar roasted chickpeas offer over six grams of protein and five grams of fiber per serving.

If you know you're addicted to white sugar, cutting back can decrease cravings. Pick one time during the day to skip out on the white stuff, so instead of noshing on a regular cookie after dinner, satisfy your sweet cravings with these date-sweetened cookies.

Substitute butter in a baking recipes with mashed avocado (it works well with cookies and quick breads like these pumpkin apple muffins). Using avocado not only lowers the calorie content and offers healthy fats, but also creates a softer, moister baked good, and is perfect if you want to omit the dairy. You can also use avocado in place of butter to make vegan "buttercream" frosting.

If you've been a fan of Meatless Mondays, try going vegan one day a week. It's easy if you have a dairy-free protein smoothie or oatmeal for breakfast, a big salad for lunch, and then this cauliflower rice and black beans for dinner. Snack on fresh fruits and veggies with hummus and you'll feel amazing after a day of eating a plant-based diet.

Loaded with sugar and made with instant oats, you can make a much healthier bowl of oatmeal by making your own overnight oats. Using rolled oats will take longer to digest, so you'll stay fuller longer, and you can sweeten yours with maple syrup or even just fresh fruit. Plus adding chia seeds or flaxmeal will up the protein, fiber, and healthy fats, and you can make a week's worth of breakfast all at once, so it'll be just as fast as instant oatmeal.

Eating more protein will satiate hunger longer, so you can sneak extra into foods that normally don't have much by adding protein powder. Add it to pancakes, banana bread, and homemade cornbread.

Kidney, pinto, back, and cannellini beans offer easy plant-based protein and fiber, which we all could use more of. Add them to pureed soups, fruit smoothies, and even overnight oats to fill you up longer.

Make ice cream from frozen fruit every time ice cream cravings strike. You'll save on calories, cholesterol, and sugar.

Skip the pasta and go for brown rice, farro, or millet with your dinner. Although it is a source of carbs, whole grains are complex carbs so they'll satiate your hunger for hours. Try them for breakfast, too! This apple pie quinoa offers a tasty alternative to oatmeal.

Anytime you reach for a drink, make it zero-calorie water. Staying hydrated will make you feel more energetic, fill your belly, aid in digestion, prevent constipation, and makes your skin glow. Hate plain water? Add a few slices of fresh fruit for flavor.