Whether you’ve been feeling like you have lower energy or whether you just feel a slight internal nagging to eat healthier after Chinese takeout last night, figuring out how to make your recipes healthier can seem overwhelming at first.

But making your recipes healthier doesn’t have to mean totally changing your eating habits. This article will walk you through three things that you can do to make your food healthier without completely changing how you eat.

Use Healthier Oils

When it comes to making your recipes healthier, there are some easy places to start and oil choice is one of them. Often when cooking, you may simply pour some vegetable oil into the pan. But using this type of oil is actually high in fat and relatively unhealthy. There are lots of other oils that are better for you, like olive oil and avocado oil, which are high in omega-3 fatty acids.

A simple switch to using an oil spray can drastically reduce how much oil you use, reducing the calories you consume. Better yet, consider using various types of broth or lower calorie oil alternatives in your pan when cooking different foods. According to Granite Peaks Gastroenterology, healthy fats are an important part of your diet, so make sure you are choosing the right ones.

Choose Whole Ingredients

Another great way to make your meals healthier is to simply choose whole foods. There are many benefits to eating whole foods over processed foods. Whole foods tend to conserve all the important and beneficial vitamins and minerals that your body needs to break down fat.

Processed foods are loaded with preservatives that can upset your body’s natural gut health. When the majority of your shopping cart comes from the produce section, you’ll be able to get all the nutrients your body needs to process foods, increase energy, and improve sleep.

Make Your Own Dressings and Sauces

You’re trying to eat healthier. You’ve made yourself a big beautiful salad with a variety of different vegetables. The only thing you have left to do is to add the dressing. Yet, despite the wonderful healthy substance of the salad, using store-bought dressings can dramatically increase the calories you’re consuming. Why is this?

Packaged dressings often pack in different oils, sugars, and other chemicals that inhibit your body’s ability to effectively process food. When you make your own dressings, you can use simple ingredient combinations for delicious dressings without preservatives and added fat.

Eating healthier doesn’t have to mean overhauling your eating routine. If you incorporate little changes like using less oil when you cook or making your own salad dressings, you can end up saving yourself significant calories. Once you’ve played around with these suggestions, look for other ideas too!

Taking care of your skin is an important part of your health. Start by scheduling a skin consultation!