If you are like most people, you have probably tried dieting and eating healthy but have given up many times. Don’t beat yourself up over it, it happens! What is most important is that you pick back up and try again. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be hard and it doesn’t mean you can’t indulge every now and then!

The first step to becoming healthy is creating good eating habits. It doesn’t have to be all at once, but incorporating healthy foods into your diet will make you feel better, over time.

Give these simple, healthy tips a try!

  • Watch your portion size!

Choosemyplate.gov is a great website that offers many tools to help determine portion sizes. You can click on each main food groups and see what foods fall under each category. They also provide a downloadable graphic that highlights the amount of each food group to put on your plate. For example children ages 4-8 years old should have about 4 ounces of protein daily.

  • Drink more water!

Many people mistake thirst for hunger.  A common misconception is that people should drink 8 ounces per day, however actually it is recommended to drink half your weight in ounces of water per day. So a person weighing 200lbs should drink 100 ounces of water daily. Filler’ up!

  • Add more beans!

Beans are an excellent source of protein, gluten free and are high in complex carbohydrates, which help you feel full, longer. Calbeans.org features many delicious and healthy bean recipes, which you can search for by meal, season and bean type!

how to select your recipe

  • Eat a healthy breakfast!

Breakfast provides you with the energy and nutrients to help jumpstart your day!  Here’s a delicious Navy bean pancake recipe to try out!

Navy Bean Pancakes

pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Navy Beans, drained
  • 1 2/3 cup Water
  • 1 Tbsp Honey (Don’t substitute as this gives the pancakes the golden color.)
  • 2 tsp Oil (I use olive)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 1/2 cup Rolled Oats

Directions:

Add ingredients to blender in the order listed. Blend until well blended. Set aside to thicken while you heat the skillet to medium.

photo 2 (11)

Pour small amount of batter into pan and allow to set.

photo 3 (9)

Once edges are raised and the top of the pancake looks set, flip and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Cook on until golden brown, turning as needed.

Enjoy!