Simple, realistic cooking changes to make this year your healthiest ever, no matter your diet

If you're attempting to have a more wholesome diet, you don't necessarily have to entirely overhaul the way you cook. If you work with your everyday diet and build from there, taking a realistic approach that you could eventually build on, it may change how you shop for, cook and eat food (change that may stick!).

Here, you'll find solutions for vegans looking to make the switch to meals with less-processed ingredients, low-carb diners wanting to cut down on red meat, bakers eager to experiment with allergy-free goodies and more. These are life-friendly ways to make good-for-you meals happen. 

If you simply want to prepare more meals at home, do this 

Don't worry about what you see on Instagram — make meal 'prep' happen your way, but make sure it happens. If you're new to the concept, meal prep is all about preparing ingredients ahead of time, whether that means washing your greens when you bring them home, or fully chopping and setting aside components of your meals so that last-minute cooking feels less overwhelming, and is more likely to actually happen. 

Start with one meal: lunch. Take one hour on the weekend to make a pot of bean soup or dhal, a grain salad or a few make-ahead ingredients like roasted sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli and hard-boiled eggs. These building blocks ensure you have something healthy, homemade and economical to enjoy for lunches all week. Make a meal out of the components or add them to bulk up leftovers from last night's dinner. 

A recipe to get you started: Mustard Seed Roasted Vegetable, Barley, and Bean Salad

If you're a low-carb eater and want to cut back on red meat, do this  

If you're trying to keep clear of carbs, it's easy to turn to meat in order to make meals filling. Instead, replace red meat go-tos with anti-inflammatory fish. The healthy fat and high amounts of protein in the fish will keep you fuller for longer, as red meat would. 

Instead of a beef burger, make a salmon burger (with a lettuce bun, for the low-carb eaters). If it's a roast you're after, slow-cook a side of trout or salmon in the oven for a melt-in-your-mouth, "meaty" option to pair with a few low-carb vegetable sides. And adding "meat spices" to fish, like steak spice, can bring the big, bold umami punch you're looking for, without the beef. 

A recipe to get you started: Tray-Baked Salmon Nicoise 

If you want to make the transition to a whole food, plant-based diet, do this 

Switching from cooking from packages to whole food cooking is a change that may take time to make. Introduce changes, slow and steady, don't overload yourself with cooking every component of every meal from scratch. Rather, start small and turn to prepared helpers when you need them, and build your repertoire from there.  

The first week, tackle breakfast, switching from instant flavoured oatmeal to steel-cut oats or large-flake rolled oats, topping your bowl with fresh fruit, seeds or nuts and a splash of prepared plant-based milk. The second week, cook lunch, incorporating a few of your prepared helpers with a handful of homemade ingredients. For example, turn canned chickpeas into chickpea salad lettuce cups by smashing the legumes with vegan mayo, fresh lemon juice, celery and chives, and then nestle the mixture in bibb lettuce leaves. The third week, turn to dinner but, with something simple like a big vegan stew using some of the ingredients you've already prepared for lunch and prepared vegetable broth. 

A recipe to get you started: Mezhukkupuratti

If you want to explore 'free-from' baking (gluten-free, vegan, keto, etc.), do this 

Cookies, cakes and pies normally rely on a careful balance of butter, flour and sugar, which are off-limits for many. Luckily, allergy-friendly and refined sugar-free treats are now an option if you're following a specific diet, be that for health reasons or other.  

Start by finding a recipe for a free-from baked good — don't begin by trying to change a conventional recipe on your own; gluten-free flours, refined sugar-free sweeteners and the like usually can't be substituted measure-for-measure with their more traditional counterparts. When in doubt, naturally free-from desserts are a great place to start, for example, pavlova is naturally gluten-free if made with certified gluten-free cornstarch. (If you're just looking to enjoy a sweet treat, don't forget about fresh fruit, which is satisfying, nutrient-dense, allergy-friendly option that's about as low-fuss free-from as you can get.) 

A recipe to get you started: PB&J Thumbprint Breakfast Cookies

If you want to save money and stop wasting food, do this

The cost of food is on the rise and so is food waste. If you've ever found yourself buying too much produce without a plan, you've likely tossed half of it away, which is a waste of both food and money. To prevent this, start meal planning and stick to the plan. 

Write down a rough meal plan every week in a note on your phone, including links to, or screenshots of recipes. Only buy what you need for that week's meals and nothing more. If you're only cooking for yourself, look for recipes that freeze well or can be refrigerated for a few days to enjoy as leftovers for packed breakfasts and lunches.

A recipe to get you started: Zucchini Verde Vegan Enchiladas

If you want to eat less processed food (like packaged snacks), do this 

Packaged snacks are high in additives and preservatives, are generally unhealthy, expensive and don't make you feel particularly well. But that ideal balance of salt, fat and sugar is hard to resist! Instead of thinking about what you won't be having, think about what you can add to your menu.  

Replace candy for sweeter fruits like grapes, mango, berries and pineapple. And forget sugary, processed fruit yogurt cups and tubes — add berry-chia jam or mashed raspberries to plain Greek yogurt, stir and enjoy. (To make chia jam, mash a pint of raspberries with a sprinkle of chia seeds, squeeze of lemon and spoonful of maple syrup.) Skip the chips and make your own popcorn at home, and you can snack away. 

A recipe to get you started: How to master gourmet popcorn at home

If you want to reduce your added sugar intake, do this

Added processed sugar commonly pops up on packaged and processed ingredient labels, but it's not uncommon to find it in more unknown places, like salad dressing, sushi, bread and dairy products. You don't have to cut out all added sugars, but paying attention to where it's coming into your diet — even in those "healthy" snacks — will help you adjust your habits quickly and easily as your palate acclimates. 

While it's nearly impossible to avoid added sugar when you're dining out unless you ask for a list of every ingredient in your meal (yes, even at that healthy vegan restaurant), you can avoid it or limit it greatly at home by paying attention to sneaky added sugar offenders. Definitely use ketchup sparingly, replace sweet condiments with spicy or tart ones, like lime juice-spiked mayonnaise; make your own salad dressing and sweeten it with applesauce instead of sugar; choose dill pickles over bread and butter pickles; skip sugar-sweetened salsa, choose plain yogurt and add fruit for flavour and sweeten smoothies with whole dates. And, try to cut back or eliminate added sugar in your coffee and tea, you will get used to and enjoy the new taste over time!

A recipe to get you started: Basic Fermented Hot Sauce and other delicious ferments 

Allison Day is the cookbook author of Modern Lunch. Find her online at hiallisonday.com and Yummy Beet, and on Instagram @allisondaycooks.