Healthy eating links and resources

You may find the following websites and apps useful for supporting you in making healthier food choices.

These apps are a mixture of free and paid-for apps, that are available to download from Google Play or the App store.

General healthy eating advice

• Public Health England (PHE) - EatWell Guide (booklet/PDF): A booklet produced by Public Health England giving an overview of the EatWell guide healthy eating recommendations.
• NHS EatWell (website): A website outlining the EatWell guide healthy eating recommendations as well as offering tips and advice for how to eat more healthily. 
• British Nutrition Foundation (booklet/PDF): A quick guide for how to follow the EatWell recommendations. 
• British Heart Foundation - Healthy eating (website): The BHF has a range of information to help you eat more healthily. This advice is useful for preventing heart diseases but is also generally useful advice for everyone as well.   

General healthy eating advice - in pregnancy

• NHS - Have a healthy diet in pregnancy (website): Advice for healthy eating especially for during pregnancy. 

Portion sizes

• British Heart Foundation - Food portions (website): Portion size guidelines to allow you to start exploring portion sizes for different food groups.   
• NHS EatWell Guide - Fruit and vegetables (website): This illustrates the correct portion sizes for fruit and vegetables. 
• The Association for Dieticians - Portion sizes: Food fact sheet (website): A guide to portion sizes of foods with easy visual ways to recognise what each portion may look like.   
• BUPA - Portion size guide (website): A resource on portion sizes for all food groups, including photographs of what each portion should look like.   

Fat (saturated and unsaturated)

• British Heart Foundation - Fats explained (website): Information about the different types of fats and what foods they are found in.   
• NHS - Fat: the facts (website): An explanation of the different types of fat food in foods 

Understanding food labels

• Food Standards Agency - Check the label (website): Information and advice about how to read food labels to find calorie, fat, saturates, sugars and salt content information.   

Healthy cooking techniques

• World Cancer Research Fund - How to cook healthily (website): A page of advice and tips for cooking in healthier ways.   
• Healthy recipe ideas Slimming World - recipe finder (website): This has a search tool and a huge range of healthy recipes that you can search for inspiration   
• NHS Change 4 Life - healthy recipes (website): A range of healthy recipes grouped together by meal times, such as dinner, breakfast and lunch box ideas.  
• Veg Power (website): A huge range of healthy, vegetable-based recipes that are grouped by vegetable type. This means you can find healthy recipes to use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge.   
• British Heart Foundation - recipe finder (website): This website has a search engine that means you can search for healthy recipes for specific dietary requirements, meal times, cuisines, and cooking times.   
• Public Health England - One you Easy Meals (free app): This app is free to use and is part of the Public Health England, One You series. It's designed to help you eat healthier by giving you over 150 different healthy recipe ideas.  
• NHS Change 4 Life - Smart recipes (free app): This app is free to use. It's been created by Public Health England. It has been designed to help you plan, choose and prepare healthier meals.
• Lifesum Health App (paid-for app): You need to pay to use this app. It can help you make meal plans and offers hundreds of healthy recipes. You can also scan barcodes of foods to log them and keep track of its nutritional information, as well as set your own food goals and customize your health journey. This app is not endorsed by a registered UK public body or organisation.
• My Fitness Pal (free to download app, may pay for some services): It can help you to track calories, set personalised plans and goals as well as scan food barcodes and plan meals. It also offers a wide variety of healthy recipes. This app is not endorsed by a registered UK public body or organisation.

Managing cravings

• NHS - Breathing exercises for stress (website): Breathing exercises to help with stress that can be useful for managing cravings for unhealthy foods.   

Healthy eating plans as part of weight loss

• NHS 12-week weight loss plan (free app): This app is free to use. It's been created by Public Health England in partnership with the NHS. This app is designed to help you manage your weight, and includes tips for developing healthier eating habits by helping you plan your meals and make healthier food choices.   
• Lose It (free to download app, offers in-app purchases): It can help you to set personalised goals, to track your food, offers meal ideas and learn about different types of foods. It's not endorsed by a registered UK public body or organisation.