As you get older, eating healthy becomes increasingly important. A lot of people view this as a dreaded chore and see it as the end of enjoying food, but it doesn't have to be that way. You can continue to enjoy food, even while learning to up your game nutritionally.
1) Learn to Shop
Learn how to choose good quality produce. Many fruits and veggies taste good raw or with minimum preparation, assuming they are of good quality to begin with. Melons can often be checked by feeling how firm the rind is. Generally speaking, the flesh of berries and other fruits should be firm, but not hard. If you aren't good at this, ask a friend to teach you all about it.
2) Learn to Store Food Properly
Fresh produce is best if consumed fairly promptly, but if you don't shop daily, you need to learn to store it so it stays fresh. Rinse fruits and vegetables before putting them in the fridge to remove any pesticide residue. Grapes should be pulled off the stem before being put away. Celery should be placed in a glass of water to keep it crisp. Bananas should be hung from a hook to forestall spoilage. Apples should be stored separately from other items because they give off a gas that can hasten spoilage for some items.
3) Learn to Stir Fry
Stir fry involves cutting foods up into relatively small pieces -- because small pieces cook quickly -- and cooking them on high heat for a short period of time. If you aren't a fan of oriental foods, you do not have to eat anything you find weird. You can use the same technique to make familiar foods healthier because stir frying involves less oil and less exposure to heat, thus helping to preserve nutrients and reduce the amount of fat in your diet. If you adapt familiar recipes to a stir fry version, you can improve your nutrition and cut fat from your diet without making big changes to the kinds of foods you like to eat.
4) Learn to Spice
Generally speaking, most healthy diets require you to cut fat and sugar. These are both big sources of flavor for many people. Learning to use spices can help add flavor to your diet so you don't miss the fats and sugars so much. Stir fry some sweet potato slices with cinnamon and nutmeg and you may be happy with just a pinch of brown sugar instead of a spoonful. Add onions, chives or black pepper to your baked potato and you may be less grumpy about cutting back on the butter, cheese and bacon.
Contrary to popular opinion, eating healthy does not have to be a fate worse than death. If you learn to up your game on food selection, storage, and preparation, it is possible to not only enjoy healthy foods, but to enjoy them even more than low quality junk food while also doing your body some good.