A daily healthy eating guideline starts with eating your vegetables. Daily.

So who's in, I know I am. A daily diet high in vegetables, fruits and whole grains, and low in saturated and trans fat is good for you. But your mother always told you that.

Just count this as one of the easiest and best ways to keep your head straight, your body healthy, your heart strong and your mother happy.

But if you’ve been slacking off over the years, and have not been eating the healthy stuff as much as you should, don’t worry.

It's never too late to get a healthy eating guideline back into your life and your body back on track.

But take note, the tips in our healthy eating guideline should not be implemented all at once, you’ll drive yourself crazy. It's a gradual process.

Just pick one and stick with it for a week, then pick another for the next week (still practicing the first weeks tip). See where we’re going with this?

Adding these small changes every week will start to change your lifestyle, and over time, this will make a big difference in your health.

DAILY: Eat your vegetables and fruit. It’s one of the best ways to help maintain a healthy heart. They’re loaded with protective compounds, phytochemicals and antioxidants.

Not to mention the high amounts of folic acid and fiber you stand to gain when you eat dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, broccoli and kale.

Aim for at least 2 servings at each meal and 2 servings as snacks in between meals (eat 5 small meals a day).

Keep an eye on the amount of fat, sugar and salt by enjoying your veggies either steamed (the best), baked or stir-fried instead of deep-fried (that’s a no-no).

Healthy eating guideline note: You’ll get more fiber and less calories and sugar, if you eat your vegetables and fruit rather than drink them from a can or bottle. Unless of course your making your own juice or smoothie, then just use fresh, organic products and you’re good to go.

DAILY: Go for the fiber. It helps to lower cholesterol levels in your blood, lowering your risk for heart disease.

Choose whole grain breads like whole rye, oats or spelt. When going Italian, choose whole grain, whole-wheat pasta. Just keep an eye on the spreads and sauces that we all love on these foods. Read the labels. Avoid the bad stuff. Get the good stuff.

Start your day with a high-fiber cereal for breakfast or mix some in on top of yogurt. Our healthy eating guideline suggests 6-7 servings of Grain Products each day. And pick whole grains as much as possible (try for at least half of the grain products you eat every day to be whole). And remember legumes such as beans, peas and lentils as well as vegetables and fruits are other important sources of fiber. Seek them out.

DAILY: 2-3 table spoons of unsaturated fat can be a good thing (this includes oil used for cooking, salad dressing, mayonnaise and margarine).

Canola and olive oils are high in unsaturated fats that are known for helping lower blood cholesterol levels and many times helping raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels in your blood (that’s the good cholesterol).

Hungry in between meals, skip the candy bar and grab a hand full of nuts. Our healthy eating guideline loves them because they can contain heart-healthy fats that may also help decrease the risk of diabetes. But don't go nuts with the nuts, lots of fat in those little suckers, just a hand full please.

WEEKLY: Eat at least 2 Servings of fish every week. A salmon sandwich at lunch one day and some grilled fish for dinner a few days later will do it.

And there are so many tasty options to choose from. Cold-water ocean fish such as salmon, sardines, char, herring, mackerel and trout are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids which research shows may benefit your heart health.

Healthy eating guideline note: Got to watch the mercury in fish. It’s mind blowing that we’ve polluted the oceans to such and extent that we’re in this situation, but that’s the way it is. So go easy on shark, swordfish and fresh or frozen tuna. These fish are known to contain higher levels of mercury.

Limit your exposure to these fish and you limit your exposure to mercury.

Here’s something you may not know. Canned light tuna contains other species of tuna (such as skipjack, yellow fin, and tongol, which are relatively low in mercury). Canned light tuna also tends to be lower in cost compared to albacore tuna (higher in mercury).

OFTEN: Have beans, lentils and tofu. These meat alternatives are tasty, nutritious, low in fat, versatile, and easy on the budget. And who’s not on a budget these days.

ONCE A WEEK (if you must): Have some meat, but choose lean cuts and limit to once a week. Look for organic poultry with little or no added fat or salt. Always trim the fat from meats and remove the skin from poultry before cooking.

If you like luncheon or pre-packaged meats, think about starting to not like them. They’re pretty jam packed with chemicals and preservatives. But if you have to go there, our healthy eating guideline suggests picking ones that are lower in sodium (salt) and fat.

Adults should aim to eat 2-3 servings of meat, poultry, fish or one of the alternatives each day. Keep in mind that a serving of meat, poultry, fish or one of the alternatives (beans, lentils or tofu) is a bit smaller than the size of a deck of cards. Keep your proportions the right proportion if you want to lose that trailer you’re towing around.

DAILY: Choose lower-fat milk products (skim, 1% or 2% milk. Use 1% or 2% milk) instead of cream in your tea or coffee. If you don't drink milk, have a fortified soy beverage.

If you love yogurt, go for lower-fat or fat-free yogurt (read the labels, and watch the sugar content).

Stay away from the highly processed cheeses and go for the natural lower-fat varieties. And start using smaller amounts of grated cheese over dishes to add taste without adding too much fat. Our healthy eating guideline suggests keeping one serving of cheese to about the size of your thumb.

DAILY: Reduce saturated fat. Saturated fat is bad for your heart because it raises your blood cholesterol levels. That contributes to plaque that can build up and clog your arteries. This can lead to heart attack, and nobody wants that.

So start easing off the butter, hard stick margarine, lard and shortening, the stuff will not do your heart any favors.

And start to limit snack foods (I’d say eliminate, but it’s hard to go cold turkey). Because any snack foods such as chips, cookies and baked goods usually contain saturated fat as well many other artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. Our healthy eating guideline suggests start the process of substituting fresh fruit, veggies and nuts whenever you can.

DAILY: Avoid trans fat. Research is coming in that indicates trans fats may raise blood cholesterol levels even more than saturated fats. Yikes.

Trans fats are typically found in foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. This includes fried foods like; french fries, fried fish and chicken burgers. Basically cut back on fried anything.

Then you got the baked goods full of trans fat; such as donuts, cakes, muffins, pastries, waffles, pancakes and some crackers not to mention the many other processed foods such as oriental noodles, snack puddings, and liquid coffee whiteners.

Unfortunately there are lots more products chuck full of trans fat; like frozen meals, microwave popcorns, as well as hard margarines and shortening.

It’s up to you to spot the foods with this bad stuff in them, so use the Nutrition Facts table on food packages and check’em out. Choose trans fat free foods most often and steer clear of fried foods when eating out.

Daily: Start avoiding sugar, it’s hard, even when you actively trying. It’s everywhere in everything. But here’s a good way to start.

Avoid sodas or sweeten juice drinks. Switch to water all the time (or at least most of the time) and lose the calorie-free "diet" sodas, fruit punch, sweet tea or any other sugar-sweetened drink with the latest chemicals in them.

Stick with water, it’s the miracle liquid that helps flush out all the bad stuff from your system, so drink it. A lot.

DAILY: Forget about the fad diets. These diets just make you fat. They are unrealistic and you never stay on them. So you eventually just gain the weight back, and then some.

The only tried and true diet is the Mediterranean diet. I say tried and true because it’s been around and working for centuries, so if you feel you need a diet, give this one a shot. Besides, it’s really more of a lifestyle than a diet.

That's how many calories you should eat each day. Eat much less (like many fad diets) and your metabolism will shut down (body survival mode) and you'll gain any weight loss right back and then some when you eat again.

Remember, don’t try to take the healthy eating guideline and do them all at once. Take your time and make slow gradual changes that you can maintain long-term.

Build on your progress and try to introduce an additional food change to your diet every week. Before you know it, you won't even have to think about the healthy eating guideline, you'll be eating better, looking better and feeling better all on your own.

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