The 10 best healthy foods to kick-start your 2025

Our senior food editor’s pick of the must-try new products landing in the Foodhall this month. Get your new year off to a deliciously healthy start.

Senior Food Editor

Heather Taylor

How to eat more healthy foods this year

Want to get the year off to a good start, but not sure where to start? Whatever healthy eating looks like for you – whether it’s eating to support your brain health, being good to your gut, upping your protein or finding easy ways to make healthier choices when doing your weekly shop – M&S is the home of delicious, nutritious food.

Be inspired by these expert healthy eating hacks and better-for-you daily swaps, then discover the must-try new products that will make eating well as easy as it is delicious, for the new year and beyond.

See what's in store

1 Follow the Eat Well flower

Confused about conflicting messages and fleeting diet fads when it comes to healthy eating? Try choosing foods with our Eat Well flower on pack. We were one of the first retailers to include a trusted health shortcut on our packaging. “If we give a product the Eat Well flower, that means it has responsible levels of fat, salt and sugar, as well as a health benefit, which you can read about on the back of the pack,” says M&S Head of Nutrition, Sophia Linn.

Our Eat Well flower is only given to products – over 1800 of them across the Foodhall – which meet evidence-based nutrition criteria, endorsed by the British Nutrition Foundation. “There’s so much confusing information out there these days, whether it’s on Instagram or in the media,” adds Sophia. “So it’s good to have accredited nutritionists to cut through the noise.”

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2 Support your brain health daily

Make 2025 the year you eat to support your brain health. Our brains are complex organs, controlling how we think, feel, learn, remember and focus, and lots of factors can affect their health, from physical activity to sleep and – of course – diet. Created with nutrition criteria developed in consultation with the British Nutrition Foundation, our new Brain Food range champions six brain health-supporting nutrients that many of us lack in our diets: omega 3 (DHA), iron, zinc, iodine, folate, zinc, and vitamin B12. All M&S Brain Food products contain at least two of these nutrients, carry the M&S Eat Well flower health seal of approval, and taste amazing. Enjoy them as part of a healthy balanced diet.

Fancy some food for thought? Try adding the new M&S Brain Food Brain Ball to your daily routine. These delicious balls are made of dates and berries, filled with almond butter and packed with nutrients like iron, zinc and vitamin B12, which help keep your brain running smoothly.

More about Brain Food

3 Reboot your breakfast

Our new M&S Brain Food Super Seeded Granola is an irresistible mixture of apples, raisins, oats, puffed brown rice and barley flakes. It’s high in iron and zinc and a source of folate – all important to look after your brain health. It’s also high in fibre, has no added sugar, and carries the Eat Well seal of approval.

Try it loaded up with M&S Food Good Gut Vanilla Kefir and fresh fruit for a health-packed start to the day. Fancy something savoury? Try our Brain Food Smoked Salmon, Egg and Edamame Pot. This flavour-packed, grab-and-go breakfast is a source of folate and is high in omega 3 DHA, which is one of the top nutrients many of us lack when it comes to supporting brain health.

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4 Switch up your snacks

If you often reach for a sweet snack in the afternoon, try swapping out your usual tea and biscuits for our Brain Food Mixed Berry Bar. Packed with dates, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, it’s high in iron and vitamin B12 – these are key nutrients to support brain health, which many of us in the UK don't get enough of.

Healthier snacking, here

5 Supercharge your nut butter with seeds

Try adding a spoonful of M&S Brain Food Super Seeded Nut Butter to your morning smoothie. Bursting with hi-oleic peanuts, chia, pumpkin, sunflower and golden linseeds, it’s high in iron and zinc – two important nutrients to support brain health. Or use it to rustle up a speedy stir-fry sauce to serve with noodles and our new Plant Kitchen Smoky Veggie Sausages.

Go nuts

6 Add a gut-friendly sprinkle

“Our gut microbiome – the balance of good and bad bacteria in our digestive tracts – impacts our overall health in many ways, including our mood, metabolism and immune systems,” says M&S Senior Nutritionist Rebecca Brown. Eating to support your gut needn’t be complicated thanks to our Good Gut range. All products are made with ingredients to support your gut health – think oats, barley, golden linseeds, pumpkin and hemp seeds, plus kefir and live yogurt. Perfect breakfast fodder.

Looking for an easy way to be good to your gut? Try sprinkling our new 35+ Gut Booster Mega Mix over salads, grain bowls, soups, breakfast or stir-fries. A diverse blend of whole grains, proteins, legumes, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, spices and goji berries, this gut-loving mix is a source of calcium, rich in fibre, and contains over 35 types of plants.

Guide to gut health

7 Score plant points over lunch

A recent scientific study suggests that you should eat 30 different types of plants a week to help boost the diversity of your gut microbiome, leading to a happier gut. Get well on your way to your weekly plant point target with our Good Gut 35 Plants Salad with vibrant squash, lentils, kale, quinoa, seeds, Tenderstem broccoli, and a green tahini live yoghurt dressing. For extra gut-health benefits, this super salad contains 35 types of plants, packs in two of your five-a-day and carries our Food Eat Well health seal of approval.

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8 Try the mushrooms trend

We’re bringing the LA-inspired trend for marvellous mushrooms to the UK with the first own-label retailer range of mushroom drinks. The mushroom powders used in our new-and-exclusive YAY! Mushrooms range are verified by the scientists at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of the global experts on mushrooms and their qualities. Curious to give it a go? Try the trend for yourself and discover a new daily ritual with our new YAY! Mushrooms AM and PM Cold-Pressed Shots Duo.

Kick-start your morning with the AM: Bring the Zing shot with lion’s mane mushroom powder, ginger, apple, lime and ginseng, then round off the day with the PM: Absolutely Dreamy shot with cherry, coconut, reishi mushroom powder, chamomile and lavender.

More about mushrooms

9 Up your post-workout protein

“Protein is an important macronutrient, essential for the body’s repair and growth,” says M&S Head of Health and Nutrition Sophia. “If you love exercise, protein is your friend, because it helps with muscle recovery.” If you’re planning to get moving more this January, you’ll be pleased to know we’ve added even more high-in-protein, flavour-packed dishes and products to our bestselling High Protein range, which includes everything from creamy yoghurts to bagels and wraps.

Refuel after your exercise session with our High Protein Beef Brisket and Butter Beans. Made with succulent, 100% traceable British beef brisket in a rich tomato, butternut squash and butter bean sauce, it contains 33g protein per serving and features the M&S Eat Well flower. Or for an extra hit of veggies, try our High Protein Bang Bang Cauliflower.

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10 Cook up some nourishing new recipes

Make 2025 the year you try out some new recipes, whether that’s a vibrant buddha bowl to help you up your plant intake, a sizzling stir-fry for the family, or a high-protein breakfast that tastes totally irresistible. We have hundreds of healthy recipes available free online, and you can filter by dietary requirement, add ingredients to your own shopping list, and create personalised meal plans to help you plan ahead.

Try our January kick-start meal plan for five days’ of healthy, flavour-packed dinners to get your year off to a great start.

Healthy recipes

Published 12.27.2024