How to Eat Better to Live Better
Forbidden rice and arugula salad
Eating delicious, nutritious foods is key to living well. But, there are challenges to eating well consistently. We’ll look at some of those challenges and some tips on how to overcome them.
Challenge: Not enough time for home cooked, healthy meals.
Start collecting one dish meal recipes that only take a half hour to make. Aim for getting at least 10 go-to recipes which will take you through a typical month. Your list could include tacos, soups, stir fry, salads as meals, roasted vegetables, and gourmet sandwiches. Use your imagination and swap out ingredients. Another way to cut meal prep time is to use an Instant Pot or slow cooker. You can toss everything into the pot, walk away and your one dish meal is ready when you’re ready to eat.
Challenge: Not enough energy for home cooked, healthy meals.
Eating out or eating pre-processed foods may seem convenient, but can lower our energy level in the long run. Home cooking is the best way to get the variety, nutrition, and minimally processed foods to boost energy naturally. If you need help, make a standing date with friends to cook together once a week or once a month. If you prefer solo cooking, experiment with new foods, like kohlrabi, once a week. Have some fun with it and it’ll energize the desire to cook. Home cooking can boost energy and can add more fun to your life. It’s one of those things that gives you more energy if you put more energy into it.
Challenge: Higher quality foods can be expensive.
What is good health worth? Quality food is an investment in health, just like a gym membership or supplements. It may be even more beneficial than the gym membership, especially if you hardly ever go to the gym. Long term lack of proper nutrition can lead to health issues and mood problems. On the other hand, sometimes, when people upgrade their nutrition, they improve their health so much they don’t need the expensive medications (with a doctor’s support of course). Good food is the foundation of a good life.
Challenge: There’s a tsunami of information about nutrition and it’s hard to know exactly what to eat.
Is a vegan diet good for you or not? Is paleo good for you or not? There are always new trends and new information coming out about diets, certain foods, and what’s healthy and what’s harmful. Here’s the bottom line; it’s the overall eating pattern that really matters and everyone has different needs. Studies show that there are common threads among the healthiest people’s diets. They emphasize vegetables and fruits, getting a wide variety of them, adding healthy fats, and whole grains. They also avoid highly processed foods, sugar, and trans fats, which means cooking at home. Stress less about your diet by sticking to the basics.
