Simplify Your Meals

If you are part of my community you might already know: “We are moving.” Actually, we are relocating. (This adds a whole other layer of stress in my opinion.) I can’t tell you how many times during this process of “going-through-stuff” the word “simplify” crosses my mind.

If we had less stuff, we would have less things to take care of. Taking care of the stuff is taking time and energy. Less stuff = more time = more energy. Easy! (Moving forward I will be very careful what I let into our new home. Very few things. That’s my goal, but that’s a topic for another time.)

How does this relate to meals? Let me explain:

We have been introduced to more diets and types of eating than we can count on both hands in our lifetime. It seems as if there is a new fad to learn about every few months. Is this time "the one" for us? The truth is these diets often cause stress and set us up for failure. That's precisely why they never pan out the way we hope.

There's a silver lining, though -- it's actually way easier than we are making it to be. The results we're looking for come when we simplify our eating habits and focus on fueling our bodies with nutrient-dense foods that make us feel good. After all: Food is medicine.

Here are five tips for simplifying your eating habits:

Eat more raw, whole foods.

Eating more food in its most natural state is a great way to cut time and stress from our mealtimes. For example, grab a piece of fruit on the way out the door instead of breakfast from the coffee shop. Add some fresh veggies as a side at lunch instead of packing chips. Toss everything in a bowl to create a big salad for dinner instead of a complicated recipe or take-out.

Look for simple ingredient lists.

There's a reason the Whole30 diet gained so much popularity, and it's because it really opened our eyes to how many chemicals, additives, and fillers we eat each day. Put an emphasis on reading labels and choosing foods that only include ingredients we know (and can pronounce). This is a simple way to make better choices at the grocery store.

Figure out your staples.

Everyone has staple foods and favorite meals. By identifying what we love to eat, it's easier to keep those healthy items in the rotation, either as snacks, pantry items, or meals that we plan each week.

Reevaluate how you're supplementing.

You may have a protein shake every day, without fail. But do you really enjoy it? It probably has just become a habit. That protein powder likely has many ingredients that can be good, but equally as many that aren't so great. Perhaps you'd actually rather eat your protein each day because a well-rounded dinner is way more fulfilling than a shake on the go. Check in with your habits and decide what works best for your life.

Declare an end to the day.

By choosing a specific time each day when we know dinner is over, we allow our body time to digest everything that we have enjoyed before heading to bed. This allows us to sleep better and keeps us from gaining unnecessary weight. It also limits things like acid reflux flare-ups. (so uncomfortable…)

I have found that these habits begin to come naturally after practicing them for a couple of weeks. It may take a few more minutes to prep raw food or check labels while shopping, but once you get into the swing of things, you'll be saving yourself time overall by paring down and simplifying as much as possible.

I currently look to simplify wherever I can. I’m curious to hear where you had success with “less”. Join the conversation in my Facebook Community here.