Oh man, how that simple question can so haunt us with anxiety, frustration, guilt and a zillion other feelings. 

I want to make cooking less frustrating by showing my examples of how to do it easier.  Plus, I might add, healthier and cheaper. 

It seems like today,  most people are too tired or too busy to cook… right?

I hear it ALL the time and the most common of all these verbal statements is “It’s only me” or “It’s only my husband and me, so why bother with cooking?”

Only second to hearing, “Are you actually serious about cooking dinner with our crazy schedules?”

I know, I know, as my life schedule is really crazy too on most days but…

The answer to those 2 questions is YES, it is essentially important to learn smarter cooking that is: 

1. HEALTHY
2. FAST
3. DELICIOUS

So who wouldn’t want to cook like this instead of grabbing fast food and eating on the run all the time?

Whether we want to admit it or not, when we are tired, stressed, and overwhelmed with daily life, knowing what to cook is our biggest obstacle. It is not that we do not want to be and eat healthier.  But so much of the time is the “what in tarnation am I going to eat and eat it now because I am exhausted and I am starving here already!”

Do you know that it takes us 30 days to learn a new habit? Well… learning how to cook healthier is no exception so it will not just happen by trying for a week and going back to those same old habits of grab and go eating. Be kind to yourself and give yourself a break with not giving up on learning a new habit as this is for sure exactly that… a new habit.

No pun intended but don’t try to eat the elephant in one bite. We are so hard on ourselves that if we mess up we often want to give up. Hang in there and keep on keeping on even if it means only one time a week there is no grab and eat. Instead schedule cooking at home a healthy, fast, and delicious meal. Then the next week go for cooking at home twice! 

There are a zillion sites out there on healthy cooking, zillions of books, and also zillions of TV shows with all kinds of information but still the dilemma remains for the millions of over worked and overwhelmed folks on any given night with “Whats for dinner?”

Why is this so hard to accomplish with all we know about the down fall of eating out routinely versus only eating out occasionally? 

Why does it often seem like  we have lost our way to find and achievie the ultimate  healthy lifestyle?  It could simply be because everyone else is doing the exact same thing as grab and eat or eating out… right? We are so justified and so much less guilty when we hear others agreeing with what we do whether it is healthy or not because everyone else is doing it too!

So how do we accomplish this new habit?

KEEP IT SIMPLE SISTER! 

It is so easy if we just keep a few simple and basic principles in our planning, buying and cooking.

Step #1 Decide what lean protein you will have like chicken, or lean beef, or fish, or for vegetarians, what meatless protein. 

I have cooked these meals myself and have taken pictures of the process for you!

Step #2 Add vegetables whether in a salad, or steamed or stir fry etc.

A variety of color is not only beautiful for pictures but adds tons of nutrients.

Step #3 If a carb is needed for certain dishes, always choose “not white” as in white flour, white rice, white pasta. Whole grain is the right choice 80% of the time. However, I am not convinced that white potatoes are like the devil himself since it is still from nature.

And speaking 80% of the time, again and again I will reinforce my living healthy philosophy in all of life. This is again, simply doing “my healthy thing” 80% of the time and my not so healthy the other 20%.  That means that 80% I am eating healthy and the other 20% I am having pizza, chips and dip, ice cream or whatever else my craving wants to splurge on.  And  for sure, I am going to savor and enjoy it to the max! 

Here are a few suggestions on where to find my simple, fast, healthy and delicious meal ideas!

1. Our Holiday Cookbook
2. My Pinterest Board
3. Cooking on my blog site

As my late Dad said over and over, “Without our health we have nothing.” It doesn’t matter the size of our bank account or the size of our home or what car we drive. Ask anyone with health issues, it may even be you, and I bet bottom dollar that you will agree with this statement.

It is defiantly a choice we make every day, every week, every month, and every year. WE choose what and how we eat. 

CHOOSE LIFE         CHOOSE HEALTH

This choice will determine the quality of your future years. Choose smart and watch the rewards happen because they surely will.. you’ll see. 

By the way, more tips on how to eat healthy but also my easy cooking philosphy  to come in my book “Design Smarts- Inspiration in Home + Life” coming out soon… stay tuned!

Be well age well,

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