4 Ways to make eating healthy less miserable

It makes me so sad that people think eating healthy means eating bland, soulless food.

I get why though.

I’ve seen plenty of weight loss plans from personal trainers and weight loss clubs over the years and I would be miserable too. I mean who wants to eat

Boiled chicken or poached fish with salt-free seasoning and no butter
Plain brown rice
Steamed broccoli again with no butter and no flavor what so ever
Protein powder mixed with water
Tuna from a pouch with some carrots and a very small amount of hummus
Salad without dressing

day in and day out forever?
I know I don’t. I LOVE my food to have flavor. Flavor comes from fat, salt, and herbs and spices. I do not like choking down protein powders. I love dressing on my salads. I absolutely loathe being hungry all day long. LOATHE!

Losing weight, getting healthy, and staying healthy is a lifelong thing. Whatever you do has to be sustainable. That means you have to enjoy it, like it, and look forward to your next meal.

The big question is, how the heck do we do that?!

I’m so glad you asked! I’m sharing my secrets with you today.

How To Make Eating Well Enjoyable

#1 FLAVOR
Yes, I’m talking about this again. YOUR FOOD HAS TO TASTE GOOD! What gives food flavor? Another great question.

Fat
Salt
Herbs
Spices
Sauces

Combined with cooking methods. Roasted vegetables are sweeter and have a better texture than steamed or boiled. Meats taste good roasted, grilled, and cooked in a healthy fat in a skillet will always taste better than boiled and poached. Salt makes everything taste better. Herbs, spices, and sauces add variety to prevent food boredom.

A side convo about fats: I’m liberal with the healthy fats I cook my food in. Fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar, excessive calories, and lack of physical activity do. Fat makes you full and it makes your food taste good. Studies have shown consistently over the past 70 years that the more fats and fewer carbs you eat (no not keto, just skip the added sugars and limit grains to one meal per day) you eat 300-600 calories less per day without feeling hungry. Food with flavor AND eating less per day. Win-win!

#2 MAKE CHANGES SLOWLY
Unless you have some chronic condition you need to address ASAP, make changes slowly.

Start with making half of every meal vegetables and eating whatever you normally eat. Then find healthier versions of your favorite foods.
Replace soda and flavored beverages with water.
Buy another herb, spice, or sauce every time you go to the store
Try new recipes on the weekends

#3 LEARN ABOUT INGREDIENTS
One easy way to avoid foods that aren’t good for you is to learn what’s in them and how they impact your health beyond calories and nutrients. There’s some really nasty stuff added to food that causes

headaches and migraines
sinus congestion
acne
rashes
hormone imbalance
inflammation
pain
joint stiffness
brain fog
inability to focus
anxiety
and more

Knowing what’s in your food, and what the alternatives are, helps you make swaps easily and you won’t even miss the old stuff because you know how awful it is and makes you feel.

#4 REPLACE DON’T AVOID
If you take something away, you leave a void. Voids have to be filled. If you don’t replace your snacks or desserts, eventually you’ll go right back to what you ate before. Instead, find replacements. Love ice cream, make your own homemade fruit sorbet or low sugar homemade ice cream. Love chocolate? Replace them with berries and chocolate chips. Mindlessly eat chips while watching TV? Try jicama with lime juice and salt.

A PLAN TO GET YOU STARTED
My Meal Planning Made Easy Program gives you the jumpstart you need to learn how to shop, prep, and cook healthy along with giving you simple and quick recipes that are packed full of flavor. Instead of taking months or years to figure out strategies to eat well, you can have it down pat in 4 weeks. My plans can accommodate most food sensitivities, can easily substitute ingredients, and show you how to have variety without breaking the bank at the grocer.