Create Healthy Meals – Every Time!

What is “Perfect” 

Perfect meals allude to never enduring discomfort or difficult choices. A perfect day might look like living in California where the weather is always sunny and clear skies.  That kind of control is outside our wheelhouse.  Nothing is perfect.  So the perfect meal can be reframed as anti-perfection. Rather; good enough for now and better tomorrow.

Instead, consider the difference between better and perfect. 

Better is a life full of meaningful improvements, relative to you.  Your diet will change based on the spectrum of your evolving goals, needs and time frames.  When was the last time you raced to cut weight for a wedding, beach party or formal event? Slipping into the sexy new black dress?  

Your diet will change based on the spectrum of your evolving goals, needs and time frames.

As a professional trainer and coach, I can remember desperately wanting to cut weight for beach season.  Every May I started stressing over the winter weight, ultimately leading to anxiety.  

It flat out SUCKED!

Eventually, it would turn into a vicious cycle; Put on winter weight with an “ah fuck it” mentality, then crash diet for summer.  Worse yet it felt like the weight would rush back on with a vengeance the first day of beach season.  That first beer in the sun leading to the patio and bbq. Let’s be honest, It was over before it even started.  

I had reached my breaking point.

This poor behaviour and mindset had to stop. For the sake of myself and my clients. I needed to find a better system, routine to create a healthier body and a better lifestyle.  With a sobering approach, I dug into learning and found the answer.  

Figuring it all out

When it comes to nutrition for weight loss, having more energy and health, creating better meals – that you will consume – is a great behavioural habit to master.  Thus making and consuming better healthy meals need to be repped out as a small consistent practice over time.  It’s a secret in the secret sauce.  

First, discover how many meals a day you want to consume.  Then match in carbs, fats, proteins, fruits and veggies to each meal’s portion size. 

Question about portion sizes per meal? 
Yes! More on that later, in this blog. So be sure to stay tuned.  

To do that, find:

• How many meals do you want to eat? 
• How many you will eat on any given day? 
• What is the difference between the weekdays and weekends? 
• What is your lifestyle like around eating in restaurants, on the go and simply take out behaviours?.   

Keep collecting data, mastering the number of meals per day that help you feel full and satisfied. Do this consistently for a period of time.  

If you need or want more data to collect, find:

• What foods hinder your progress? 
• What foods help you feel full and then enjoy! (this isn’t a license to eat)
• What food do you love and is healthy for you?  

Some people love oreo cookies ( along with other “unhealthy” foods) and will never take them out of their diet.  

Good, DON’T! (yup a nutrition coach just said that)

Relying on them as you mindlessly overeat and binge-watch your favourite TV series probably isn’t a great idea.  Instead try to find where you can enjoy them, mindfully and minimally.   And if they become too much of a slippery slope, consider how much you value dropping a couple of extra pounds.  Ask yourself what’s the cost of getting lean?

5 tips for crafting healthy meals

OK here are 5 great tips to implement in creating healthy meals for ANY diet type.

Choose Your Ingredients….Choose your own adventure.

Do you follow a vegan, paleo, keto, high/low carb or fat diet?  Great, I am not going to talk you out or into any of these.  Let’s work together and find what your macro/micronutrients will be right for your specific needs, wants and lifestyle.  Generally speaking to all the different diet types, first look at: 

• Proteins, 
• Carbohydrates,
• Fats, 
• Veggies & Fruits. 

Based on your dietary style you will need to make adjustments as necessary.  Need help with finding your specific adjustments and requirements?  Contact me to set up a coaching session, I am here to help.  For those who don’t need help, plugin what you need and away we go to the next step.

Portion Sizes Matter!

I am a fan of easy and simple.  Life is busy and you have other responsibilities.  

Our hands will provide all the information needed!  Our hands being the unique difference in size between us, and we can use them to best understand our portion amounts.  Here are a couple of guidelines. 

Too much or too little food for either? 

No problem.  These guidelines are scalable based on different goals, age, activity level, and more!

Spices, Aromatics & Garnishes

Here is where worlds collide as flavours come to life. Travel the world with your taste buds.  Keep the adventure exciting while free of boring.  

Already have favourite spices and mixes? Great, use them and enjoy.

If you are curious and want to venture a list of 36 countries and unique recipes from each, here is a great article to bookmark and explore.  Your taste buds will be sure to thrive, as the 4 hours chef, Tim Farris and his collaborators set out the path for culinary exploration.

Cook It!

Don’t be scared to poke, prod and burn.  Learning to cook takes time and experience.  Self-compassion goes a long way.  Play scientists and collect data to better understand how to saute, sear, roast, bbq, smoke and with high to low low heat sources.   

Most grains such as rice, quinoa and oats come with cooking instructions to help you along.  Meats and proteins take a little more trial and error.  But again enjoy the process and collect the information.  Just because one chef does something one way, it doesn’t mean it’s the only way.  

Veggies can be tricky to execute techniques like sautéing.  Add a dash of oil for sweetness and texture to onions alongside green vegetables on a low to medium heat.  Drop-in cloves of garlic with the husk on while protein is cooking will make a delicious garlic mash.  

Remember those spices? sprinkle on a little salt, pepper or chilli flakes to any raw vegetables and you’ve kicked it up a notch.  Grate fresh Parmesan cheese for depth, flavour and enjoyment.

Plate It 

The easiest task of all.  For now, simply plate your healthy meals.  Sprinkle the chopped herbs and spices to make it visually appealing.  

We first eat with our eyes. Making it look pretty is in your hands.  Ugly delicious is still delicious.

I like to use a S.A.M. technique in creating an enjoyable dining experience for my loved ones.  This acronym stands for;

S – sprinkle on the herbs like parsley, basil, garlic or salt and pepper

A – atmosphere, dim the lights, spark a candle or two and keep a clean space around the table.

M – Music is a listening experience enjoyed by our ears. Complementing our eyes and taste buds for optimal pleasure.  BBQ time? Try some upbeat country music. Pasta and Meatballs? Why not a little Sinatra.

Bonus Tip

Exercise or simply move.  Start slow and small, build your way up and enjoy the movement that you are doing.  If hitting the weights isn’t your thing, maybe playing recreational sports, hiking in nature or simply finding the time to “play” in a park with loved ones is something you are more comfortable with.  Before you know it you may find a new passion or hobby.  

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