FOOD FACT NO.2: APPLY FOOD FACT NO. 1
You might think I’m belabouring the point a bit here, but I’m afraid I don’t have much choice. For some reason, we all agree that processed foods are unhealthy, nod sensibly and then go buy another trolley’s worth of product X at Pick ‘n Pay/order another round of takeouts.
Why do we do this? A) It is convenient B) It is habit C) Everyone does it, so it must be okay.
I get it. I truly do. Almost all of my friends genuinely would like to live a healthier lifestyle, but it seems impossible. It’s like one of those unrealistic aspirations, like learning to solve a rubix cube or owning a yacht or marrying Lenny Kravitz (sorry, there might some private fantasy going on here). Not relying on those beautifully packaged, appealing, easy, addictively tasty convenience foods feels like such a huge, impossible shift. You kind of go ‘why bother?’.
Well, I’ll tell you why you should bother.
This isn’t Einstein’s theory of relativity, but it still applies: when you eat rubbish, you feel like rubbish – and you don’t look much better. I don’t think we truly make the connection between the food we eat and the way we look, feel and function. The short term fix of some easy, tasty factory ‘food’ compared to the long term feel-good (look-good) fix of real foods isn’t comparable.
We feel like we can dodge the bullets of our poor diets like the guy in the Matrix. We can’t. It is a sort of twisted delusional mass fantasy. Your diet will catch up to you. Things like diabetes, obesity and heart disease don’t just happen out of the blue. They are called ‘lifestyle diseases’ for a reason.
If (to be perfectly honest) your desire ‘to be healthy’ can be translated into a desire to loose the podge and look good in your birthday suit – that’s fine by me! I don’t really care what your motivation is – because for me being a sexy-looking lean machine and being healthy are two sides of the same coin. You work for one, you get the other. Bonus!
But you actually have to do it.
You need to accept that in order to get the nice things (looking good, feeling healthy, sharp, focused, energised etc), you have to let go of the seemingly-so-but-really-not-nice things. This is a choice. It is your choice. My job is not to make that choice for you. My job is to help make it as easy a shift as possible, and to help you make choices that are truly healthy (at the moment it can be so confusing)
So what can you take away?
Here’s an idea … with the budget you usually use to buy expensive takeaways, convenience meals (or even eating out), just for one week try a REAL FOOD experiment. I have put together a 5-day Monday to Friday plan that you can implement as a challenge. And if you feel good on it, you can use it as your new basic weekday structure. Let your work week consist of real, nutritious, beautiful foods – you will feel the difference!
Notes:
- The grocery list is based on 2 adults, but you can adjust to suit your own family size. Most store cupboard items will last a few weeks.
- Breakfasts are generally designed for one person, but you can make up a whole bunch at once and just increase measures per person. If you like, keep a few days worth prepared in the fridge.
- I’m a cook once, eat twice kind of gal, so the idea is to cook up enough of the chicken and mince (plus veg) to last two nights. Buy enough to cook in bulk!
- If you are LCHF, banting, paleo or ketogenic: omit potatoes & oats, favour more green veg over carb-rich butternut & carrots, go careful on the honey, and substitute berries for apples/bananas. (For strict paleo hacks there are dairy-free choices available). If you have have food intolerances, adapt according to your individual needs.
- Yes coconut oil and nuts are expensive, but they add quality and essential nourishment and enjoyment to your food. They also last a lot longer than a takeaway meal and if you compare the prices really aren’t impossible to include.
None of this is high cuisine – it is just very basic weeknight cooking. Yes, it does take some effort. But it’s the kind of effort that adds quality to your life. Play some good tunes, have a glass of wine (that is singular, not plural), and make it a feel-good factor at the end of the day. A quality life takes a little quality input. (Take a few minutes off social media each day and you will be surprised to how much time you have available).
Do not be scared to eat eggs, or have olive oil/coconut oil, or include natural animal fats with your meals. Fat is essential to health and does not make you fat. Sugar and excess carbohydrates make you fat. But more on that in my next post …
I hope you enjoyed reading this … and good luck with the challenge!!! If you’d like to read the next post too (why and how to quit sugar) please feel free to follow along with this blog. Please let me know if you took the plunge and how you got along 🙂
Salute!
PS
I am assuming you are looking for the cheapest, easiest and least time consuming fare possible. But if you have more time, money or energy at your disposal, you can upgrade along these lines:
- peanut butter – macadamia nut butter/other nut butters/tahini
- cheddar cheese – brie/camembert/cream cheese etc.
- cocoa powder – raw cacao powder
- choose free range eggs & chicken
- choose pasture fed (or organic) meat and dairy
- choose quality bacon/sausages (read labels for sugar and nasties)
- choose quality pastured butter to melt over just about anything
- add in duck fat from Woollies to use in cooking as alternative to coconut oil (amazingly healthy and delicious)
- biltong and droewors for snacks (check labels for any dodgy chemicals etc)
New Edition Health 
I’m in!!!! (ps – thanks for doing the legwork, Jilly-Jo!!)