Do you find yourself falling of the wagon on your healthy cooking efforts? Even worst, do you THINK you are eating healthy but don’t seem to feel the difference? Are you stuck on a weight plateau, still feeling depleted and can’t keep it up ? And are your recipes not impacting the health of your skin, digestion, hormones and general cravings ? Maybe you are making some mistakes.
Here are two of the most common mistakes with their solution. PLUS a tasty recipe for a bonus at the end of the message just cause I love you
Healthy Cooking Mistake #1: Trying to many new and complicated recipes
Solutions: Stick to the classics.
They are called classics for a reason. They have survived the test of time and they are solid
Pick 3 classics that you enjoy and add nutrition to them. Here are some ideas
- Swap vegetable oil or butter with coconut oil
- Use Himalayan salt instead of regular salt
- Swap vinegar for Raw apple cider vinegar
- Upgrade your salad greens to darker one like kale (maybe start 50/50)
- Add Turmeric to everything
- Swap all refined (aka white) grains to whole grains, or even better upgrade to pseudo grains like quinoa for gut health. Gluten free is a plus for your gut here.
- Bring all your recipes to a minimum of 5 vegetables for a total of 2 cups per serving – easy ones to add are carrots, celery, peppers and spinach. They go with everything!!!
Healthy Cooking Mistake #2: Not Scheduling time to write your plan, shopping list and make other preparations
Solution: Block time for pre-cooking activities in your calendar.
I tell people “if you are not in my calendar you don’t exist”. I know it sounds harsh but in a world where we’re pulled in every direction, and we have a million things in our to do list, using your smart phone or paper agenda is key. If you have avoided doing this you’re inflicting unnecessary pain and stress to yourself, not to mention the mental energy that is wasted trying to keep it all in your head.
Also, remember that cooking is not the only action required…So you blocked an hour to cook on Sunday. Now what? Think about what needs to happen before you cook, otherwise that hour will not be productive. Follow these steps to avoid this mistake:
- Schedule one hour a week or every two weeks to select the meals you are going to make, check you fridge and pantry and create your grocery list (you can eat the same thing two weeks on a road and you won’t die)
- Pick the day and time you’ll go grocery shopping. I recommend this to be a different day than the day you cook if you can, so you’re not so tired at the end of it all.
- Keep these times and days consistent every week or bi-weekly. Only by being consistent can you create a habit and let go of the anxiety the comes from starting new things. For example. Write your plan and go grocery shopping on Saturday from 9am to 11:00am (include the driving time when you plan). Cook on Sunday from 10am to 12pm.
Want to learn how to do this without overwhelm? My Stress Free Cooking Club will teach you! It is a mentorship club where you can learn to cook healthy without overwhelm, step by step and with full plant based recipe plans, coaching circles, cooking video classes and more ❤️❤️
IN THIS MONTH’S PLAN: You can learn how to make gluten free mushroom veggie pizzas. Yummy! Get all the details and join HERE
What can you get from joining?
- Find smart ways to decide what recipes should be part of your stress free weekly plan and which ones are a waste of time
- Buy convenient ingredients that are in my health coach approved list so you can make dinner in 15 minutes
- Meet new friends and attend online cooking classes, health coaching circles and more!
- Learn new super fast preparations that can make you dinner in a NY minute
- Finally get organized around food shopping, making time and saving money.
- Try new foods and change your taste buds, training them to like healthy foods (yes, you can do that!)
- Change your mindset to have a calmer mind and emotions around food.
- Create more energy by eating the right things and supplementing adequately for gut & adrenal health.
- Maximize the time you spend in the kitchen by getting more out of your prep
- Start a planning & batch cooking routine that does not overwhelm you.
- Pus get discounted pricing on personal coaching sessions and many of my online programs!
Get the scoop about my New online mentorship the “Stress Free Clean Cooking Club” HERE 🙂
Are you more visual? Watch this facebook live video where I tell you the gifts I have for you is you join by this Sunday
And here is your Bonus recipe so you can pack lunch this week:
GRAPEFRUIT AND AVOCADO SALAD
Serves 2
- 2 grapefruits
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or stevia
- Himalayan salt and black pepper to taste
- 5 cups arugula
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 3 tablespoons of hemp seeds
Peel the grapefruits. Separate the segments and remove the membrane. This is a juicy process, so do it over a bowl to collect your grapefruit juice. Separate the segments from the juice. Whisk together grapefruit juice, olive oil, maple, salt and pepper. Place grapefruit segments in dressing. Let stand for 5 minutes. Next, place arugula in a large salad bowl. Top with sliced avocado, hemp seeds, and grapefruit dressing.
XO,
Maria Marcano!
