Nutrition is one of the most powerful foundations of health. What we put into our bodies has a major influence on how we feel today-and what our future looks like.
For better or worse, our world is built around convenience. Chips, microwave meals, takeout, drive-through coffee, and packaged snacks are everywhere, and they’re often easier than cooking at home. I understand this because I’ve been there myself. But when convenience foods become the main part of our diet, there are consequences. These don’t always show up right away. Instead, they appear slowly as low energy, blood sugar swings, inflammation, and for some, even chronic disease. Eating Kraft Dinner once in a while is totally fine. I’m not here to tell you to avoid it. But if your typical week is Kraft Dinner one night, pizza the next, Hamburger Helper after that, and Mr. Noodles the following night (which was basically my dinner routine in my 20s), you might be quietly wearing down your health.
I know that access and affordability are real concerns for people. Still, many of us do have a choice. A choice between greasy takeout 4x a week or meal prep and a home-cooked meal. There’s also a great debate on whether grass-fed meats, organic fruit and veggies, and farm-fresh eggs are the optimal option. And they absolutely can be, but they aren’t the only option. Let me put things in perspective a little: an apple, organic or not, is better for you than an apple-flavoured Nutrigrain bar. I once heard on a podcast about someone who chose a smaller house and car and cut back on extras so he could buy quality food for his family. That story really stayed with me.
The internet has over complicated food. All of a sudden eating real food is considered dieting and saying foods are bad for our health is shameful. Which I find so frustrating. And context here is important. For example, A cheeseburger every once in a while isn’t the problem. A steady diet built around ultra-processed foods is. And too many ultra-processed foods are, in fact, bad for your health…yup I went there, I used the word bad as it relates it food.
Unfortunately, all of the processed foods we’ve been eating have completely changed our palates, and we now crave them and forget what real food tastes like. The funny thing is, when real food becomes the norm, your palate shifts. Cravings change. Balance feels easier. I remember last Halloween eating an Aero bar and thinking how gross it was. I could taste the chemicals in it.
My motto for the past few years has been 80/20. 80% REAL food and 20% whatever the hell I want. Actually, it’s more like 90/10 these days. I’m not here to tell you to be perfect. Perfection isn’t the goal. I don’t think there’s one perfect diet for everyone. We’re all different and can thrive on different foods. But I do believe everyone benefits from eating more real food and cooking more at home. Meal prep can make a big difference, especially when life gets busy. Spending an hour a week on meal prep can save you from ordering greasy takeout several times a week which in turn benefits your long term health.
In my practice, I often heard people say they didn’t have time to cook or meal prep, but they would then proceed to ask me about the latest health trends they were seeing on TikTok or Instagram. So here’s my question: How much time do you spend on social media? Could you use some of that time for meal prep instead?
I often wonder how our medical system might change if prevention was a bigger part of daily conversations. What if we talked about diet, exercise, sunlight, and stress reduction as much as we talk about medication? The ozempic commercials and everything sponsored by ozempic is getting out of control (in my opinion). And it’s not that doctors aren’t doing their jobs—they absolutely are. They work hard and save lives. I have a lot of respect for them, and modern medicine is pretty amazing. I just wish we talked more about prevention. I also wish naturopaths and medical doctors would team up more often, but that’s a topic for another day.
What I’ve learned over the years is that health isn’t built from one dramatic overhaul or one 6 week get skinny program. It’s built overtime. Small consistent choices. And majority of those choices happen at the dinner table.
Keeping it real,
Liz
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