6 Kitchen Tips to Simplify Your Health Routine

If there’s one thing I would recommend to anyone looking to build sustainable health habits, it’s to simplify your routine. While health is a daily practice, it certainly does not mean that you have to spend tons of time in the kitchen. We’ve all been there. Spending your day thinking about what you’re going to do for dinner, running to the grocery store on weeknights to get supplies, or just choosing convenience and ordering takeout. It’s exhausting and takes up unnecessary energy in our week when we could be spending it unwinding and giving ourselves a mental break before another busy day comes along.

My motto, always: Live Healthy, Simply.

Here are some simple ways that you can make your life easier in the kitchen, and it just takes a little bit of planning and practice for you to really experience the benefits.

1. Meal plan

I can’t stress this enough. Having a plan (at least a loose one) will ease your mind and take the pressure off you knowing you’ve got that part of your day covered. Pick mostly staple meals (I’ll cover that next), factoring in a new recipe you’ve been wanting to try or a night out that’s already been planned.

If you need something to help guide you with meal planning, I love this planner that has all the info you need in one place like cooking conversions, a seasonal produce list, and a guide to cooking all sorts of grains and legumes. Highly recommend!

Some tips to meal planning:

1. If the idea of planning every meal overwhelms you, start with dinners. I find that most of us have our go-to breakfast options and lunches can be leftovers from the night or two before. Or, if you know you have a favorite healthy to-go option for lunch that works for your routine, factor that in 1-2x per week and eat leftovers for the rest of the week if it makes your life easier.
2. Make a list of what you’ll need (I love this one that has a breakout by category) and use that as your guide at the grocery store. Make sure you include your basics like eggs, bread, coffee, etc. It’s a much more efficient way to shop and ensures that you’re not left buying food that you have no idea what to make with it. It’s okay to add a few one-off ingredients to your cart, but try to keep it minimal to avoid overspending on unnecessary items.
3. Be flexible. Sometimes you just don’t feel like that meal you’ve picked that day, so swap it with a different day. It’s ok if plans change!

2. Know your staples

Do yourself a favor and don’t be overwhelmed by a making a new recipe every day of the week. Pick 1-2 max. If you end up liking it and it’s simple enough to make, add that a rotation of staples that you know you like and are easy to cook. Some examples might be:

• 30-minute curry — buy a curry paste or powder, add a few veggies of choice, top with quinoa or rice
• Veggie stir fry with a protein of choice — use any combination of veggies (frozen or fresh) and keep the sauce simple
• One-pan roasted veggies with salmon
• Tacos
• Brown rice, lentil, or chickpea pasta with steamed broccoli and chicken (red sauce, pesto, lemon sauce, any combo!)

3. Take advantage of leftovers

I can’t think of a better way to make life in the kitchen easier than leftovers. Cooking extra dinners to yield leftovers for at least 1-2 more meals is such a time saver and it eliminates having to think of another meal to make or going out to buy something just because you have no idea what to eat. If you have a favorite lunch option that you know contains healthy options and you prefer to incorporate that into your lunch routine, great! But make that decision intentional and not out of desperation. Plus, you’ll save money, I promise. I love sweetgreen salads, but spending $12-15 on a salad every day was not going to work for my budget.

Or, repurpose ingredients from a meal into something else (i.e., roasted potatoes as a side for dinner becomes a great combo with scrambled eggs for breakfast).

4. Meal prep/batch cook versatile ingredients

While it may take 1-2 hours of your time on a weekend (or whatever day works best in your schedule), meal prepping is such a time saver during the week.

How to figure out what to prep:

Scan your meal plan for the week. Are there any items you can prep ahead? Wash your produce, chop/dice and store in glass airtight containers. Make a batch of quinoa for your grain bowl you have planned. Chop your kale so that it’s ready to go for an easy salad. Prepare any proteins ahead of time. If there’s a sauce that you’re using in a meal, make that.

When you’re unsure of what to prep, I always recommend preparing a few basics that can be used with almost any meal:

1. Protein source — shredded chicken, ground beef, hard-boiled eggs, lentils, canned beans
2. Grain — quinoa, farro, brown rice, cous cous
3. Roasted vegetable that takes longer than 30 minutes — squash, potatoes, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or any other starchy vegetable
4. Sauce or dressing – a big batch of a simple tahini lemon sauce or salad dressing
5. Snack – chopped veggies (cucumbers, carrots, peppers, celery), hard-boiled eggs, easy trail mix
6. On-the-go breakfast (optional) – egg cups, overnight oats, chia pudding

In total this will likely take about 1.5-2 hours of your time but save at least that and more when all you want to do is end the night with ease!

5. Stock your pantry

There are some pantry items that can be used for almost anything. Keep these on hand and when in doubt, get creative with what’s available to you. Some staples I always make sure I have:

Easiest way I stock my pantry? Thrive Market. Bulk stores like Costco or Sam’s Club would be great too.

I used to shop week by week at the grocery store for these items, but now I use Thrive Market and I have to say it has been a life changer. If you’ve never heard of Thrive, it’s an online marketplace that sells healthy food, household, and beauty products at wholesale prices. You pay a membership fee (currently $60/year) that gives you access to tons of products. However, you make up the cost of the membership fee when you factor in how much you save with each order. I’ve ordered 4x since joining and my lifetime savings are already at $450!

Once you build your cart, you can sign up for auto-shipments and make any changes you’d like in terms of cadence, products, etc. Highly recommend if you have storage space in your house. I place orders every 4-6 weeks, but you can order as often as you’d like.

If you are interested and want 25% off your first order, you can use my referral link!

*this is not affiliated with Thrive Market, I just like to share my honest opinions about products and services I truly love!

6. Opt for convenience when necessary

I get it, we’re all busy and the kitchen is not where we all like to spend our time. When we’re trying to change our habits it’s important to remember that we all have different schedules and priorities, and we just simply may not have the time to do everything we want to.

Fortunately, there’s so many ways you can choose simpler ways to prepare your meals.

Some examples include…

• Buy a rotisserie chicken for the week and shred it as part of meal prep or buy canned tuna or salmon as quick protein options
• Don’t underestimate frozen veggies or grains. They are cheap and require minimal effort to make. I usually just steam and lightly sauté mine and cook the grains according to the instructions. Trader Joe’s has great options.
• Buy pre-cut lettuce and veggies if you really feel short on time.
• Find your favorite store-bought dressings/sauces/condiments and stock up on a few of those. I like Tessmae’s, The New Primal, Siete Foods, and Primal Kitchen.

As with all packaged foods, just remember to read the label! Avoid a long list of ingredients, ingredients you can’t pronounce, and heavily processed inflammatory oils such as canola (aka rapeseed), soybean, vegetable, cottonseed, or corn oil.

I hope you found this helpful!

xx,

Rachel