There are so many questions when you wish to change how you are currently eating like:
- What kinds of foods should I buy?
- How much do I eat?
- When do I eat?
- Where do I start?
I had all of the same “getting started” questions as you when I first started with journey in 2015 (although I started making small changes since 2013). After reading the BulletProof Diet by Dave Asprey, I knew about the types of foods to eat, but I was still confused about how much to eat and when to eat. Then when I started the diet, the BIGGEST question became…How in the world am I going to be able to keep this up??
It was such hard work. All that cooking, learning, staying sane with a busy life and family. But I prevailed, stronger, wiser, leaner. I lost nearly 40 pounds since 2015 and my husband lost 60. None of that weight returned. And we didn’t count calories, eat bird-sized portions or have to exercise (although I stress that movement/exercise is absolutely necessary).
But you have a secret weapon. You have me. I’m here to be your guide on your real food journey. Switching from a mostly processed food diet to a real food diet can be easy as:
1, 2, 3…
~ Prepare, Prepare & Prepare ~
Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. See full Affiliate Disclosure for more details.
Step 1: Be Tool-Prepared
You MUST have the right tools to cook your real food meals. But not only that, you also need to have the right number of tools. Having one pot doesn’t do you much good when you need to cook several different foods that require the pot.
Link over to my list of the Essential Kitchen Must-Haves for your real food kitchen.
Step 2: Be Ingredient-Prepared
Shop in advance for the right products and ingredients for a week’s worth of cooking (or longer). A well-stocked pantry will serve you well, especially when you are in a rush.
Print my Personal Weekly Shopping List and keep it with you while grocery shopping to ensure that you don’t forget any key ingredients.
And while you are planning your meals, why not try out my favorite online resource, Thrive Market. Thrive Market is like Amazon + Costco + Whole Foods all rolled into one. I buy in bulk to so I can take advantage of their free shipping and normally save up to or over $100 on my food items that I used to buy at Whole Foods. You can give them a try for FREE for 30 days.
Step 3: Be Meal-Prepared
Precook your proteins, vegetables and starches in advance. Batch cooking helps to speed up meals and ensure that you will always have real food choices on hand.
For example, when baking chicken, don’t just cook for that one meal. Cook at least two batches of chicken that can be eaten for another meal later in the week or freeze a portion. Also, I cook several different types of vegetables and rotate them during different meals throughout the week.
Option 1: Meal Planning – Yourself
But in order to be “meal-prepared,” you will need to do some meal planning. For example, sketch out what meals you are going to cook in advance. Below is a quick sample of what your meals may look like. You will need to figure out how much of each item your family eats at every meal (lunch and dinner).
- Sunday — Beef (Roast), Vegetables (Greens, Broccoli), Starch (Rice or Sweet Potatoes)
- Monday — Fish (Salmon), Vegetables (Spinach, Squash), Starch (Rice or Sweet Potatoes)
- Tuesday — Poultry (Garlic Roasted Chicken), Vegetables (Cauliflower, Broccoli), Starch (Rice or Sweet Potatoes)
- Wednesday — Beef (Beef Patties and Eggs), Vegetables (Mixed Veggies, Green Beans), Starch (Rice or Sweet Potatoes)
- Thursday — Fish (Salmon), Vegetables (Baby Bok Choy, Cauliflower), Starch (Rice or Sweet Potatoes)
- Friday — Poultry (Green Onion Turkey Burgers), Vegetables (Peas, Green Beans), Starch (Rice or Sweet Potatoes)
- Saturday — Beef (Stir fry), Vegetables (Cauliflower, Broccoli), Starch (Rice or Sweet Potatoes)
Option 2: Meal Planning – With (Massive) Help…
If you want to make your life REALLY easy, check out the best meal planning tool that I’ve found yet. I use Real Plans to help me plan for my week with their endless options and customizable features all in an easy to use app.
My friends at RealPlans, have the absolute best meal planning tool for the real foodie. They offer ANY type of meal plan that fits your needs including:
- Ketogenic (low carb, high fat)
- Traditional (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free and GAPS)
- Paleo (Primal, Autoimmune Protocol)
- Vegetarian (Ovo-lacto)
For a mere few dollars a month, you will have access to over 1500 unique, delicious and customizable real food menu options via your computer or your smart device. It doesn’t get any easier than that! Take the guess work out of what’s for dinner and let RealPlans put spice back into your life!
RealPlans has:
- Personalized weekly meal plans
- Adjustable portion sizes
- Automatic shopping list
- Live Chat Support with Meal Planning Specialist
You can quickly access fresh, new ideas right at your fingertips. I frequently use the app to change up the foods that we eat to ensure that we don’t get burned out on the same ‘ole stuff (and it can and WILL happen). So I’m certain that you will love it too!
So what are you waiting on? Get Started Now!
Easy to follow steps…1, 2, 3 and your real food lifestyle will become a reality.
Have questions? Need more help putting the steps into action? Let me know. Drop me a note on my Contact Me page. I’m here to help answer any of your questions/concerns no matter how small.
Related Posts:
Pantry, Fridge and Freezer Essentials
This post contains affiliate links. See full Affiliate Disclosure for more details.
