Hello again!
10 days til Christmas. Every year it feels like I am organized and ready until it gets close
enough to realize I still have too much to do in too little time!
But really all of that running around and being busy isn’t the best part of the holidays,
spending time together with our family and loved ones is. Which is why, in the spirit of giving
and sharing I am sharing something I am passionate about today: Cooking at home and a good
cookbook. Sure it makes sense as a nutrition coach that I would promote this, but I am truly
passionate about bringing meals back into the home and I love nothing more than a good
cookbook to read and get inspired. I enjoy sitting down to eat and bringing some mindfulness
into the way we feed ourselves. And I am passionate about everyone having the cooking skills
to make it happen easily.
Too many of us are running around, eating in our cars in a rush between things, and just not
feeling great. For many cooking has become a chore or an unattainable goal. It does not need
to be so. Research finds that people who eat home-cooked meals on a regular basis tend to be
happier and healthier and consume less sugar and processed food which can result in higher
energy levels and better mental health. Eating home-cooked meals five or more days a week
is even associated with longer life. Cooking for my family is an integral part of me caring for
them and me caring for myself. And if I am going to be completely honest, it is a way for me
to control what I eat and put in my body and that is something that is important to me.
You know the old saying, you can’t out-train a bad diet. You can’t spend 1 hour in the gym
working hard and not take care of yourself the other 23 hours and expect results. By preparing
your food at home, it lets you control the quality and quantity of your food intake better. And
it becomes easier to support your health goals.
Eating meals at home
* Contributes to a healthier diet
* Reduces calorie consumption. You’d be shocked to see the calories in a “healthy” salad at
most restaurants.
* Saves you money and time. Yes, I said time. We think cooking takes a lot but it truly doesn’t
have to, and having to go out for meals adds up to a lot more time over the course of the
week.
* Gives you more control over your diet. You can’t manage something you do not measure.
* Can foster more family time. My fave reason. I especially love it these days when I can nail
down my busy almost 18-year old daughter for a meal.
I love food, and I actually do love cooking, but I tend to run on limited time, especially during
the week. If I make a meal often it is simple, tasty and quick. These cookbooks are well loved
in my house and I am hoping they can become favourites in yours too. Just in time for the
holidays, get one more gift under the tree for yourself or gift it to the chef if your family!
Yum and Yummer by Greta Podleski (Anything by Greta and Janet Podleski is great! “Eat,
Shrink and Be Merry is almost 15 years old and I still cook from it).
Simple Dinners by Donna Hay. Again, anything she does is great, I have books from her that
are almost 20 years old.
Skinny Taste Fast and Slow by Gina Homolka (or any of her books)
Half Baked Harvest Recipes From my Barn in the Mountains by Tieghan Gerard. She is my
favourite follow on Instagram, her photos are beautiful and I get a ton of my meal inspirations
from her, her recipes are full of flavoured and can be customized really easily.
Oh, and since I like to treat myself too, I just picked up these two and I have a feeling they
will also become favourites in no time:
– Nothing Fancy, Unfussy Food for Having People Over by Alison Roman.
– Half-Baked Harvest Super Simple by Tieghan Gerard. Again she’s my fave, I had to.
Not into books? A magazine subscription can also be great, I love that recipes tend to follow
the seasons and you can stay inspired all year long, my food fave: Eating Well (previously
Cooking Light), Bon Appetit, Chatelaine and Canadian Living have great recipe sections too.
Bonus, all nutritional information is included with the recipes. That can become handy if you
decide to take your nutrition to the next level and count your macronutrients.
Happy Holidays!
Talk soon, and feel free to reach out anytime.
Annie 🙂
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