5 Ingredients You Need In Your Kitchen To Eat Healthy

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One of the biggest keys to eating healthy in 2019 is simply cooking for yourself. This way you have total control over what goes into your meal. It is good for your body and your wallet.

Ideally each meal will contain protein, vegetables, and smart carbs. If you've read those, or other past #NutritionTipTuesday posts, you already know there’s all sorts of options in each of these “food groups”!

Whether your protein is chicken, beef, or fish; whether your vegetables are asparagus, brussel sprouts, or broccoli; whether your smart carbs are potatoes, lentils, or brown rice, you’re going to want to keep the following 5 things on hand when cooking for yourself:

  • Olive Oil
  • Garlic
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Lemon

On the grill, stove, or in the oven, when you’re cooking real food, those 5 staples will take you FAR! They can literally be all you need (in a lot of cases), but the internet is filled with all sorts of fun recipes to spice things up with other seasonings.

It’s weird because in 2019, it’s as hard as ever to eat healthy with the amount of delicious tastes and smells out there, combined with the marketing and convenience of so much of those not-so-healthy options. I fully understand that angle.

It’s also the easiest time ever to Google [“easy” + whatever protein/vegetable/smart carb you feel like + “recipe”]. If you’re serious about eating healthier, cooking real food for yourself is a skill worth developing. With the convenience of the internet and grocery stores, plus the 5 staples listed above, you can accomplish A LOT!

Down With The Fitness is here to give you simple, actionable tips that will improve your health. If you found this helpful, feel free to check out the archives for more. I'm pretty proud of the rabbit hole this thing has become.
If you have any questions or comments, you can get direct access to me in the Down With The Fitness Facebook Group. It's also the most algorithm-proof way to make sure you see future posts!

Have fun and do your best,

Matt Koch

Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach (American Council on Exercise; Precision Nutrition)