5 Healthy Kitchen Hacks

The benefits of eating a whole foods diet and upping your nutrition after 50 are indisputable. However, one complaint we often hear is that it takes too much time and effort to put healthy meals together.

We get it! The aging parents that need attention…the constant influx of emails…the unending demands of managing a household, caring for kids and grandkids, or just wanting more time for yourself to do the things you enjoy!  

Like you, with our busy lives, we are always on the “hunt” for tricks and hacks that make eating healthy more doable. 

So many women we work with think eating healthy means excess time in the kitchen and complicated recipes. But what we have found is that when you incorporate these hacks into your day, it makes healthy eating SO much easier. Instead of relying on willpower, set up your environment for success. 

So whether you’re a newbie to eating in a healthier way or you know what to do but have struggled in the past, these 5 tricks are for you.

1). Think Green – Greens are important at this age–they have calcium and magnesium, benefitting the heart, brain and bones.

You can easily add greens to dishes such as chili, soup, stir fry and smoothies.

2). Put things up front so you eat what you see – You are what you eat and you eat what you see! Cut up veggies should be up front, for example, and put things away in hard to reach places that are unhealthy.

3). Ice cube trays – use these trays for more than just ice! This saves on food waste and also preserves leftovers. You can put tomato paste, avocado, coconut milk, herbs, broth, POM juice (herbs in olive oil or broth or water or combo) in these trays.

4). Use smoothies to their full advantage!

• Add supplements
• You do not have to just add greens; you can also add zucchini, white beans, beets and spices like ginger or turmeric.

5). Have 3-4 go-to simple sauce recipes to enhance flavor of any dish!

• Mayo mustard
• Toasted sesame oil and Tamari or coconut aminos
• Coconut milk (use cubes) and curry powder
• Olive oil, balsamic, basil

Setting up your environment for success is a huge part of what we cover in our 3-month simply nourished solutions program. What’s so amazing about this transformational program is that we address everything from the ground up – not only what to eat, but how to do it in a sustainable way. 

Women get regular access to us, tons of hand holding and accountability, and a way forward that teaches them how to stop the dieting cycle, lose weight and keep it off in a healthier, happier, and realistic way.

Also, here are some Nutrition Hacks! These will help you absorb nutrients and food more, leading to a healthier, happier life.

• Grind whole flax seeds in a coffee grinder
• Eat iron and Vitamin C together; for example, beans and tomatoes or dark chocolate with orange
• Cook carrots for more Vitamin A – it is hard to absorb vitamin A without cooking the food
• Eat veggies with enough fat, such as nuts, seeds, nut or seed butter, and avocado. Vitamins A, E and K are harder to absorb but are fat soluble
• Avoid coffee and tea with meals because they block iron absorption–stick to herbal or have the coffee or tea before meals
• Eat turmeric with black pepper (over 3000% more absorptive)
• Eat oats cold to get digestive benefits–cook oats and let cool overnight or enjoy overnight oats
• Cook tomatoes to absorb more antioxidants–there is more lycopene with cooked tomatoes – 
• Soak beans to reduce gas  and to make it easier to absorb minerals

To get the full scoop, watch the video below!