Cooking healthy meals is easier than you might think, and you don’t need to follow complicated recipes or learn complex methods. Check out these easy ways I cook healthy meals as a busy mom to 3, 3 and under!
From Overwhelmed to Confident
When my husband and I decided to get serious about how we ate, cooking healthy meals seemed so overwhelming. There were so many things to learn and do, and it felt like it was just too much.
However, I quickly discovered that healthy meals are not nearly as complicated as they may seem. In fact, it’s often more about what you’re not doing than what you’re doing.
In many ways, the way I cook today is simpler than ever, but I’ve never felt more confident that I’m nourishing my family well. Wherever you are on your journey, healthy cooking can be simple, enjoyable, and practical for everyday life.
Swap Your Ingredients
1. Use Good Oils
Seed oils are some of the most commonly used fats in America, but there are much healthier options that taste just as good (maybe even better)!
Coconut oil – Great alternative to dairy-free butter!
Avocado oil – With a high smoke point and a neutral flavor, it’s great for high heat cooking or baking.
Olive oil – Has a rich flavor that compliments many savory foods such as meat and vegetables.
Grassfed butter – Best used at lower heats to avoid burning.
2. Buy Farm-Fresh Ingredients
Most of the time, locally raised or grown food is so much higher in quality than the store-bought alternatives, and it’s one of the best ways to cook healthier meals. You can often visit the farm to see how the produce or animals are raised or at least talk to the person who runs it.
Also, the food hasn’t been unnecessarily processed or stored for long periods of time which often reduces the nutritional value. Farm-fresh food usually tastes much better too!
While your first thought might be that this would be too expensive, that’s not necessarily the case. Sometimes, farmers just don’t want to waste their excess so they’re willing to sell it at amazing prices!
I’ve even gotten local eggs for cheaper than the lowest quality eggs Costco sells. You can also often buy in bulk to reduce prices even further.
If you’re not sure where to start with sourcing fresh ingredients, visit your local farmer’s market and talk to people there. Chances are you’ll make some great connections!
You can also talk to others in your community and see if they know of any good farms or individuals to buy from. Finding fresh food is more work in the beginning, but the quality of your cooking will improve so much in the long-term!
3. Swap Your Spices
Dried herbs and spices are a wonderful, healthy way to add delicious flavor to any dish!
The problem is that many contain unnecessary fillers, anti-caking agents, and other additives. What’s worse is that these ingredients are often not even listed on the label!
To avoid this, buy fresh spices from quality sources. To save money and guarantee quality, I like buying herbs and spices in bulk from Azure Standard or Mountain Rose Herbs.
If you’re looking for a good place to buy quality ingredients, check out my review of Azure Standard!
Meal Plan
4. Center Meals around a Meat & Vegetable
Simple meals are often the easiest and healthiest! Focus on creating meals primarily made up of meat and vegetables.
While bread and other sides are delicious, consider them a bonus that doesn’t need to be a part of every single meal.
5. Make Recipes that Use Minimally-Processed Ingredients
Unprocessed food almost always has many health benefits! On the other hand, processed food usually contains lots of additives, preservatives, colors, and other unhealthy ingredients.
There are so many options for minimally-processed ingredients and using them is a great way to cook healthier meals. Here are some of my favorite minimally-processed ingredients:
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Unprocessed cuts of meat and fish
- Canned tomatoes (diced, sauce, paste, etc.)
- Quality dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.)
- Dry beans (I prefer to sprout dry beans before cooking with them)
Reduce Sugar Intake
6. Drink Water
Water is so much healthier than soda or juice! If you’re not a fan of plain water, try squeezing some lemon or lime juice into it or infusing it with fruit and/or vegetables.
7. Use Natural Sweeteners
While some alternative sweeteners are even worse for you than sugar, there are still some great options! You can use alternative sweeteners in cooking, baking, or even in drinks such as tea or coffee.
Here is a comprehensive list of the best natural sweeteners to make healthy eating easier than ever!
Maple syrup – The maple flavor adds a wonderful depth to certain dishes and baked goods. Since it’s a liquid, you won’t be able to completely substitute it for regular sugar, but you can often substitute it for 1/4 of the amount of regular sugar.
Honey – It’s best to avoid cooking with honey, so I prefer using it to sweeten teas and condiments.
Coconut sugar – This is my favorite granulated sugar alternative, and it can often be used as a 1:1 substitute for regular sugar or brown sugar. Keep in mind that it does have a caramel-like flavor which can impact the taste of certain recipes.
8. Enjoy Fruit-Based Desserts
Often much lower in processed sugar and full of great nutrition, fruit-based desserts are a wonderful alternative to sweets such as cookies or cake. There are so many delicious healthy dessert options from cobblers to pies!
For an even simpler, healthier dessert, you can just serve yogurt with fruit! (My kids love frozen yogurt bark too!)
Use Non-Toxic Tools
9. Replace Nonstick Skillets
No matter how careful you are about avoiding scratches, the chemicals in the coating on traditional nonstick skillets will leach into your food. These chemicals are part of the chemical group PFAS and have been linked to numerous health issues including cancer.
Since even the coating on healthier versions of nonstick pans will eventually come off into food, one of the best replacements is a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. While it won’t ever be quite as nonstick as a traditional nonstick skillet, if it’s been taken care of, it’ll get pretty close!
10. Switch Your Cooking & Baking Utensils
Stainless steel, wooden, or silicone utensils are a much healthier (and longer lasting) choice than plastic. Even if plastic is BPA free, the alternative chemicals used in plastics have still been shown to be unsafe. One of the primary BPA alternatives, BPS, is a known endocrine disrupter and can cause issues with the nervous system.
11. Get Rid of Plastic Cutting Boards
If you have plastic cutting boards, take a close look at them. Even if they’re fairly new, you’ll likely see numerous scratches with tiny slivers of plastic that look like they’re about to come off – probably into your food!
Wooden or glass cutting boards are an easy alternative that will last longer and won’t leave pieces of plastic in your food.
12. Replace Aluminum Pans
From bread pans to cookie sheets, aluminum is a common type of metal for baking. Unfortunately, aluminum is a neurotoxin, and chronic intake has been linked to Alzheimers. Thankfully, it’s easy to find glass and stainless steel alternatives.
If you’re thinking about swapping out your kitchen tools, out my favorite non-toxic bakeware!
Learning to cook healthy meals is a journey! Tell me, what’s the hardest part of healthy cooking for you? I’d love to hear in the comments!
