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Tired of staring into the fridge exhausted, hungry, and out of ideas? 

When life is full, feeding yourself well can start to feel like a daily struggle… especially when you’re short on time and decision fatigue is already high.

Enter Brooke Simonson, a nutrition and mindset coach who specialises in helping busy women eat well without the all-or-nothing approach. She supports my clinic every month through group calls and my 30/30 Program, so she sees firsthand what people are up against (and what actually works in the thick of real life).

In this post, I’m sharing the most practical takeaways from our conversation, including simple ways to make meals easier, get more protein and fiber in without overthinking, and feel confident you’re eating well even on the most chaotic days. 

1. Release the Mental Weight First

Most people focus on the physical weight they want to lose, but until you release the mental weight around food, keeping it off becomes nearly impossible. Many of Brooke's clients come in used to crash diets like 75 Hard or Whole30—radical overnight changes that don't last. Instead, she helps them pump the brakes and build slow, gradual habits that actually fit their unique lifestyle. It's not about perfection, but sustainability.

2. Create a Weekly Lunch Rotation 

Brooke swears by rotating between just three high-protein salads each week: tuna salad, chicken salad, or egg salad. She makes them with Greek yogurt, mustard, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and something crunchy (green onion, red onion, apple, or pickles). Pair it with toast or pretzel crisps, grab some fruit or snap peas, and you're done. The key is to rotate weekly so you don't get sick of any one option. You're not reinventing the wheel, you're cycling through what works.

3. Build Your Personal "Home Menu"

Think about why restaurants are easy: you look at a menu and choose. So why not do the same at home? Write down 3–5 breakfasts you love and 3–5 lunches. Be specific (e.g., "1 cup Greek yogurt, berries, ¼ cup granola, etc). Keep that list somewhere visible like inside a cabinet, on note cards, or on your fridge. Then, when you get tired of one meal, you simply look at your menu and rotate to something else you already know you like.

4. Find Your "Dose" of Variety vs. Repetition

Figure out the least amount of variety you can tolerate, then lean into it. Some people love eating the same breakfast every single day. Others need to switch things up weekly. There's no right answer, just what works for you. Brooke eats the same yogurt bowl every morning because it gets her to lunch without thinking. That security and simplicity is more valuable to her right now than constant variety.

5. Stock These High-Protein, High-Fiber Staples

• Raspberries: Brooke calls them her "fiber pills". Raspberries are a fiber powerhouse and you can buy them frozen.
• Canned lentils: Throw them into tacos, pasta, soups, or salads for an instant protein and fiber boost.
• Frozen shelled edamame: Meets both protein and fiber goals. Toss into everything or microwave with sea salt as a snack.
• Pre-cooked chicken: Trader Joe's grilled chicken breast saves time and makes protein effortless.
• Barilla Protein Plus pasta: Tastes like regular pasta but with way more protein (kids won't even notice the difference!)

6. Use this Grocery Store Hack to Spot Nutrient-Dense Foods

For protein: Tack a zero onto the grams of protein, then compare to calories. If protein (with the zero) is ≥ calories, it's a win. Example: 13g protein = 130. You want ≤130 calories.

For fiber: Tack a zero onto the grams of fiber, then compare to total carbs. Same rule.

This ensures you're getting one gram of protein per 10 calories and one gram of fiber per 10 grams of carbs.

7. Make One Meal Work for the Whole Family

Stop being a short-order cook! Instead, "uplevel" your version of the family meal by asking: How can I double the protein? How can I double the fiber? Can I half the fat?

For example, if you’re mMaking mac and cheese for the kids, add pre-cooked chicken and frozen spinach to yours or use Greek yogurt instead of butter. That way, you're eating the same meal, just adjusted to support your goals without extra effort.

8. Let Go of the "From Scratch" Rule

You don't have to make everything from scratch to eat well. Brooke's not roasting chicken breasts right now—she's buying pre-cooked options. She's using frozen vegetables, frozen rice, and pre-made kebabs from the butcher. She washes fruit and serves it on the side because that's what she can manage while holding a toddler.

Different seasons of life require different levels of support. Using "training wheels" isn't a failure. It's smart. Lean into the support you need right now without shame.

9. Use Pre-Made Strategically (and Without Guilt)

There's a continuum: from-scratch meals on one end, takeout/restaurant food on the other, and pre-made options in the middle. Pre-made ingredients (like canned lentils, frozen veggies, or Trader Joe's chicken) will always support you better than takeout (both in cost and nutrition). You have no idea what restaurants are adding (spoiler: it's a lot of butter and oil). Pre-made options give you control without the overwhelm.

10. Remember: Food Doesn't Have to Be Perfect

As Brooke says, "I want you to feel free from the confines of rules." Food isn't just fuel you break down into perfect macros. When you make meals work for you (not against you), eating becomes naturally more balanced. You stop the snack-spiral, you feel satisfied, and you stop overthinking every bite.

Feeding yourself well doesn't require a new meal plan every week, cooking everything from scratch, or being perfect. You just need a few go-to meals, a personal menu, some high-protein and high-fiber staples, and the willingness to let go of rigid food rules.

Start today with one thing from this list. 

Create your menu, try the lunch rotation, stock some canned lentils… make family meals work for you instead of cooking separate dishes.

Because small, sustainable changes add up and that's how you build something that actually lasts.

Want to hear the full conversation with Brooke Simonson? Listen to the complete episode for even more practical tips on navigating busy life, hitting your nutrition goals, and feeling confident about the way you eat.

TRANSCRIPT:

Disclaimer: The transcript below is provided for your convenience and may contain typos, errors, or grammatical inconsistencies, as it has not been professionally edited or proofread. Please enjoy it as-is and read at your own discretion.

Please note: The content shared in this podcast and blog post is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider for personalized medical guidance.   

 Welcome back to another episode of the podcast. Today I'm really excited because we brought back Brooke Simonson. She is a nutrition coach that practices evidence-based nutrition, and she helps primarily with fat loss and.

I have had you on the podcast before and I love your work so much that once a month you come into my clinic and you help my patients. You run an amazing group call. Whenever we run 30, 30 programs, I say, Hey, they can come in as well.

And I wanted to ask you a bunch of questions 'cause you're just so fun to talk to and so inspiring with how you approach nutrition.

So can we start where you introduce yourself? Just maybe more than what I said, if, new listeners have found you right now.

Absolutely. and thank you also for having me on. It's always a pleasure to talk with you because I know we do. Voice memos on Instagram and we're in each other's comments section on Instagram and TikTok, but we rarely get to connect face to face because things get busy. So I'm excited to be here just because I feel like I'm hanging out with a friend, which is always fun.

I am Brooke. I am a nutrition coach and actually. Something exciting that I just pursued recently is a mindset coaching certification through a program called HMCC, which stands for Health Mindset Coaching Certification. Pretty self-explanatory. Specializing in, like you said, evidence-based sustainable fat loss.

I am. Hyper focused on the sustainability of any one of my clients' plan. Often they come to me with the diet mindset of, let's do this, let's go all in. I was talking to a client yesterday who's used to doing 75 hard a few times a year or Whole 30, or any of these programs where you do radical lifestyle change overnight.

That's what a lot of my. Clients have experienced in the past, and I'm always in the background saying, okay, I hear you. However, what if this time we try to pump the brakes and we do. Slow, gradual change. We set you up with flexible, realistic habits that actually work for your unique lifestyle. And throughout the process, we work on your mindset and relationship with food so that you're able to keep the weight off this time.

And it's not just a crash diet where you lose the weight and then it all comes back and you do that cycle multiple times a year,, for the rest of your life. We wanna break you out of that. I love. Thinking about sustainability and habit formation and mindset stuff. I'm obsessed with it.

And that's, what I love to talk about in your group as well. Lots of mindset stuff of actionable tips as well. But I think, I talk a lot with clients about. How we have, let's say, physical weight we want to release, and most people focus on that and not the mental weight. They possibly also need to release.

And until you release the mental weight, it's gonna be borderline impossible to keep off the physical weight. Sure you can lose it, but it's the keeping off again that I am. Super passionate about. It's a hundred percent what you're talking about, that mental weight. It's like the ball that you're pushing under the water and it's resistance.

Eventually it's gonna come just like flinging up at you. . But I was hearing something funny the other day. I was listening to,, Allie Naski, she has a nutrition course and I was listening to a replay and she was saying how, I'm sorry, I'm just laughing 'cause it's so funny. She was saying, no one comes in and says, Hey, I'm an emotional eater.

Can you take me on in the clinic? Right. Like no one, no one identifies as such. A lot of people that there's that aspect where food is not just fuel and only exactly how much they need in their body. There's food has so many other aspects to our life, and so I think that the work you do is a hundred percent necessary.

I wanna just do hot seat questions. 'cause I feel like I'm always so curious. What are people liking? Protein wise? Fiber wise, I get so many ideas every month from you guys. I feel so privileged. 'cause every month I get the ideas of things you say and it always helps me.

I wonder if people are listening here, obviously protein's all the rage. Are there two, three different things you're eating right now? Even if they're the normal things, like Greek yogurt, but are there two or three things that you're just particularly hyper fixated on right now and loving, or that you always recommend to your clients?

I have a 15 month old and I work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and I'm lucky to be able to watch her Monday and Friday. It works out great. We have a nanny Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Everyone can see that I am in my bedroom.

I am basically sequestered back here. I have a bathroom attached. I don't go out there because. My baby will see me, and then it's like, ah. And so that, I just think that's kind of mean to the nanny. I was having a really rough time for a while getting into a groove of, first of all, she was on two naps, and so I had a certain time that I would dart out and get lunch, and then she switched to one nap.

So now my time has changed, and so I'm just literally darting out 10 minutes to put lunch together. Coming back in. Staying back here. Yeah. And I was having. Weeks. Actually, I've talked about this in my programs where I wasn't getting a solid lunch. I was doing what I advised against a lot of snacking. The end of the day would come, I would be snacking, eating, making dinner.

What has been working for me really, really well is to do a rotation of each week. I either do tuna salad, chicken salad, or egg salad. My recipe is the most basic. I used Greek yogurt, mustard, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and some type of crunch. A green onion, red, onion apple, the other day I chopped up pickles 'cause I currently have a tuna salad.

And then that is enough variety for me because it rotates. And I always have it with some, I'll make a couple pieces of toast real quick, or I have those pretzel crisp things. I then grab an apple or a handful of snap peas. I'm literally throwing things onto this plate. But that has changed my life recently because

fail to plan, plan to fail. I was not planning and I was failing. Did we ever talk about that? I had the same scenario as you years ago when Toby was literally, we had a nanny when he was smaller. Just 'cause, , he was born, preemie, all those things. And same scenario. I had to hide upstairs, like, part of where I was working, part of where the bathroom was and we actually got a mini fridge because I was like, I can't go down.

Mm-hmm. So exactly what you're saying. But I loved how you said these three different things, you rotate them. What's so funny is I'll make like the egg salad, but then I get sick of it. 'Cause I like hammer it uhhuh again and again. Every single I know. I'm like, you're a genius. 'cause you just say 1, 2, 3.

And then, just like the simpleness of the recipe, the adding the crunch. Just how amazing, it just sounds doable. Like if everyone's listening, you're like, it's really doable. I got it. Right it's really doable. And I always at the grocery store. Get green onions and a red onion. We always have green onions and a red onion, and we'll use 'em on other stuff too.

Yeah. And then, maybe, I'll do an apple or maybe sometimes I'll throw in some walnuts or something. , But yeah,, I'm loving that now in terms of the chicken salad. I'm not a big hand chicken fan. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But if you are, I mean, I think that could be great 'cause you could just keep that in your pantry.

But I like getting, Trader Joe's grilled chicken breast. Have particular about chicken. I don't like it to be slimy like a rotisserie chicken. My husband has to pick apart and have two different containers of. The kind of slimy, icky pieces. And then I will eat the pieces that look kosher.

I just, I can't. Yeah. , there's, a great at Trader Joe's that I get, and so I just got it yesterday and it's in there. 'cause right now I have tuna salad and so next week I'm gonna do it, chicken salad. So I'm not even making the chicken myself. Yeah. I love it. No, I love that. Oh, so reasonable

like people can actually do this. , And it's also just we don't have to reinvent the wheel. I was thinking about this the other day. People think you have to always have new, new, new. And I totally, with fruits and vegetables, it's good to have different nutrients and things, but I think .

You figure out what your barometer is for repetition. I eat the same yogurt bowl every single morning because I know it gets me to 12:31 PM it does its job and the. Knowing what I'm getting from it, and the security of this is easy, I can throw it together. It gets me to 1231 is better for me right now in this stage of life than variety.

I just lean into, this is my yogurt bowl, and then I'll throw raspberries on it one day, or blackberries another day, or today I had a banana and some strawberries that we're going bad. Yeah. So I'm getting variety there. And then with lunch, it's just these salads. That I rotate through, and then I'll do toast or pretzels.

I'm getting enough variety without thinking. I need to just constantly be coming up with these elaborate brand new ideas. And I think that's a big hangup for a lot of people we need to figure out what's the least amount of variety that you can tolerate, and let's do that and just cycle. That's so funny that you said the least amount of variety you can tolerate.

, In my program, one of the things are, we try to up the veggies and stuff like that, yeah, yeah. As far as like gut microbiome diversity. And so we're starting out here, and I always set a goal too, because we have these last four months of the year that we're doing this, and I made my goal to try one different recipe, until November.

I'm not gonna go past Thanksgiving doing this. Yeah, yeah. But it's not. A whole new recipe. Every time I wanna find ones where like majority of the ingredients I already have in the house, it's like a different version of it. It's a different way reimagined a different sauce, so hearing you, I'm like, matea, scale it back.

Like don't go crazy. That's what I'm hearing. Yeah, . Scale it back. I once heard relationship advice that was similar of with a happy partnership. Figure out your dose that you guys need to be together and alone. Lean into it's okay to do stuff separately or to be alone sometimes, and everybody's different.

And I thought, that kind of applies to food too. What's your dose of variety versus repetition and lean into that. Let's work with what works for you rather than thinking somebody else is creating a brand new whatever every day. You don't have to do that I worked with

a male client years ago who would eat literally from a can tuna for lunch. Loved it in his car. And I would say, how are we doing with the tuna? Are we getting bored with it? Do we need something new? And he was like, no, I love it. He'd just eat it from the can. And then eventually he was like, maybe Mercury.

I don't know. So he switched to chicken from a can. He was offended by me trying to add more variety and he was like, I just wanna eat this. I was like, great. Yeah. That's so fascinating. 'cause I'll tell you the problem that I see, I'll like things for a few weeks, maybe a month or two, right?

And then I need to switch it, but it's always a surprise that I need to switch it. I've gotten used to over time, okay, these are your greatest hits. You come back to one of them because you know that you haven't had the egg salad for a while, or whatever it is. Do you find that people are shocked by that?

'cause in my programs, people are like, oh my gosh, I don't desire the food anymore. I'm like, yeah, you got really sick of it. And it's okay if you're not loving food at the moment. I mean, as long as it's not disordered eating and you're not eating, that's different. Yeah.

We're not talking about that today. But you are not always gonna be in love with everything with nutrition. So how do you help clients with that? When that pops up? I do think that's a mindset hangup of. , Let's say my breakfast, for example, if somebody was eating the yogurt bowl, I'm eating and they got sick of it and they needed something new, they would think it was an issue with them, or a problem of, there's something wrong with me.

I don't like this anymore. And now what? There's nothing wrong with you. That's typical. That's normal to desire something new. But then we just say, what's working from this? For you, is it that it's got a certain amount of protein and fiber and it's helping you start the day off strong?

Then let's just replicate that in something else and get you a new meal. But I really recommend creating some type of menu for yourself. So you could do this on note cards. You could do it on papers. And so you write breakfast. I love, and you can be very specific because we all forget. So I could say, I have a cup of whatever yogurt.

Fruit, A fourth cup of granola, a fourth cup of Catalina Crunch cereal. So that's one of my things. Another thing might be, I have a client right now who's doing kind of those flat, crisp breads. She's doing a couple of those with a smear of cream cheese and some smoked salmon. Yeah. And loving that.

And then she would write down that one. And then maybe you get three to five breakfasts that you love, three to five lunches. You could even hang them inside your cabinets, you could put note cards in a drawer, but then when it comes to that moment where you think, oh, I kind of don't like this anymore.

You look at your menu and you say, oh yeah, a couple months ago I was eating that other thing that I loved. I'll just go back to that because we forget life gets busy and chaotic and we totally forget what we used to eat that we loved. You've shared this tip. I think it's gold. So create the menu and be specific with each of the meals, what you like, and then also you have this panic.

If you're walking to the fridge, you're like, I don't know what I'm gonna do. You really only have three, four options. Don't pretend like it's 900. Right? But you forget 'cause you're panicked. Maybe if you're hungry or busy. Busy is the worst one because you feel like I can't take the time for this.

It's like it takes five minutes. You can do it, but, you do need to be organized and have it in the house and have it. Written on the fridge. So I love that. I love that kind of just like change with things that, that it's easy to go for something else. Absolutely. Yeah. And I mean if you think, why is it easy at a restaurant?

Why do I love a restaurant so much? It's a menu. Yeah. I have this whole menu of options. I don't have to think. I can just choose. And so then let's replicate that in your home. Totally. Ah, so good. , switching gears a little bit, 'cause I loved the ideas for protein. What about for fiber? You know that everyone that I'm working with essentially is on. Potentially medications, even if it's oral versus injection where they get more constipated. And I just find in general, forget medications or not.

People suffer with constipation and fiber a lot of the time is a culprit. So do you have any greatest hits, like,, with chia seeds or something where you're like, just please incorporate these 'cause it'll help you out. What do you normally offer to people? I think. Raspberries. I know it's seasonal, but raspberries for me, I had , a client who called them her fiber pills.

Yes. They're such a bang for your buck fruit, for fiber. And I know they can be expensive at times. They can be outta season. You could even buy them frozen. Sometimes I like, microwaving frozen fruit. And then it gets kind. Syrup syrupy. I love that. Yes. Yeah. And then I pour that on my yogurt so that feels fun and new of Ooh.

And I'm mixing it in. And then. Maybe everybody knows this. I did not know this, that, they sell canned lentils. Did you know that? No. I learned that this past week on your call. And do you know why I was laughing? I was about to get the bag of it, the dry bag. I was like, how do I soak it? What do I do?

Exactly. And then you told me that. I was like, oh my God, I can make the lentil bagel hard thing that I wanted to make. But I was like, I didn't know wanna make the lentils? I was telling a client, like I had discovered something crazy and she goes, yeah, yeah, I've been buying canned lentil.

She goes, do you, do you buy canned beans? And I said, yeah. She goes, yeah, then you just buy canned lentils. So that's my new thing. They sell on the Trader Joe's. They sell 'em at, whatever grocery store art, Safeway on the west Coast has it. , And so then you can throw lentils. Into stuff. I made tacos one night and we put some lentils in.

I've thrown 'em into a pasta. I've used them in a salad. Very easy. I'm always pushing frozen. Shelled edamame on people. It's my favorite favorite because if you seen online or people can go look, 'cause it's sometimes hard to describe without a visual. But I have a fiber trick and a protein trick.

If you follow me on TikTok or Instagram, I have little highlights or you can find a video where I'm sharing them, but shelled edamame and I say shelled, you could get it in the pods, but I just find that to be more cumbersome because you have to get them outta pods. Shell de a mame meets the protein and the fiber.

Yeah, so they're a fantastic, especially if you are a vegetarian, they're a fantastic source of protein, but also fiber, and they're frozen, so they, I buy five bags at a time. I throw 'em into everything. Chili, soups, pastas, salads. I even eat them plain. I'll microwave 'em for a little bit and put some sea salt on 'em and I have these little spoons and I'll eat it as a snack.

Do you buy the snack versioned ones like in the bag, like the only bean, because I love those. I have, yeah. Yeah. My husband got some of those at Costco. I like those as well. , I think they're just kind of lightly salted. I don't think there's a lot of oil involved or there's, there's not. They're like a hundred calories. Yeah. Amazing. I think it's 11 grams of protein and four grams of fiber. It's really nice as a to go,, this is so funny. This is so random. We're talking about. At aama today. So yesterday I got a PR package. I do not get PR packages people.

Oh, okay. This is a rarity. This is exciting. And it was the brand, the only bean. Oh, because I've talked about their stuff like 24 7. I love the edamame snack packs., They have a black bean noodle and edamame noodle. Like it's all high protein. High fiber. It works,

yeah. And what is so funny in there, one of the things. It's a fanny pack, but it's a big edamame. Like a foot long funny. It's so cute. That's what look at them. Marketing. I'm gonna be that for Halloween. Yeah, I'm gonna be at Anama. Oh, that's my, oh, well that's a fantastic costume. And now I'm sad that I didn't think of that myself.

It's fantastic. And then a patient, she was like, have you heard of it? She's holding up the pack, and I'm like, I just got a box of it. Oh. They're the best. You're like, actually, I'm a legit influencer now because I am getting PR packages. I'm sure you also find that so funny do people ever say, hilarious, you're an influencer and have  sex?

 I do not say that. Not, yeah. You're like, no, no. We're just, I'm definitely not, but I could see where it would appear that way. But I'm definitely, I feel like I'm online, de influencing all the time., I tried this Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sparkling protein drink and it was so gross. And everyone's like, oh my God, thanks for taking the bullet.

And other people are like, it can be okay if you . Dilute it down with water if you do two cups of ice. I'm like, but what if you don't wanna have to screw around with it when you buy something totally already expensive? Like how about it is what it is and I don't need to then manipulate it.

Otherwise, why would I buy it? I can just buy a powder. I know. , Right. And there is so much out there now. And so there's definitely something better. So why not just buy that other thing? I know. It's like I can't even keep up anymore with trying this stuff. 'cause I'm like, oh, I'll always, if there's a new protein drink, try.

No, I can't anymore. , No. We're past that point. , It's like AI with the rate of like I know the rate of what's coming out. Yeah. I posted a meme the other day it said something like, do you think protein wants to be added to all these things? Which I thought was so funny because it's literally in everything.

Has anybody asked protein if it's okay with this, if it wants to be added? I love, so anyway, so back to fiber 'cause I derailed you. So raspberry is amazing, , at Aama canned lentils. Yep. I do a little chia seed sprinkle in my yogurt every morning. I have had clients say they have kind of an aha moment if they are deciding to track calories.

If they make a chia pudding, they say, oh my gosh, I didn't realize that's pretty highly caloric. So just nuts, seeds. It's always good to be mindful of , a sprinkle here or whatever. If you have a weight loss goal, calorie awareness is important.

Well, it's interesting that people don't realize the calories because, if you think about . I'm using rough numbers right now. Okay. Everybody. So don't like a hundred percent if you're using about one ounce of chia seeds, it's , I think 11 grams of fiber somewhere around there..

Okay. Maybe eight to 12, I can't remember the exact number, but the point is if you think about how many grams per carb, like it is a carbohydrate. So it's like, when you think about, it's interesting that people in their mind, like that's not free. Right. And it has oils and it has omegas.

If we think about an oil, a fiber, which is a carb, yeah. That's going to equal 160 calories or whatever it is, uhhuh. So, , I agree like that awareness step is needed, although we don't want it to run our life. There is a stage of realizing that's half your meal essentially, if you're gonna do it with yogurt.

Absolutely. Yeah. I think all these things,, I love the saying of there's no bad foods, there's only bad portion sizes, and I hate the word bad, but you know, what works for you portion size. I mean, chia seeds can be fantastic, but then also it can feel very frustrating if you're making this thing like a chia pudding that feels like it should be really healthy and supporting your goal, but then it's backfiring and, that doesn't feel good.

Yeah. Okay. These are such good fiber ideas. Okay. I have one last question for you. Yeah. Because I feel like I could talk to you all day. Oh, absolutely. Now that you have a toddler,? Oh, yeah. You are busy, you were, telling us about that before. Beyond what you were saying, like the rotating the meals?

Do you have any tips where you just find like, when I do these things it works out great because having a toddler or not, I find that when people are busy, they need these kind of ideas of what other people do, to see if it could work for them. Absolutely. Yeah. I was joking with you before the call that everybody sets up meal delivery, meal train, suffer when you have a newborn.

And then I'm looking for the meal train when you have a toddler. Because when she was a newborn, she just laid there and I could still do stuff. This morning I went to the bathroom, how dare I, for seconds. And she was in the bottom basket of the stroller, pinched in there. I mean, she's all over. And she also now, when I relieve the nanny at five, I usually start to make dinner and she will stand on my feet and say up.

'cause she wants to see what I'm doing. I got her a toddler tower. She doesn't wanna be in that. She wants me to, of course not. I'm glad you're having the same problem I had. That damn thing was so expensive, has a nice little cutout stars. It's wooden. And they would refuse like up, up, up, up. And I'm like, you're up.

You're in your, she's like, no. Up, up. She wants to be in that doing the cast iron thing. I would say you realize you can rely on pre-made things that support you so you don't have to make everything from scratch. Mm-hmm. I am not in a season of life where I am roasting chicken breasts for myself.

I am buying the Trader Joe's chopped up chicken. It's more expensive. And so that's , the trade off, however. It's not as expensive as if I were buying takeout all the time. So there's that. There's this kind of continuum always with price and, we all need to figure out what works for us, but we are leaning heavily into other things that have been pre-made that can support us in this insane time of life.

I'm making stuff in advance for lunch. I have my yogurt bowl. Last night we did Turkey burgers that were from Costco in the freezer. I made four of them. My husband and I each had one, and then we each have a leftover one for tonight. I am not creating a Turkey burger, , we have frozen chicken tenders from Costco.

We have a lot of frozen vegetables. , we have a really cool butcher actually at a grocery store near us and they have these kebab things. We got chicken kebabs the other night that I just put in the oven. , Trader Joe's frozen rice, so I just heated that up and we had that with the chicken kebab.

And then I've been leaning heavily on fruit. So at dinner with peaches, were really in season cherries. Apples, I will just wash fruit. My husband's used to it. Now he comes home. He has like the chicken kebab on rice and a bowl of peach next to it. Even the vegetables, I can't right now. I can't, what can I do?

Actually holding her on one hip and she's 20, whatever pounds. Basically, what can I do with one hand? To assemble dinner. Yeah. And so I think this, we all have different seasons of life and there will be a season again, I'm sure where I'm making rice and I am baking chicken breasts and making more of this from scratch.

Totally. That is not my current season. And so I think we lean into the support we need in different times of life, and we don't see it as a failure. I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. I think I'm using the training wheels that I need right now. What occurs to me when you're saying this?

I said, let go of the rules? Where you think everything has to be from scratch, because I agree with you. I would say I'm sort of yin and yang during the week where, some days I make a lot of stuff just like a veggie soup from scratch with, the bull on and, all the rest of, yeah.

Yeah. Then there's other days when it's the Costco, , egg and , bean and cheese burrito. Like reds is really amazing. Oh, yes. A friend of mine I posted about, on my Instagram stories, how I liked it, and she said, oh, you know, I'm making it with high fiber wraps so you know, 'cause the macros are not the most amazing., It's great, but it's not perfection. Would that be amazing if I would make it from scratch? Yes. Am I going to Absolutely not. I can't fathom how to label it correctly. The fridge is the size of a peanut in our house. It's so small. Mm-hmm. And I'm not gonna manage the inventory buying the different things to make it, I'm just not gonna do it right now.

But that burrito is contained. I do it with some cottage cheese. There's a veggie. We're good. It's enough on those busy days. What's important to ask is what I am using, how could I add more protein and or fiber to it? I had a tamale yesterday that my husband got at a farmer's market and I put Greek yogurt on top as the sour cream and then I had a bunch of grapes with it.

The tamale itself, I think it was chicken, but I'm sure the ratio of protein to calories is it fantastic. But then I'm saying, let me add a little more protein on top and lemme have some fiber on the side. Work with what you have. And just do the best that you can. Totally. Protein and fiber wise and not everything has to be perfect.

And if we look at a continuum of, okay, let's say from scratch is the ultimate, goal, then there's this kind of pre-made middle, and then there's the kind of takeout restaurant food. I think the pre-made middle is gonna support you better. Yeah. Than the takeout restaurant food. Not only in terms of cost, but we have no idea what they're putting in.

In terms of butter, oil sauce dressing, calorie wise. I always say to people there's a reason that that restaurant food tastes outta this world because they're going outta this world when they make it right it's not, like there's not some magic that broccoli tastes different at home, versus you're like, it's shiny or so.

Yeah. When you get it from them, it's shiny and the reason it's shiny is it's coated in butter and it's delicious. Yes. When you let something sit and then you see it a few hours later, or the fact that you cannot ever again eat it from, what was in here that it was good for two seconds while it was hot?

That's horrifying to me, but yeah, it coagulates. Yeah. It's so the next day it's stuck to the bottom of whatever. 'cause it's all the fat become solid. I know. One thing you said on our, on the call last month, I was like, brilliance. You were talking about with upleveling a meal you said, how can I double the protein? How can I double the fiber at half the fat? Thinking along those lines. I love that way of thinking about it. I literally the next day went to a meal and I was like, how can we double this? How can we double that? Yeah, yeah.

Seriously it stemmed from. Multiple conversations with clients who are saying things to me like,, my kids love this meal, but I know now that I'm working with you and I have this weight loss school. I can't eat that anymore. And I would say, oh, interesting. Where's that thought coming from?

And they'd say, oh, you know what? There's not enough protein. There's not enough fiber. I think it's too caloric. And so we were talking about. Maybe your meal looks a little different from theirs because maybe you're making the mac and cheese, and maybe you're buying the Trader Joe's pre-cooked grilled chicken, and you're throwing some into yours, as well as some frozen spinach that you just heated up real fast in the microwave.

Yours has. More fiber, more protein, maybe in yours, you use some Greek yogurt, so you're not using the butter that you're using in theirs. You've just created a mac and cheese that's lower in calorie, higher in protein, higher in fiber, but you're not creating two different meals. Hundred percent. I don't want you to do that. I don't want you to be a short order cook in your kitchen. I do that all the time. We really like the Barilla Protein Plus. Yes. My son is like addicted to them. Just FYI, everyone like that was the cheese. They taste just like regular. Yeah. There'll be a smaller portion for me, but then he's not eating obviously as many veggies with being, , a 6-year-old.

It's a hundred percent like you said, but I don't feel like I'm making five meals. It's literally. All spectrums of the same thing. We're just mm-hmm. Consuming it in different varieties, like you said, which is so helpful. Yes. Just want , free always comes through in my conversations.

I want you to feel free from the confines of rules or mac and cheese bad, this other thing. Good. I want you to just feel free from all of that and think, I can eat mac and cheese. I don't follow rules. I am just aiming to get more protein, more fiber. It's not that fat is bad, it's just that per gram, it's more caloric.

Yeah. It has nine calories per gram versus,, carbs and protein have four calories per gram. Yeah. So more than double. So we just have to be, again, aware of this. We're not saying fat makes you fat or fat is bad. I think I used the example in your call that a lot of New York Times recipes, for example, call for something like three, four tablespoons of olive oil.

And then I have clients who use one tablespoon total and the entire thing and it tastes no different. Exactly. We're not looking to compromise, taste or flavor, but how can we almost kind of gamify it? Yeah. Let's make this fun in a game and how could we still eat the same thing? Make it work for our macros, if you wanna call it that.

Or our goals a little better. Yeah, so true. And I feel when you think that way, you also think too, how can the quality of the fats be the most amazing? Because, I really like how you talk about these Franken foods. 'cause I think people are, they're trying to concoct weird things to get what they need, but if you are having some.

Ultra processed product. I'm gonna just guess that the fats are not the most amazing, that they're not really hydrating you. We know that. And so the way that you're talking about it, I think we're just a little bit more conscientious with what we're doing. Absolutely. Yeah. And there's a spectrum of processed food where canned lentils are technically processed.

I know because they've gone through a process to get into a can. And then there's also lentil chips. And then there's the lentils you buy in the bag and soap yourself. There's a continuum of processed. We don't need to be scared of everything processed, but we probably don't wanna be consuming mostly ultra processed foods.

That's like my most, let down product or the veggie chips, which are literally chips. That are chips, but they're called veggie chips. And I had to laugh because last year when my kid was in kindergarten, they had a party supply list and that was the thing that I signed up for that we would bring.

There was like plates and whatever else. And then they sent an email to me. We just wanna make sure, you know, we don't mean carrot sticks, we mean the chips. And I had to laugh because it's like, yes, we mean the processed, we do not want you to bring in like veggies, or they just really had to make sure that everyone understood what that meant.

Please, please actually do not bring anything that resembles a vegetable. Please bring chips. But we, they call them veggie chips. So we can, yeah, we can say we're giving something helping. Yeah. That's so funny. And also talk about a health halo. Yeah. A that's really smart marketing to call something a veggie chip.

It literally has no veggies. , I know involved, Can you go over your little, tip and trick again with the protein and fiber? Because I think Oh yeah, yeah. 'cause people might not know that. The protein trick is you use the nutrition facts of anything.

It can work even for ground Turkey or ground beef is a good example to make sure you're finding a really good ratio. Ultimately you're trying to find one gram of protein per 10 calories. I think an easy way to do that, 'cause I'm not a math person, is you tack on a zero to the grams of protein and then you compare your answer to the calories.

And when you found a bang for your buck protein source, the protein with that tacked on zero should be greater than or equal to the calories. And I know that's really confusing when I say it like that. Basically if something has 13 grams of protein, you tack on the zero, so it'd be 130. Then you're looking for the calories to be 130 or fewer.

And then for the fiber trick, you tack on a zero to the grams of fiber. Compare your answer to the total carbs. And the same rule applies. You want the fiber with the tact on zero to be greater than or equal to the total carbs. By doing that, you're ensuring one gram of protein per every 10 grams of carbs.

Yeah, and I have visuals of this on Instagram and TikTok. I once tried to explain it, I think in a TikTok live, and people were very mad at me in the. They were like, you make no sense. What did you just say?, It's literally you add the zero and compare to the number, it can't get easier.

So it's either I think, oh, go ahead. I was gonna say, so I used to say add the zero. Then people would get mad because they would say, if you add zero to a number, it stays the same. So if there's 13, and so then Uhhuh, then I was getting in trouble for saying add. There were math teachers in the comment saying, what you mean is tack on a zero?

And I was like, oh my god, you know, triggering me because you're triggering me this new math that the kids are doing. Just wait. You will not be able to do math with your kid. I'm just gonna let you know. You can't do it anymore if nothing makes sense. It's all really hard. Teachers that are listening are gonna be rioting listening to us right now.

Well, I actually, so I have, my history has been teaching and I have a master's in elementary education, and I learned do new math. I know new math. Yes. You know, new math, oh my gosh. This was years ago. This was in why 2009? This was not related. I'm sorry. I think we have, why did new math happen?

Like what was wrong with the way we were always doing it? Our teachers jumped straight to the algorithm, which is ultimately what new math is supposed to get the kids to do eventually, is we want them to do math the way we used to do. What used to happen is when you jump straight to the algorithm, a lot of kids fall through the cracks because it's not making sense to them.

New math is a way of getting you to the algorithm and making sense of the number, giving you more number sense, so that the algorithm kind of make so long division, let's say makes more sense to you now, I think, I think. A good teacher, and again, this is probably gonna really piss people off, but I think if kids can go straight to the algorithm, I think you should be able to solve it however you want.

So I think if you go to the algorithm, you should be able to do the algorithm. 'cause that's the ultimate goal. That's at least how I learned it. And so then if you can't jump straight to the algorithm, then you can do these kind of steps along the way. That's what I think, because some kids I agree with you because to me, if we just add a zero and divide by two, it makes so intuitive to me how to do some, I really love algebra and stuff.

It's my jam. Yeah. If a kid gets it, I think they should be able to do it however it makes sense to them. It's not like similarly with nutrition, right? It shouldn't be like everybody has to do it this certain way. Yeah. And so that's, I student taught with some incredible teachers who had a mix first through third grade classroom, and that's exactly how they taught.

And their kids excelled and so, oh, okay. They would give options for, here are different ways to solve it, but then if you could do it your way. You didn't have to show your work for a different way. Okay. That didn't make sense to you. You're the first person that's ever explained it to me. Thank you.

Because I just did not understand what we were doing. There's these long charts of things. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This could be like one step and we're making it 10, and, now I get it. We're trying to not leave kids behind and we're trying to not leave kids behind. But then in doing that, we're kind of, I think, holding some kids back because they're like, I don't need this.

In fairness to teachers, it is very hard to differentiate in a classroom. It's very, very hard. Oh, I listen, I'm not, I love you teachers that are out there. The minute my kid goes to school, I'm like, thank you so much. I can't even tell you. Totally. They're doing amazing and I'm always shocked how much every day he comes home and I'm like, wow, have you learned a lot?

Like I can't even fathom. Yeah, I know. Sorry if now all your podcast comments are. No, against my comments about teachers. Teachers are all fantastic. I taught for 12 years. Differentiation is hard. I totally get it. No, but I also think I do sometimes think I don't know.

I just feel like if you get something immediately, I'm not one of those people I would've really benefited from the new math, but my dad, for example, is a math whiz that would've. Really bothered him to have to do these slow processes. He was like born with number sets so he could do the algorithm immediately.

Imagine our kitchen table conversations. When I was in high school math, it was not a pretty site. I was a late bloomer to math. Once I got it, I got it. But I remember I couldn't understand as a kid, like a hundred, a thousand. My dad was like, what don't you get? That's a million. I know, I know.

And it was like, ah, I do feel like it's stereotypically dads. And I've seen videos now mocking it and doing satire of. Dad's working with their kids on math of like, what don't you understand? I know. I have to credit my dad. That's how I learned. . He sat there, we learned the math and all the tables and everything.

, That's such a bad example, but Okay. , I know we are running out of time because I just wanna say thank you for coming on. I could talk to you for hours. I know. Can you tell people how can they find you? Tell us about your website, everything so that people can find you to work with you.

Absolutely. Yeah, so it's very easy. It's just the health investment everywhere. So my website, the health investment.com, and then Instagram and TikTok, the health investment. Perfect. We're gonna make sure to everybody, if you go to tia clinic.com, you , click on the podcast, we'll have your episode there.

We'll have the links to everything. So if you didn't have a chance to write that down, just thank you for coming on. I always get so many ideas and I know people are gonna just have, have a much easier time now. Oh, thank you. And it's always a pleasure. I'm always happy to come on. You know how late shows have that guest that they have to call in last second because they say somebody else didn't show up.

There's certain people who have been on Jimmy Kimmel, for example, a hundred times, so I could be that for you. If you ever, I love if love ever meet somebody, you just let me know. All right. Okay. Thank you so much all. Talk to you soon.