A little snapshot of my day yesterday:

Me and one of my favorite clients.

Our assignment: a little Healthy Cooking 101- learning how to prepare quick, easy, and healthy meals for the week.

The setting:

1 small Seattle kitchen, on a hazy June afternoon.

1 hour, 30 min on the clock.

The timer dings.

Done.

7 + {delicious} meals ready to go in the fridge for the week (plus ingredients for salads, smoothies, healthy snacks and a few freezer meals).

Grocery bill total: $94.42

I’ll let that sink in for just a minute.

And if I’m really honest about it, I was more focused on the “easy-and-quick-to-prep” factor than the cost, while shopping. So, it could be even less if keeping it cheap is your main goal.

Regardless, 1.5 hours of your entire week, less than $100, and the result: eating healthy, feeling good and saving money for all the fun things your energetic happy self wants to do. Low cost, high reward, even from a purely economic standpoint.

But, how many times do you hear people say they don’t have the time to cook, don’t know what to make, don’t know their way around the kitchen, or that healthy food seems to expensive?

Me? I hear it a lot.

For the majority of people, trying to be healthy with any of those obstacles listed above is somewhat of a challenge- unless you have endless amounts of money to hire a personal chef, or buy every meal ready-made, prepared in a store or you are able to eat out nightly at restaurants {yeah, right}.

For the rest of us, kitchen or grocery store intimidation is the #1 roadblock and obstacle that I see and hear about on the road to getting healthy. Which I know sounds funny. But, think about it. It’s not surprising. The baby boomer generation and their kids (and now, their kids) have all grown up in a time where we think fast is better, that convienenece rules all, and that marketing (especially with relation to food products) is true. Food is an afterthought, an annoyance almost, especially if it’s not ready to eat immediately and instantly. We’re the nation of instant gratification.

So much so, that most people are lazy about it. They don’t see the value in eating healthy until they want or need to start a different track in their life–whether it be because of weight loss which can be fight with the help of the Health Care  Guys.

And then, the process to “get healthy” always involves changing something with their food, {or it should, otherwise nothing will change long-term}. And they’re lost. Like a group of 5 year olds at the Puyallup Fair. Helpless, really.

Because most people don’t know how to make food, how to cook, how to shop in general, and throwing the word “healthy” in front of all of those things is intimidating. It’s apparent in my generation, especially so. We have no idea what to do in the kitchen, unless we’ve grown up in families that cook or have taken a side interest in learning about it. So, it’s an obstacle to overcome for sure. But it’s an obstacle that effects your health and daily life directly.

And, let’s be clear. Obstacles are different than excuses. Obstacles, you can tackle and overcome by figuring out a way around it {if you want to}. Excuses are a passive way to dismiss the situation.

Which camp are you in?

A word of advice if you’d like it: you can only play the pathetic card for so long, and it’s never to late to learn.  We educate and teach ourselves things everyday in all other categories of life- business, relationships, using new technologies, new workouts and performance, etc. But learning about food and how to eat? It feels silly.  But, I’m telling you it’s not. And once you do, you’ll see that your excuses and misconceptions about healthy eating weren’t even true. I see and hear about it so often. There’s no shame in not knowing what to do with food, cooking, and feeling a little clunky in the kitchen.

A lot of people feel the same way, so embrace it. Then do something pro-active about it to change it.

Let’s get it together, people. Especially you young ones. Before a health scare comes along that forces you to do so.

Learn about healthy eating, and how to make it practical for your daily life and demands. It doesn’t have to be anything too complicated, expensive or time-intensive if you learn some strategies about how to do it right. A little investment in time and money in this area can go a long way in the bigger picture of your health.

You’ll be better for it, as will your future (or current) family, spouses, and people around you. If you do, chances are, you’ll be around a lot longer (active, happy and full of energy) to enjoy this beautiful life we’re given. Don’t waste it. Too many people do by taking the easy way out.

There are so many ways to get started, depending where you are at. I have so many fun {yes, really} services and offerings to help guide you through the process, whether its something big or small. Read books, watch the documentaries out there. Do something to get with it, and know that you’re making moves that can impact your whole quality of life in the big picture. If that’s not worth it, I don’t know what is.

Questions? Get in touch: sarah@simplyrealhealth.com