Why Thinking Outside the Box Is the Key to Eating Better

What is a meal anyway?

At Lifesum, we’re constantly asking ourselves the question ‘what does healthy look like?’. We want to know what healthy really looks like, and make it accessible for people.

Personally, I have two main struggles when it comes to health. The first is that I don’t always have (read: make) time for meal-prep, and the second is that I have a really, really, hard time saying ‘no’ to sugary things.

My colleagues Charlotte and Lars have been pretty inspirational on this front. Charlotte’s on a ketogenic diet, so she eats a lot of fat and very few carbs, and Lars is a vegetarian who tends to throw together a quick salad if he hasn’t had time to cook.

A typical Charlotte lunch is an avocado and some cheese. That might not sound like a meal to you, but it is. It piqued my interest because it challenged the ‘normal’ idea of what a meal is. Who says a meal has to have carbs in it? Who says a meal can’t be 90 % fat and protein, and only 10 % carb?

Lars’ no-cook lunches tend to look this: some goats cheese, a whole lot of leafy salad greens, some nuts, and some white truffle oil. Who wouldn’t want to eat that?

One of my favorite fitnessgrammers (is that a thing or am I making it up?) Jeannette Ogden of @Shutthekaleup is always making unusual recipes on her Instagram story and I am obsessed. I say unusual not because they’re gross (they all look amazing and make me jealous tbh), but because if you showed up at a restaurant and these were on the menu, it would be a little strange (although that is changing as more and more health food cafes emerge.)

Check out this meal from Jeannette:

Roasted butternut squash, ghee sautéed persimmon, vanilla yogurt, maple walnut granola, nut butter and frozen banana.
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I MEAN YUM. (Or as Jeannette would say, LIT.)

This isn’t your normal weeknight fare, but who says that has to be the case? The foods don’t have to ‘go together’ or make a ‘meal’ in the traditional sense, they just need to be good for your body and your energy levels.

Try it! Go for something a little unorthodox for one of your meals and let me know how it goes!

/Femi, The Girl Who Hates Working Out

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