The Three Changes That Made Healthy Eating Feel Easy (RECIPE)

I have spent a ridiculous amount of my life standing in front of an open refrigerator. Usually around six o’clock. I would stare at perfectly good food I had purchased only days earlier with the best of intentions.

Chicken. Vegetables. Salad ingredients. Fruit. Maybe something I had specifically bought because I had promised myself this was going to be the week I got my act together.

And None of It Looked Like Dinner

Those ingredients didn’t look like dinner. They looked like work.

There were things to chop. Something needed defrosting. I couldn’t remember what I had planned to make with the spinach. And why, exactly, had I bought three lemons?

Meanwhile, I was hungry.

There were calls to return, things at home that needed my attention, people I cared about, errands I hadn’t gotten to, and a dozen other loose ends still rattling around in my head.

And somehow dinner was standing there asking me another question: What are you going to do with me?

For years, I assumed women who consistently ate well were simply better at this than I was. More disciplined. More organized. Maybe they had some mysterious reserve of enthusiasm at six o’clock that I had somehow missed out on.

So I did what so many of us do when something isn’t working. I decided I needed to try harder. I would plan better. Shop better. Make better choices.

Monday was always very impressive. Then life would happen. Eventually, I asked myself two questions I wish I had asked years earlier: What if I didn’t need more discipline? What if I just needed to make healthy eating easier?

Those questions changed far more than I expected. I stopped trying to become a different person and started building a way of eating that actually worked for the person I already was.

Three changes made the biggest difference.

1. I Stopped Planning for My Imaginary Self

I know this woman well. She buys fresh produce with tremendous optimism. She never gets tired. She apparently enjoys cooking elaborate dinners on busy days. She always remembers to thaw things. And she has absolutely no desire for comfort food on Friday night.

I have shopped for her many times. Unfortunately, she has never actually shown up to make dinner. So I stopped planning meals for her.

Now, before I shop, I ask myself a much more useful question: What will the real me – with my actual schedule, energy and appetite – be willing to make?

That one question changed my grocery cart.

• If I know Wednesday is going to be busy, Wednesday gets an easy dinner.
• If I know I’m going to want something comforting later in the week, I plan something comforting.
• And if a recipe sounds wonderful but I know perfectly well I’m not going to make it, I don’t buy the ingredients and pretend otherwise.

It turns out the refrigerator works much better when it’s stocked for the woman who actually lives in the house.

There’s another advantage.

When six o’clock comes, dinner has already been decided. I don’t have to summon motivation. I just have to start cooking.

Sometimes making a better choice has very little to do with willpower. Sometimes it simply means making the choice before you’re tired and hungry.

2. I Gave Dinner a Default

The second change happened when I realized I was treating every meal like a brand-new problem to solve.

• What should the protein be?
• Do I need another vegetable?
• How many carbohydrates are in this?
• How much sodium?
• Should I skip the potatoes?
• Is there enough protein?
• Is this balanced?

Good grief.

It’s dinner, not an SAT question.

I wanted a default.

Something simple enough that I didn’t have to renegotiate healthy eating with myself every time I walked into the kitchen. For me, that became a basic structure: protein, vegetables, a reasonable portion of carbohydrates and enough flavor to make the whole thing worth eating.

Eventually, I put more definition around that structure – approximately 45 grams of carbohydrates and 500 milligrams of sodium per meal.

But the numbers weren’t the breakthrough. The structure was.

Once I knew what I was aiming for, individual foods stopped requiring so much debate.

Potatoes could be part of dinner. So could rice. So could pasta. Bread didn’t require a confession. I didn’t have to decide whether a food was “good” or “bad.” I just needed to understand how it fit into the meal.

And that was surprisingly freeing.

Once I had a default, Tuesday’s dinner stopped requiring a nutritional debate. I hadn’t realized how exhausting all those tiny food decisions had become until I stopped making so many of them.

3. I Stopped Pretending Pleasure Was Optional

This may have been the most important change.

For a long time, I treated enjoying healthy food as a nice bonus. Health came first. Taste would hopefully come along for the ride.

There is one rather obvious problem with that strategy. We have to eat again tomorrow. And the day after that. And, if we’re fortunate, thousands and thousands of dinners after that. That is a very long time to eat food you don’t particularly want.

So I made myself a promise.

If I was going to change the way I ate, the food had to be worth eating. Not “pretty good considering it’s healthy.”

Good.

The kind of dinner you smell cooking and start looking forward to. The kind you make again because you genuinely want it. The kind you would serve to someone you love without announcing its nutritional credentials before they take the first bite.

That changed everything.

Because when the better choice is also the meal you’re looking forward to, it doesn’t require nearly as much discipline.

There is an enormous difference between: I should eat this and I can’t wait to eat this. I had spent years trying to get better at the first sentence. I should have been working on the second.

What Easy Looks Like Now

One of the dinners that captures all of this for me is Balsamic Steak with Crispy Potatoes, Burst Tomatoes and Herby Yogurt Sauce.

Even the name sounds as though I spent far more time making it than I did.

I didn’t.

That’s part of why I love it.

Steak, potatoes, tomatoes and onion do most of the work together. Balsamic, garlic and rosemary bring the flavor, and a quick herby yogurt sauce makes the whole thing feel special.

There are actual potatoes on the plate. There is sauce. And nobody has to be talked into eating it because it’s “healthy.”

That’s what I was missing all those years.

I kept thinking healthy eating would become easier when I became better at it – more disciplined, more organized, more willing to make the responsible choice.

Instead, it became easier when I stopped making it so complicated.

I plan meals for the life I actually live. I use a simple structure instead of reconsidering nutrition every time I make dinner. And I make food I genuinely want to eat.

Of course I care about my health. At this age, probably more than I ever have. I want to eat for the woman I am today and for the woman I want to be 20 years from now. I don’t think those two women need different dinners.

Maybe that’s the part I finally figured out. Healthy eating doesn’t have to feel like something I’m constantly working at. Some nights it can simply be a really good dinner.

And tomorrow, I can do it again.

Recipe: Balsamic Steak with Crispy Potatoes, Burst Tomatoes and Herby Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

Crispy Potatoes & Vegetables

• 1 1/4 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes halved or quartered if larger
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 small red onion cut into wedges
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Steak

• 1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick, trimmed of excess fat
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Herby Yogurt Sauce

• 3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove finely grated
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons 1–2 tablespoons water as needed to thin

To Finish

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon wedges optional

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper or lightly coat it with cooking spray.
2. Add the 1 1/4 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes to the sheet pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and season with the 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Toss well, then arrange the potatoes cut-side down. Roast for 15 minutes.
3. While the potatoes roast, combine 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 cloves garlic minced, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt in a shallow dish. Add the 1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak and turn to coat. Let it sit at room temperature while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
4. Make the herby yogurt sauce by combining the 3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, grated 1 small garlic clove, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Add 1–2 tablespoons water, and stir. Add a little more water if needed until the sauce is creamy and easily spoonable. Refrigerate until serving.
5. After the potatoes have roasted for 15 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. Turn the potatoes and add the 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes and 1 small red onion. Drizzle the vegetables with 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar and toss gently. Return the pan to the oven for another 12–15 minutes, until the potatoes are deeply golden, the tomatoes begin to burst and the onion is browned at the edges.
6. While the vegetables finish roasting, heat a large cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the steak from the marinade, allowing excess marinade to drip off.
7. Add the 1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak to the hot skillet and sear without moving it for about 4–5 minutes. Flip and cook another 3–5 minutes, depending on thickness and desired doneness. For food safety, USDA recommends cooking whole cuts of beef to at least 145°F.
8. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it rest for 5–10 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain.
9. Divide the crispy potatoes, burst tomatoes and roasted red onion among four plates. Add the sliced steak and spoon the cold herby yogurt sauce generously over or alongside the steak.
10. Finish with 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, Freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of lemon if desired. Serve immediately.

For nutrition facts, additional tips and variations, visit Balsamic Steak with Crispy Potatoes, Burst Tomatoes and Herby Yogurt Sauce.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you have the habit of staring at your fridge thinking, “There’s nothing to eat/cook!” What would make cooking worthwhile for you?