3 Healthy Cooking Tips for Beginners

Question: "As a beginner cook, a lot of healthier meals are really intimidating... do you have any suggestions on how to start eating healthier?"

Absolutely — starting to cook can feel super intimidating, especially when you're trying to eat healthier!

But it doesn’t have to stay that way 😉

Here are my top 3 tips to help you go from overwhelmed and unsure to confident and empowered in the kitchen when it comes to cooking healthy meals at home:

1️⃣ Find eeeeeasy recipes: no-cook mix and go, or blend and bake recipes

• No-cook mix & go: Not only are these quick and able to whip something up in 5min or less, but they really are fool-proof! There's basically no way to do this wrong! Some ideas include:

  • chocolate mousse (recipe shared on Instagram at @joinfoodflip)

  • chicken salad (shared below at the end!)

• blend & bake: some recipes for quiches, egg bakes, muffins, banana breads, and pancakes only require blending all the ingredients together and baking it!

2️⃣ Use spices/seasonings and sauces to ramp up the flavor!

• Spices & seasonings: a low to no-calorie flavor enhancer packed with nutrients and other bioactive compounds! A sprinkle of this and a dash of that goes a long way!

  • Tip: start with the basics, then explore one new spice every month.

    Start with things like seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and blends like cajun seasoning on chicken, hamburger delux on beef, italian blend on any veggies, or everything bagel seasoning on anything!

  • My go-to seasoning for chicken or beef is Tony's Cajun seasoning and smoked paprika!

• Sauces: premade sauces level up any dish! As you get more experienced, you could try making some of these sauces yourself, but for starters, leave it to the experts and figure out what you like!

  • These are the ones I love:

    shriracha, chili garlic sauce, sugar-free BBQ sauce ("G Hughes"), cilantro lime sauce

  • I prefer to avoid mayo or oil-based sauces and instead mix with plain Greek yogurt! For example, instead of buying shiracha mayo, I mix shiracha with plain Greek yogurt (keeps it lower calorie too).

3️⃣ Embrace simple!

A meal does not have to be complex with 4 different components that each take an hour to make! Instead, combine 4 ingredients to make a meal!

It's ok to mix and match a few simple ingredients and call it a meal!

For example, you could mix and match a ready-to-eat meat like smoked salmon or rotisserie chicken, a package of microwaveable and already-cooked rice, an already-boiled egg, with a salad kit or some quick sauteed spinach (or have it raw!).

Basically, there are no rules.

Find what is doable for you,

and rest assured that flavor will improve

as you explore different spices, seasonings, sauces, & easy recipes!

When you're ready to save time, money, and frustration with meal prep, reach out!

Text me at 713.581.0568.

With me as your meal prep coach, you'll be making quick, simple, affordable, and tasty meals in no time!

-Michelle

Founder of FoodFlip

Master's in Nutrition   |   Bachelor's in Kinesiology

To help get you started, here's my no-cook chicken salad recipe!

If you try it, let me know what you think.

Follow the FoodFlip Instagram page for more!