Quality nutrition for a healthy lifestyle

The goal of this page is not just to present tasty recipes, but also to provide practical tools so that anyone can improve their nutrition, and therefore, their health.

I don’t provide any miraculous diet nor suggest impossible sacrifices. And basically, I don’t care how many kilos you want or need to lose either; I think that we should simply try to incorporate the following tips into our daily lives to improve our nutrition and lifestyle. If we manage to maintain them in the long term, I have no doubt that we will see remarkable results. The ultimate goal is not to reach a final number, but to maintain a certain regular path.

I’m also not suggesting that you radically change your life right away, because that doesn’t sound very realistic and in the best case scenario, would probably only work for a short period of time. Try gradually to incorporate some changes in your daily routine. If there is a “forbidden” food that you usually like and eat, it would already be a progress if it became something occasional. If you never do sports, it would be a great improvement if you start taking long walks regularly.

The first 12 tips for a positive change:

1. The best food is always homemade. The advantage of cooking our food is knowing exactly what and how much has been used in its preparation. By following the recipes on this blog, I hope you will be able to enjoy preparing your own food without big complications.
2. Reduce the consumption of ultra-processed products. The more you master cooking techniques, the less you will depend on buying those processed foods, which usually contain an excess of sugars, bad fats, and additives that are sometimes impossible to pronounce.
3. Learn to read product labels. Related to the previous point, it is important to identify the good ingredients and those extras that are not necessary and reduce the nutritional quality of a product. For example, in the hummus recipe I have described how many commercial versions sneak in lower quality ingredients to replace valuable tahini or extra virgin olive oil.
4. Reduce the consumption of added sugars. After you get used to read product labels, you will discover how many products have a hidden amount of unnecessary sugar. And since sugar is highly addictive, the less you consume, the less you will need it.
5. Learn which foods have the best nutritional qualities and incorporate them into your diet. The recipes on this page will allow you to learn about a wide spectrum of grains, legumes, cereals or vegetables, meat, fish and seafood, as well as different cooking techniques. With this knowledge you can gradually expand your possibilities and improve eating habits.
6. Learn how to replace your bad snacks with better alternatives. Sometimes you don’t need to learn new recipes or discover unusual foods. A minimum of effort is enough to replace pastries or ultra-processed products with a handful of nuts or fruit, wholegrain bread instead of white bread, etc.
7. Make sure you get enough lean protein in each meal. This is a very common mistake, with the exception of those who cannot complete it due to some specific disease. Protein is not only essential for building and maintaining lean mass, it also helps to keep us satiated for a longer time, ergo, to eat less. The idea of maintaining a diet where we only eat salad is less beneficial than we imagine. Even if you do not consume meat, it is necessary to observe a good intake of protein in the form of soy, legumes, eggs, almonds or other nuts, etc.
8. Try not to „drink your calories“. Soft drinks, juices and similar commercial preparations are where more added sugar is consumed. Try replacing them with coffee, tea or water. You can also enjoy a glass of wine or a beer from time to time, but consider the enormous excess of calories that it means by doing it very regularly.
9. Take care of your quality and hours of sleep. This is quite elementary and requires no further comment. I just want to point out that poorer sleep has been proven to be directly related to a decreased ability to lose weight.
10. Find a physical exercise according to your preferences and abilities. In my personal experience, I started running until I realized that I wouldn’t to want to keep it in the long term. So I decided to switch for long walks, which I also combine with another hobby such as photography. Similarly, I started with strength training with weights, until I discovered that I liked bodyweight calisthenics better. Might be yoga better in your case? Experiment and discover what activity you could practice with pleasure over time.
11. Adopt habits that you can maintain in the long term. The same thing I’ve explained about exercise applies to food. Instead of enduring the restrictions of a diet, with all the negative implications this word normally carries, it’s more reasonable to adopt a system of nutrition that is acceptable and enjoyable in the long run.
12. Consistency is the key to success. Although occasionally you might not strictly comply with all these tips, consistency in their observance should be the rule. You can skip them from time to time, if you think it will make it easier and more bearable. Again, the most important is to incorporate them on a regular basis.