Five foolproof steps to a healthy meal

Eating a healthy meal does not have to be hard, it simply takes a bit of effort. Let's go back to the basics with these simple steps.

Step 1: Choose your favorite 3-5 veggies. For me, this always includes garlic, onions, potatoes, mushrooms and something green. This also makes grocery shopping easier because I'm usually buying the same or similar things. Chop them up. Vegetables are loaded with nutrients. Think of them as nature’s multi vitamin. The more colors, the better!

Step 2: Choose your favorite protein. Protein is essential for rebuilding your muscles and cells. Every meal you eat needs to include some protein. It will keep your brain sharp so you can keep working hard! Choose ground meats, eggs, shrimp, or whatever suits your fancy. Lately I've been into bacon and ground beef or bison.

Step 3: Find a cooking fat. I often use expeller pressed coconut oil because it is odorless and because coconut oil is pretty much my answer for everything. Other fats you could use include butter, lard, bacon fat (I’m a big fan of quality animal fats), olive oil or grapeseed oil. Anyway, you’ll need enough fat to properly cook your veggies. This is dependent on your serving size. This is about 2 tablespoons per serving. Don’t skimp here! Fat is essential to signal to your brain that you are full and for absorption of many vitamins and minerals.

Step 4: Over medium heat, sauté all of your veggies until tender. Then, add your meat and continue cooking until the meat is done.

Step 5: Turn the burner off and add your finishing sauce or spices. My go-to is Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. Nothing tastes bad with bacon and Frank’s. Vinegar or oil will also work here.

Bonus tip: Make more than you will immediately need. Having extra healthy food in the fridge is a great way to prevent from grabbing something less than optimal. The better food you eat, the harder and more productive you will work. It also means you could have multiple meals with only one clean up. Yes, please!