Let’s be honest. Most women aren’t struggling with food because they don’t know what to eat. We’re struggling because we’re busy as hell and cannot be bothered to cook a real meal when life is lifing.
When I’m hungry, tired, overstimulated, breaking up sibling arguments, answering client messages, and pretending I don’t hear someone yelling “MOM!?”… I am not preheating an oven. I’m not chopping onions. I’m not following some Pinterest recipe written by a woman with 6 hours of uninterrupted silence.
What I am doing is throwing a bunch of sh*t in a bowl and calling it dinner.
Eating well isn’t about being disciplined or motivated. It’s about being prepared enough that you can slap ingredients together in less than 5 minutes so you have no excuses for not eating balanced meals that hit your targets for health and any body comp. goals.
All you really need is protein, veggies, carbs that are already cooked, can be eaten raw, washed, or pre-cut. And a couple easy fat sources like avocado, olive oil or sauces.
That’s it. Suddenly “eating healthy and for my goals” takes five minutes and ZERO patience.
Here’s the structure I use so meals are balanced without thinking: 30+ grams of protein, 10–20 grams of fat, around 10 grams of fiber, and under 35 grams net carbs. All tossed in a bowl like we’re feral. Sometimes it's pretty, sometimes it looks like dog food. But it's always delicious, QUICK, easy, balanced and satiating.
Since you voted overwhelmingly YES for this in my instagram stories last week, I'm sharing some ideas with you today. By the way, make sure you don't miss my stories ... it's where I share much more personal stuff, what I'm eating each day, my actual workouts, weird stuff I'm experimenting with, etc.
Some go-to bowls for when you need to eat but absolutely refuse to work for it ...
1. The Oatmeal Soup Bowl
Rolled oats. Truvani (I've been using this one). Pumpkin seeds. So much hot water so it doesn't turn into cement.
2. The Lupini Pasta Bowl
Cooked lupini pasta (can be eaten cold, leftover, like a pasta salad). Whatever protein is lying around (you can do meat, tofu). Marinara, pesto or EVOO and spices. Any frozen or steamed veggies you have.
3. The Canned Chicken Bowl
Canned chicken or tuna. Greek yogurt. Pickles. Coleslaw mix. Mustard. Salt. Pepper.
4. The Burger Bowl
Ground beef or turkey or a high protein veggie burger (the one I have on hand right now is 22g protein per patty). Lettuce. Pickles. Tomatoes. Maybe a sprinkle of cheese. Ketchup, mustard, Greek yogurt sauce. Here's my veggie burger bowl from last week. It was the veggie patty, arugula, cherry tomatoes, Icelandic yogurt, lil bit of this mayo and mustard all mixed in for the sauce. Gross to look at. But I loved it.
5. The Icelandic Yogurt Bowl
Skyr. Protein powder. Berries. Basil seeds for insane fiber and some healthy fat.
6. The Buddha Bowl
Tofu or tempeh. Little bit of quinoa. Shredded veggies. Avocado. Coconut aminos.
7. The Spaghetti Squash Bowl
Cook spaghetti squash once and repurpose all week. Add chicken sausage (or another protein), marinara, spinach, parmesan.
8. The Taco Bowl
Ground meat or beans. Lettuce. Salsa. Greek yogurt “sour cream.” Avocado. Bell peppers.
9. The Mediterranean Bowl
Chicken or tofu. Tomatoes. Cucumber. Olives. Feta. Hummus. Sprinkle of roasted chickpeas if you're feeling fancy. Lemon. Greens.
10. The Sushi-ish Bowl
Shrimp or tofu. Cauliflower rice. Cucumber. Avocado. Seaweed snacks. Coconut aminos. Sesame seeds to elevate (optional).
Your bowls do not need to be pretty. Instagram is lying to you. They just need to get the job done so you can move on with your life and not tell me you don't have time to eat for your goals.
Alright, that’s your permission slip to stop overcomplicating food and start throwing sh*t in bowls like a pro. If you use any of these, reply and tell me which one becomes your “Oh crap, I forgot to eat” go-to. I seriously want to know!
Talk soon,
Tara
P.S. If you want more of this kind of thing on repeat – the food, the workouts, the nervous system stuff, the hormone talk, the “How do I actually do this inside my busy AF schedule?” – that’s exactly what we do inside The Metabolic Edge. It’s my community for women who care about strength, energy, longevity and not feeling alone in it. When you hang out with people who have similar goals, you rise faster and it feels way less hard. You can check it out and join us here.