Many people who follow my program the Sophie Effect or come to my practice at some point ask me for healthy food recipes. I understand, everyone wants a healthy way to lose weight and to acquire healthy habits in order to live better, but I believe these concepts are a little warped.
How many people confuse healthy food recipes with workout meals and end up eating chicken, salad, sweet potatoes or other common variables? If that’s what you like, fine, but healthy eating goes way beyond that!
After all, what goes into healthy food recipes?
In my experience, healthy food recipes are made up of an assortment of, preferably fresh foods, that is, those you can find at a food market. Of course this doesn’t exclude processed or industrialized ingredients from time to time, but I suggest you decrease your consumption of them, by prioritizing fresh fruits, vegetables and real foods in general.
For example, if you make a pasta with tomato sauce, you’re making a healthy choice. If you opt for a homemade fresh tomato sauce, it’s even better. But also, when we’re in a rush, or don’t want to cook, the option of buying a ready-made sauce is still valid, trying to avoid many additives or sugars. Just read the label and make the most mindful choice you can.
Do you realize that you don’t have to go through all of this suffering?
Healthy food recipes are fresh food recipes, which you prepare with love and eat with pleasure. It has now become much easier to create a healthy and varied menu at home, right? Remember that it’s best to make homemade food whenever possible, but you don’t have to suffer. Be flexible when you don’t have time and leave guilt outside the kitchen!
Here on my site you’ll find some recipes, such as Christmas dinner and light meal for dinner. Here is one more option for you, to show you what I’m talking about, try this below.
Prawn and chayote recipe
Florinda is a Brazilian friend who gave me this family recipe, which is very traditional in Rio de Janeiro. Hers and many others are in my book: The Weight of Diets (currently being translated to English)
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of gray prawns
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3-4 crushed garlic cloves
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 4 chayotes peeled and cut into small cubes
- ½ liter of prawn broth
- Salt and black pepper as desired
- 4 bay leaves
- One – two tablespoons of shredded parsley
Preparation:
- Start by cleaning the prawns. Save the shells to make the broth
- To make the broth, put 1 liter of water, the prawn shells and 2 bay leaves in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil over a low heat. After boiling, strain the stock into a sieve and mash the prawn shells to thoroughly extract the flavor. Put it aside.
- Season the prawns with salt and pepper
- In a pan, put the olive oil, garlic and onion. Sauté them until they are translucent
- Add the chayote and prawns. Saute a little more and then add the prawn broth gradually. (It’s not necessary to put in too much broth, because the chayote also releases water)
- Put in the bay leaves and let it simmer
- When the chayote are cooked and firm, remove them from the heat
- Voilá! When serving, sprinkle with parsley. A good accompaniment to this dish is white rice!
Can you see how healthy food recipes don’t have to be bland? Everything that allows you to have fun in the kitchen is great, and always remember one of my most important rules: eat with pleasure and respect your hunger. Stop eating when you’re satisfied! Bon appétit!
Do you have any healthy food recipes? Comment below. Enjoy and also check out:
