Simplifying the food on your plate at each meal is a positive form of intentional eating. (Keep reading – there’s a free gift for you at the end of this post!)

By having fewer ingredients at each meal your body can benefit in the following ways:

• Simple meals made from whole foods are easier on your digestive system. There’s less stomach upset, less bloating, and your tummy won’t grumble all evening.
• Simple meals are less expensive and make an improved grocery budget.
• Simple meals are faster to prepare.
• Simple meals create fewer dirty dishes.

Supper doesn’t need to be meat, potatoes, veggies, and a salad, oh! and bread on the side… maybe dessert too? What if I told you all you need is two or three items on your plate? Your body will thank you.

In our home, we’ve even started to simplify our meals when we are having company for dinner. Simplify, simplify, simplify… that’s what I live by these days.

Here’s some real-world suggestions for simplifying meals:

• Breakfast: two eggs and one piece of toast.
• Breakfast: fruit smoothie with just three or four ingredients.
• Lunch: Salad greens with two or three toppings.
• Lunch: 1/3 orange pepper, filled with hummus, sliced tomato and topped with green onion.
• Lunch: Cucumber slices topped with tuna or salmon salad.
• Supper: Grilled chicken breast with half a baked yam.
• Supper: Curried brown rice with red lentils and one naan.
• Snack: one fruit or small bowl of one kind of berry.
• Snack: one handful of one kind of nut.

It’s always okay to use herbs and spices to add a variety of flavours to your meals.

As a bonus, I’ve put together a 5-day Keep It Simple meal plan just for you. Yep, it’s FREE! It includes 18 recipes (completely different from that list above!), each with six or fewer ingredients; and a shopping list to make buying groceries easy. Feel great from the inside out, and your wallet will be happy too!