The One Nutrition Change That Solves a Lot of Problems

A good friend once told me that the most impossible thing to do is "drive two cars at one time." 

He explained that moving a mountain is actually impossible, but you actually think through this two cars at once problem a bit before you conclude it's impossible.

Since that day, I've found myself trying to figure out how to get two cars from one place to another more often than I would have ever imagined.  Here's one guy's somewhat successful attempt. 

This brings me to the second most impossible thing to do: eat out multiple times per week without gaining weight.

With restaurant dining, you're fighting against portion sizes, unknown calorie additions, and the increased risk of overeating.

Therefore, my top advice for improving health and losing weight is to make your own food. 

After the skill is honed, the food becomes preferable over restaurant dining, it saves a ton of money, and you actually get a two-point bump on your attractiveness.

Here are my tools and tips for becoming a good home chef—while becoming healthier at the same time.

Especially for proteins, getting food to the correct temp for just the right amount of time is the crux for both amateur and pro chefs.  It's the 20% that gets you 80% of the results of great cooking.

Having a meat thermometer takes out the guesswork.  I used one with wires for a long time, but last year, I was gifted the MEATER Pro, and it's worked perfectly.

It wirelessly connects to your phone to show you the internal temp of your food and the temp of your grill or oven.  

Select from the app what you're cooking and the doneness you want, and then it pings you when your food is ready—it's a cheat code for good cooking.

Last year, I started a search for meal subscription boxes, of which there are about 100 options.  While a good choice for somebody short on time, I found them to be too expensive and not what I really wanted.

Instead I landed on this app called Mealime.

Now, each weekend with the help of my family we choose our meals from a massive lineup of dinners.

Then the app creates a grocery list for all the meals and then you get a step-by-step recipe to follow.

If you want the macros for a serving it's in the app as well.

I think there are other options out there, but this specific one has won me over.

Chopping vegetables, slicing meats, and preparing ingredients is infinitely more frustrating with a dull low-quality knife.  So get yourself a good knife.

Add to that a heavy cast iron skillet, a dutch oven, and a non-stick pan and you're now rolling with a sweet profession kitchen for your career as a successful home chef.

Kitchen Scale 

My final tip is to learn the science about what makes food great.  With just an attention to detail you can be really good in the kitchen, but with some basic knowledge you can be phenomenal.

After reading the book Fat, Salt, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, I felt like I had attended chef school by understanding how these essential basics worked together.

I started with the Netflix series before picking up the book and they were both exceptional.   

The mess that follows a home cooked meal might be the biggest struggle that has no great solution.

Along with cleaning as you go, the one tip I can offer (which I can't promise will work for everyone,) is to let your dishwasher do the heavy lifting.

You don't need to rinse the dishes, just scrape off any food and throw them in the machine.  It actually saves water and works a bit better when there is residue left to clean.