What Tim Ferriss Knew That I Didn’t Believe
A while back, I read The 4 Hour Body, by Timothy Ferriss, and there was a part in there where he recommended that we eat from a very small menu. From memory, it was something like 5 or so dishes tops in our diet, with small variations. I remember thinking, “There’s no way. I totally need variety in my diet to survive.”
While I definitely like variety, I’ve come to realize that I can thrive off a very simple menu, and that by planning my weeks from this level of simplicity, I can also save money and time, and thus, have a lot more ability to focus on my business.
A Note First About Dietary Choices
I’m currently eating mostly plant-powered. No meat. No dairy. No sugar. No grain. No products of animals (eggs, etc). Mostly plants, legumes, nuts, and seeds. But those are my choices. Everything I’m mentioning would work just as well for a Paleo diet person, and you could probably arrange this to match your own interests. Don’t worry specifically about the foods I select. Just work with the concepts.
Planning a Small, Fast Menu
If you don’t start with goals, the work of putting a menu together won’t be very easy. My goals were as follows:
* At least one “portable” dish for on the road (something that might not need the fridge).
From there, I thought about ways that I could make something once and get more than one experience out of it. So, for instance, I make quinoa so that I can use it kind of like oatmeal with dried fruits and some nuts, and I make Warm Quinoa and Kale Salad, from Kris Carr’s and Chef Chad Sarno’s cookbook. This one dish costs very little, takes only 12 minutes to prepare, and I can have it two ways with little effort. Bingo!
Other dishes I make are easy because of modern conveniences. I visit Trader Joe’s weekly to buy their Healthy 8 Veggie Mix (a bunch of already-chopped veggies), and their Asian Stir Fry (ditto, but Asian-flavor). I serve these with organic non-GMO tofu (which once you learn how to cook it so that it tastes like something, is pretty good). This meal costs me less than $3 a serving and I can make it in about 8 minutes.
One way I stretch that even more is I swap out tofu for Italian “sausage” (tofu shaped and flavored like sausage that’s surprisingly convincing when fried with peppers and onions), same Healthy 8 veggies, and some different spices. Still 8 minutes. Almost the same price. Different taste.
You Can Do This, But It Takes Planning
Most times, when people tell me they can’t eat healthier, they say:
I’ve beat all of these simply by learning a few tricks. If you don’t buy all kinds of weird varieties of things, you can stretch your budget out. If you buy a few convenience items that don’t cost too much, you can stretch out your time. If you learn how to drink much more water and learn how to eat healthy fats like nuts and seeds and avocados, you’ll never be hungry again.
But that all takes planning, and a little bit of conviction to do it. Sure, if you’re dealing with kids at home, that makes things a bit more challenging. My kids are converting to much healthier eating options, but sometimes, that means gluten-free pizza with organic cheese and sauce. They’ll eat some veggie burgers but not all. You know, like any kids. But I’m still making it work.
In the end, it lands on this one question: pay for your health now at the farm stand and grocery store, or pay for your health later at the pharmacy and doctor’s office. But we all pay somewhere.
Chris Brogan puts all this eating to use at Human Business Works.
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