Macri - Happy go paleo: fun, healthy meals from my 80/20 kitchen

One of the most essential skills required for healthy eating is preparation, and the best way to prepare is to ensure you have everything you need in your kitchen on a daily basis. Remember, we need a range of nutrients to stay healthy, and ideally, most of them should come from real food. A rainbow of fruit and vegetables Mushrooms Berries Red meat Offal Oily fish Eggs Shellfish White meat Safe starches Healthy fats Cooked and raw dishes Seaweed Fermented foods Bone broth Some nuts Some pleasure foods Before you plan your meals, think about what youll be doing that week. A rainbow of fruit and vegetables Mushrooms Berries Red meat Offal Oily fish Eggs Shellfish White meat Safe starches Healthy fats Cooked and raw dishes Seaweed Fermented foods Bone broth Some nuts Some pleasure foods Before you plan your meals, think about what youll be doing that week.

Lots of physical activity requires more carbohydrates and calorie-dense meals; lounging and watching TV requires less. Likewise, studying for an exam or attending a stressful meeting might require foods with more specific nutrients, such as foods with B vitamins and antioxidants. We all travel, go out, entertain, feed fussy kids and even fussier partners, and some days we need more comfort foods. Make sure to take these factors into consideration so you dont under- or over-prepare. As with life in general, its important to leave some room for spontaneity.

Being efficient in the kitchen is not just about saving time its also about thinking ahead, budgeting and avoiding food wastage.

During the week I like to cook meals that are easy and fast. I will often do a little dinner preparation in the morning, like marinating or soaking foods. When I use a slow cooker, I will pre-chop most of the ingredients the night before so all I have to do in the morning is throw everything together and set the timer. Cooking in parallel is a great skill everyone should learn. I rarely wait to prepare all ingredients before I start cooking. I often chop the rest of the veggies while my onion or meat is browning, or I will prepare the rest of the meal while the key ingredient is roasting or boiling away.

While I make a breakfast omelette or a smoothie, I will throw some sweet potato in a frying pan or boil green beans to add to my lunch meal. I like to think about what else I can be doing at the same time to make my life easier later on. When I plan meals and organise a shopping list, I consider what I can cook in large batches and freeze for later. This will tell me if I should buy certain foods in bulk or get them before the weekend so I can have a big cook-off. Often, that will also be driven by what is in season or on special. Weekends are perfect for fermenting, making bone broth or batches of soups, curries, stews and meatballs for freezing, or chopping up ingredients for salads or smoothies.

I like to go through my fridge and pantry to see what needs to be used up before I shop for new ingredients. I save leftover vegetables for a soup or a juice, and use spare meat bones and chicken carcass to make a broth.

I can give you all the cooking tips and tricks in the world, but the thing that will make your real food journey easier is if you can incorporate some fun in both planning and cooking your meals. Here are my top five tips. Cook to music I almost always do. Make it a game Pick one of the cookbooks you havent looked at for a while, open at a random page and cook whatever recipe you see! How about a challenge where you have to cook a brand new recipe every day for a month? Or getting your kids to pick a letter from the alphabet and then cook a dish with a food that starts with that letter? Invest in a cool apron I dont know what it is but as soon as I put on one of my fun aprons, I feel like I am wearing a superhero cape. Make it a game Pick one of the cookbooks you havent looked at for a while, open at a random page and cook whatever recipe you see! How about a challenge where you have to cook a brand new recipe every day for a month? Or getting your kids to pick a letter from the alphabet and then cook a dish with a food that starts with that letter? Invest in a cool apron I dont know what it is but as soon as I put on one of my fun aprons, I feel like I am wearing a superhero cape.

I instantly get into kitchen-goddess mode I mean business and nothing stands in my way of getting an awesome dish on the table. Cook outdoors Of course this is weather- and location-dependent but try cooking outdoors. Whether its grilling some prawns on a barbecue or simply sitting in the garden while peeling the potatoes there is something special about fresh air. I call it alfresco cooking. Dont rush Relax. I believe that your state of mind while cooking will often reflect in the way the food tastes.

If youre tense, stressed and rushing, you will conduct bad joo joo into a dish. Remember, nobody is watching or judging your every move. Its okay to do things your own way and to do them slower than the kitchen masters. Believe me, with practice you will get quicker and more efficient while still having fun.