What Eating Well Looks Like for Me at Home

When people ask me how I eat, they’re usually expecting something complicated.

A strict plan. A long list of foods I “can’t” eat. Something expensive or hard to maintain.

The truth is, my day-to-day food at home is pretty simple. It’s just intentional.

I eat in a way that supports my body, keeps inflammation down, and doesn’t make my pain worse. That’s the goal. Not perfection. Not rules. Just support.

No condition was ever made worse by eating a healthy, nourishing diet — and that idea guides almost everything I do in the kitchen.

Breakfast (if I eat it)

I don’t force breakfast if I’m not hungry, but when I do eat in the morning, it’s usually very straightforward.

An egg or two.

Some uncured, sugar-free bacon, or sausage I have made at the butcher with nothing but salt and pepper.

On slower mornings — especially weekends — I might make an omelet and load it up with vegetables. Kale, onions, bell peppers, whatever I have on hand. Nothing fancy, just real food that actually tastes good.

Lunch

Lunch is almost always a big salad.

And when I say big, I mean I try to use as much variety as I can find at the grocery store. Different greens, lots of vegetables, as many colors as possible.

I usually add leftover meat from dinner the night before — steak, chicken, pork — or sometimes tuna. For dressing, I keep it simple: high-quality olive oil and vinegar, or a homemade vinaigrette.

In the colder months, I’ll almost always add a cup of soup on the side. Something brothy and comforting, like beef vegetable or chicken and potato. Warm food matters in the winter.

Dinner

Dinner is where we rotate through a few reliable patterns.

One-pan skillet meals.

Sheet pan dinners.

Simple marinades.

I’ll use chicken, boneless pork chops, wild-caught salmon, or thin steaks, and pair them with whatever vegetables are in season. In the winter, that usually means Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, broccoli, and plenty of onions and garlic.

In the summer, it gets even better — zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, summer squash, fresh herbs. The food changes with the season, but the structure stays the same.

Lots of protein.

Lots of vegetables.

Enough fat to make it satisfying.

We don’t center meals around starches, but we do include them when they make sense — potatoes, squash, things that actually feel like food.

Snacks

If I snack, it’s usually something simple.

Berries and a handful of walnuts.

Carrot sticks or celery with something to dip them in.

Half an avocado with good salt and pepper.

One of my favorite snacks is what I call “romaine chips.” I cut romaine lettuce into bite-sized pieces and dip them into a simple vinaigrette made with olive oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, a little honey, garlic, and whatever seasonings I’m in the mood for. It’s basically chips and dip — just lettuce and really good fat.

I use olive oil generously. It’s a staple for me, not something I avoid.

What I Drink

This part matters more than people realize.

You can eat really good food all day long, but if you’re washing it down with sugary drinks, bottled coffee drinks, sodas, or sweetened lattes, it’s going to be a lot harder to see or feel a difference. What you drink counts.

Most days, I drink a lot of water. I aim for at least about half my body weight in ounces per day. That sounds like a lot until you spread it out, and once you’re used to it, it just becomes normal.

In the winter, some of that water is steeped with caffeine-free herbal tea. I usually have one or two cups a day — things like peppermint, or right now a lemon ginger turmeric blend that I really enjoy. If someone wants a little honey in their tea, that’s fine. This isn’t about being extreme.

Other than that, I drink water.

I don’t drink soda. I don’t drink bottled coffee drinks or sweetened beverages. I’m not constantly sipping on things that spike blood sugar and inflammation. Keeping drinks simple makes everything else work better.

It’s not exciting, but it’s effective.

The bigger picture

This isn’t about following a plan perfectly.

It’s about eating in a way that keeps my body calm, nourished, and functioning as well as it can. When I eat this way consistently, my pain is more manageable. My energy is steadier. And everything else in life feels easier.

That’s it.

Nothing extreme.

Nothing trendy.

Just food that works.