Melina West is not a cook. She really remarks that she is already bored if a dish calls for more than seven steps. But Melina realised she wanted to simplify not just her calendar but also her plate after a particularly demanding year full of late nights, quick meals, and increasing tiredness.
“I was bored with obsessing over food,” she admits. “I just wanted to feel better, without making it my full-time job.” Quest Nutrition Ultimate Variety Pack Protein Bars, High Protein, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Keto Friendly, 12 Count
She then came onto the benefits of simple clean eating. She pushed herself to create meals with only five ingredients or less—whole, raw, and simple to prepare—instead of complex recipes or costly components.
It was an experiment initially, then. With so little, could she truly create anything pleasing? “I calculated I would last a week,” she adds. But then I created a black bean dish with lime roasted sweet potato and felt like—oh, this works.
She discovered as she persisted that cutting food down to its most basic form did not restrict her; rather, it liberated her. “I started paying attention to how food made me feel instead of fretting about elegant dinners,” she adds.
Melina swears now by her five-ingredient guideline. It’s more about avoiding choice fatigue and embracing simplicity than about being austere. She claims her food expenses have reduced too and most of her dinners come together in less than twenty minutes.
Still, maybe the largest gain is here. She enjoys cooking too quite a bit. She says, “I used to hate dinner time.” “Now it’s become a sort of ritual, a little act of kindness at the end of the day.”
Her method reminds us that eating healthfully need not be difficult. Sometimes the fewer the components, the more room we create for simplicity, consistency, and pleasure.
