Making Healthy Eating Easy: A Gentle Guide for Real-Life Gut-Friendly & Plant-Based Nutrition

Eating well can feel overwhelming when you live with chronic illness or burnout — especially when you also have to navigate food restrictions like plant-based, gluten-free, and allium-free eating. What most people call “simple meals” can feel anything but simple when energy is low and symptoms are unpredictable.

For me the hardest part is that almost all premade food contains things that aren’t that gut-friendly. Additives like sugar or sweeteners or different kinds of allium, i.e. onion, garlic etc. They all make it inaccessible to me. If I eat something that I haven’t made from scratch I always have to account for what consequences that might have, like tummy ache, acid reflux, blood sugar crashes etc. So I make 90% of my food from scratch, but it doesn’t have to be hard. You just need to find inspiration and find ways to do it that don’t eat up all your energy.

This week, let’s explore how to nourish your body with kindness, flexibility, and real-life accessibility — no perfection required. Simple formulas that can be adapted in any way you want.

🌸 Why Many Nutrition Plans Don’t Work for Us

Traditional meal plans assume:

• steady energy

• long shopping trips

• lots of chopping and cooking

• foods that don’t work for your body

• time and mental focus
  
  

But for those living with chronic illness, burnout, fatigue, or sensitivities, food needs to be:

• simple

• soothing

• digestible

• gentle on symptoms

• easy to prepare on low-energy days
  
  

You deserve nourishment that fits your reality.

🍽️ A Simple Way to Build Meals: The Gentle Trio

This method keeps things adapted to what you can eat and nourishing — without complicating your day.

1. Plant-Based Protein (easy, quick options)

Choose what feels doable:

• tofu or tempeh (plain, unseasoned — no garlic/onion marinades)

• canned lentils or chickpeas (rinsed) (They are often easier to digest than dired ones that you presoak-so I always opt for canned beans)

• roasted chickpeas

• lupin beans

• edamame

• dairy-free protein shakes

• nut/seed butters with fruit or GF crackers
  
  

2. Gentle Plants (fruit or veg — all count)

Fresh, frozen, canned, steamed — whatever fits your energy:

• frozen mixed vegetables (Frozen vegetables are as nutritious as fresh, because they were frozen when they were just picked, which means they are basically fresher than the fresh vegetables you buy at the supermarket).

• carrots, peas, broccoli

• cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach

• berries, apples, bananas

• roasted root vegetables (if you cook potatoes, let them cool and then heat them aagin, you increase the amount of resistant starch a fiber that your gut loves, and it reduces the fast carbs)
  
  

3. A Gluten-Free Carb or Comfort Base

Choose something grounding:

• rice

• quinoa

• buckweat

• roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes

• gluten-free pasta

• gluten-free wraps/tortillas

• gluten-free oats
  
  

Combine any one from each category, and you have a balanced, easy, plant-based meal.

🌿 Low-Energy Meal Ideas

Because some days even assembling food feels hard:

• Rice + chickpeas + frozen veggies (steam everything in one pot, season simply)

• Gluten-free pasta + basil pesto (no alliums) + cherry tomatoes

• Smoothie bowl with berries, plant milk, protein powder

• Baked potatoes topped with beans, tahini, herbs

• Tofu scramble (allium-free seasoning) + spinach + gluten-free toast

• Snack plate: fruit, nuts, hummus without garlic, GF crackers

• Soup shortcut: blend vegetables + coconut milk + herbs (no stock with alliums)
  

Simple, soothing, supportive.

💛 Reminder: Convenience Is Allowed

You are not failing if you choose:

• pre-chopped veg

• frozen meals that fit your needs

• shelf-stable ingredients

• jarred sauces without alliums (they might be hard to find)

• quick, repetitive meals

• the easiest option available
  
  Nourishment does not require suffering.

🌼 You Deserve Food That Makes Life Easier

Healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming, or perfect.
It doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s version of wellness.
And it definitely shouldn’t drain your energy.

Small steps count.
Simple meals count.
What works for you is what matters most.

Your body deserves nourishment that feels gentle and doable.
And so do you.