How did we make eating healthy so complicated?

Hey everyone, long time lurker. I've been really interested in healthy cooking, and mealprep for a while now. I'm finally gonna make the leap, and I'm starting to work on it. I wanted to take in a ton of information. <br><br>I've read recipes, tips, and meal prep strategies. I've looked up meal prep for various dietary restrictions. I've checked out random chambers on the topic (not all mealprep) to find new ideas.<br><br>I still don't feel confident. I've really been digging deep, into all the subreddits. There's so many people giving conflicting advice. So many opinions and contradictions. I want to make a sweeping generalization, and say fuck it. Let's keep it simple. I think the problem is that we are all too damn complicated. We want to sound smart, and we want people to know we work hard. <br><br>We can't just cook a chicken, throw it in a box, and call it a day. We need to add all the buzz words. <br><br>Oh, you see that delicious piece of chicken, it's been marinated in a blend of healthy oils, with low sodium chicken broth, and a hint of turmeric, and paprika. I added some fresh herbs, and it's slow cooked on a wire rack for even cooking.<br><br>Or, here's a simple meal prep, a chicken, rice, and veggie bowl. But, I'm gonna add cumin, thyme, garlic, and ginger to my rice. <br><br>Oh, this is nice. Here's a simple and quick meal prep. It's a chicken and rice bowl cooked with chicken broth. I added some cumin, and basil for flavor. <br><br>I'll be honest, that sounds fucking delicious. I love rice. I love chicken. I love chicken and rice. I love rice with chicken, turmeric, cinnamon, and cumin. I don't love going to the store and wasting time reading labels, and evaluating the health benefits of every individual ingredient. I don't want to spend all weekend in the kitchen, to make six chicken and rice meals to get me through the week. I don't want to read through hundreds of comments, arguing over whether it's better to cook with coconut oil, or olive oil. I just want to eat healthy. I want to be healthy. I want to be happy. I fucking love rice, and I can't even admit to that. <br><br>I have read enough to know that I am not going to die because I ate a piece of chicken, rice, and veggies. I can cook rice with water, and seasoned salt, and nothing else. It's delicious. It's healthy. It's simple. And, I'm not a piece of fucking shit for it.<br><br>I've been reading a lot of comments, about how long it takes to prepare, cook, and portion these meals, and how many hours a week it takes to have healthy meals. Cooking a healthy meal is healthy. I don't need to make six of them at once. I don't need a slow cooker, or an instant pot, or an air fryer. I can just throw some fucking chicken in a pot of boiling water, with some vegetables, and boom. We're eating healthy. If you want to add some special seasoning, or sauce, that's fine too. But, I'm not going to let the internet bully me into feeling like a piece of trash just because I'm not adding cumin. <br><br>I like cumin. I like thyme. I like paprika. You know what, I don't need to tell you what I like. You need to stop caring so much about what I like. You need to stop caring so much about what I eat. You need to stop caring so much about what you eat. You need to stop judging me for not eating healthy. I need to stop judging myself for not eating healthy enough. We need to stop worrying about how many hours a week we spend cooking. We need to stop caring about how many buzz words we can add to our meals. We just need to cook healthier, and be happy about it. <br><br>So, finally, if you use a lot of special ingredients, awesome. If you don't, you're also awesome. If you spend all weekend cooking, keep doing it. If you don't, that's also fine. And, if you eat a chicken and rice bowl, with nothing else added, it's okay. You're not a piece of shit.