Your one-meal-a-day in minutes
Trust yourself to prepare simple meals and gradually reduce processed food consumption.
I recently met an investor in the tech industry, who’s genuinely trying to improve his health which is always pleasant to see. During our discussion, he told me he has no time or skills for cooking at home, leading him to order UberEats many times a week. This made me think about writing this post and sharing both misconceptions and knowledge about the ease of making nutritious dishes quickly while taking back control of what we put in our bodies by knowing the ingredients.
But first and foremost, to give a bit of context, I’ve been intermittently fasting since almost a decade now. I initially started with a 18-hour fasting window, and hence a 6-hour of feeding window. Over time, the body marvelously adapts and it gets easier to extend the fasting window up to 20, 22 and even 24 hours. Intermittent fasting is both effective and completely free, a powerful tool for anyone looking to improve their health and longevity.
However, as your eating window shrinks, meal quality becomes increasingly important. Your body still needs all its daily nutrients in a single meal without overwhelming your stomach. Planning nutritious, balanced meals becomes essential to successful one-meal-a-day (OMAD) fasting.
At the moment, my eating window is between 2 and 4 hours, which made me optimize my one meal effectively over time with the below 3 principles in mind:
Easily prepared in 5-10 minutes, good for busy people and tougher days
Whole nutrient-dense, fulfilling from both nutritional and volume perspectives
Delicious and savory at the same time, not compromising the taste
My go-to OMAD
Note: I tested vegan, vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, carnivore, ketogenic and paleo diets for years, and I’ve now found my balanced approach with a low-carb, whole food, organic diet with almost no cereals, some days (pesco) vegetarian and others with grass-fed meat.
I usually break my fast with fruits such as 2 kiwis and wait ideally between 30-45 minutes before my OMAD. I love eggs and I do them “perfect” from a culinary standpoint, which means I put them in the oven at 145°F / 63°C for 45-60 minutes, according to how I want them more or less translucid and firm (best way to have your eggs cooked while preserving all vitamins). That way I’m gently letting my body understand food will be coming soon to smoothly re-stimulate my hormonal system, while nicely waiting for my eggs 😋
Here is my typical organic OMAD composition:
5 perfect eggs + Himalayan salt, oregano, chives and Cayenne pepper
1 oz / 30g of hard raw milk goat or sheep cheese, like Ossau Iraty
½ lbs / 250g grass-fed steak, beef liver or pork with Himalayan salt, thyme and rosemary, on non-vegetarian days
Avocado Savory Meal as per below, prepared in just 5-10 minutes
Avocado Savory Meal
Ingredients
Don’t be intimidated by the below list: it’s basically one avocado, oils, nuts, some fruits, chocolate, herbs and spices — and hence very easy and fast to prep 😉
Health sovereignty means taking control of what fuels your body, and therefore providing essential nutrients while avoiding toxins found in most processed food and restaurant meals (particularly non-organic establishments).
The journey begins with purchasing whole foods, whether in person or through delivery services. From there, it’s about developing habits and techniques that make meal preparation quick and simple — often faster than waiting for your food delivery 😅
For those making this transition or willing to, I suggest an 80/20 approach: be mindful about your food intake 80% of the time (by buying and preparing it yourself) while allowing flexibility for the remaining 20%, before gradually optimizing further.
Enjoy your homemade savory meals!
Take care.
Serge
PS: Here is below the daily nutrient breakdown of what I typically eat on a non-vegetarian day as described above — for those who want to get into the details 🤓
