Nutrition by Dawn - Blog

Back home, but with amazing memories from beautiful Croatia, where we had a cooking class overlooking the Adriatic.

We started the morning like locals:

• 🐟 A stop at the fish market for the catch of the day

• 🥩 The meat market for fresh ground pork and beef

• 🥬 The green market for just-picked veggies and fruit

• 🧀 A quick snack of charcuterie, cheese, and fresh bread made under a traditional bell

And then? We cooked up:

• Tomato soup

• Stuffed peppers

• Zucchini fritters

• Pasta with shrimp

• Local wine (naturally 🍷)

It was rustic. It was real. It was totally joyful.
And underneath it all? There was a system.

Wait, a system? On vacation?

Yup.

Even here, in the heart of old-world Europe, there’s a natural flow to how people eat:

1. Shop fresh each morning

2. Cook what’s in season

3. Eat with intention and flavor
    

It’s not rigid. It’s not restrictive.
But it is a system.

And guess what?
You can build one at home, too, no matter how busy your life feels.

What a cooking system might look like for you

Not everyone has time for daily trips to the market. I don’t either.

But here’s how I make systems work in real life, back home:

• 🐟 Fresh fish delivery weekly

• 🍗 Quarterly meat delivery (grass-fed, grass-finished, no junk)

• 🔥 Sunday batch cooking, chicken, sausages, roasts

• 🧊 Par-cooked proteins ready to reheat on busy weeknights

• 🥕 Add raw veggies, steamed rice, or sautéed greens on the fly

Other people love doing:

• 📋 A weekly menu + grocery list

• 🍱 Pre-made freezer meals

• 🗓️ Meal kits or delivery services

None of it is wrong.
The only wrong system is the one that doesn’t fit your life.

So how do you start?

✅ Begin with the end in mind.
Do you want meals that are:

• Fast and low-stress?

• Fresh and seasonal?

• Flavorful and flexible?

✅ Choose a prep day.
(Sunday? Monday night? Whatever works.)

✅ Prep what slows you down.
For most people, it’s protein.

✅ Make it your own.
And remember: your cooking system should help you fuel your body with protein, fats, and carbs in a way that brings you joy, not stress.

Bonus Joy Points

Here’s my favorite part of this Croatian cooking experience:

We didn’t start with a recipe.
We started with what was fresh and beautiful, and built the menu around that.

What a powerful metaphor, right?

“Let your system serve you, not the other way around.”