Eating the right way is something we all want to achieve, but it’s never as easy as it seems. With so many health fads, how do you decide which one will keep you performing at optimal levels?

Do you go with no carbs? Or a high protein diet? What if you want to slim down? Or decide it’s time to gain muscle?

Enter The Enchanted Cook - Veronica Culver.

Culver knows that keeping the right diet is a continual struggle for most of us. That’s why she began sharing daily tips, hacks and recipes on her Instagram and personal blog, The Enchanted Cook. 

“There’s a sea of information and it can be overwhelming trying to wade through it all,” Culver said. “People are just so confused. No one has time to do the kind of research that people like me do - on a constant quest to keep up with new information. Being able to share what works is really exciting and I love helping people.”

As one of our most treasured Natural Stacks Optimizers, Culver has found the perfect balance of food, supplements and workouts that keep her at optimal performance levels at all times.

The Secret to an Optimal Diet

Culver began cooking at eight years old to help her parents around the house. Since then, she has developed quite the skill set for making delicious and healthy food that anyone could recreate.

The Enchanted Cook is Culver’s blog that includes all of her best recipes and tips on living up to the full “fit life” potential. For her, this means less carbs and more fats.

“Over the last several years, I started following paleo way of eating and seeing great benefits. So I started creating more recipes designed to be paleo friendly. I moved onto Bulletproof - a way of eating like paleo - but cleaned up even more but with a cyclical ketogenic component,” Culver explained.

One of our favorite recipes is her Parmesean Crusted Halibut which closely follows the paleo, ketogenic trend. You can find it in full at the end of this post.

Beyond the Table

We all know that to fully engage in a healthy way of life, we cannot rely on diet alone. Stacking our diets with natural brain enhancing supplements can complement our healthy diets and exercising habits to reach optimal performance.

“I love the fit life and I consider Natural Stacks a top brand when it comes to health,” Culver said.

She uses a variety of Natural Stacks supplements that depend on her personal daily goals and long-term success. Although Culver is a fan of the whole line, she has a few that really stand out as mental and physical optimizers.

“I take Serotonin Brain Food six days a week,” Culver said. “It gets me on a different plane where I feel a sense of contentment beyond what I would normally have which makes the daily stresses of life seem unnoticeable. It's one of my favorite travel hacks, too!”

When it comes to gut health and physical performance, Culver found that Prebiotic+ in smaller doses is the perfect addition to her nightly routine.

“Some women have a little belly bulge, myself included, that is very hard to target from a workout perspective. When I’m taking the prebiotic with everything else, it seems to disappear,” Culver said. “I take a tablespoon to a half scoop most evenings with quality yogurt or almond milk.”

Of course with all natural supplements, Culver recognizes that different kinds of success depend on your body type and where your gut biome is in it’s ecosystem of good and bad bacteria.

Regardless, there is something for everyone to find that extra edge you can’t get from just a good diet.

Take It to the Gym

Culver lends a hand to those looking to improve their diet, fitness and wellness. In addition to being a Bulletproof Ambassador, Culver spends a lot of time in the gym as a trainer for classes, groups and personal needs.

“Folks are interested in cracking the code on their diet which is highly individualized and I’ve had great success so I love to share my tricks and tips,” Culver said.

Veronica Culver uses The Enchanted Cook and her influence online as well as in the gym to help people take the next step in their health journey. She helps people realize their full potential and what it takes to be 100% in control of how you look and feel on a daily basis.

“In a sea of misinformation and questionable information - unsure about the quality of different products - the beauty of Natural Stacks is that they share every single ingredient so all you have to do is look at the label. They make it very easy for you to decide if it’s something you want to put in your body,” Culver said.

Culver's influence on diet, health and wellness is crucial to having optimal performance time and time again.

Check out the full Parmesan Crusted Halibut recipe below!

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Parmesan Crusted Halibut - Paleo, Keto, Bulletproof Friendly

Serves 4

Oven 350 degrees F

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon + 4 pats grass-fed butter to finish - optional (I use Kerrygold)

4 6-ounce pieces wild-caught halibut

Himalayan pink salt or sea salt

3 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning, divided

1/4 cup Bulletproof Mayo (watch how-to-make video), Primal Kitchen Mayo, or your favorite

4 teaspoons almond meal or almond flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)

4 teaspoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano (omit to make Bulletproof or if you don't tolerate cheese) 1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese (omit to make Bulletproof or if you don't tolerate cheese)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a large baking dish with 1 Tablespoon of the butter.

Lay the 4 pieces of halibut evenly spaced across the bottom of the dish.

Sprinkle each filet with a light dusting of Himalayan pink salt or sea salt.

Sprinkle half of the dried Italian seasoning evenly across each filet, reserve the other half.

Spread the mayo evenly across each filet.

Sprinkle each filet with 1 teaspoon of the almond meal or almond flour.

If omitting the cheese, sprinkle each filet evenly with the remaining dried Italian seasoning. Otherwise, continue by evenly coating each filet with the Parmigiano Reggiano and Asiago cheeses, then top with remaining dried Italian seasoning.

Place the dish in the oven uncovered and cook for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the fish is opaque white in the middle and the top is lightly browned. If using cheese, you may wish to place under the broiler for about 1 minute to get a nice crispy crust.

Remove from oven and serve with a pat of grass-fed butter atop each (optional).

Serving Suggestion: I like to plate my fish atop a bed of greens (like the baby arugula pictured) and drizzle everything with a little Bulletproof Brain Octane (or you can use MCT Oil or unflavored coconut oil) and additional sea salt. The heat from the fish lightly wilts the greens and the addition of healthy oils are satiating and good for keeping my brain and body fit and performing optimally.

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If you’re interested in Veronica Culver’s ideas and want to see more of what she’s up to, you can visit her recipe blog The Enchanted Cook or visit her Facebook and Instagram to get an inside look on what she’s doing to reach peak performance.

Check out Veronica’s CILTEP review on YouTube, here.

If you or someone you know is an avid Natural Stacks Optimizer, let us know and you could be featured in our next Optimizer Spotlight.

Follow Natural Stacks on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - or tune in the Optimal Performance Podcast, here.