At some point, dinner starts to feel harder than it should be. Too many decisions. Too many spices. Too much second-guessing at the end of already long days.
If you’re trying to eat well, maybe you’re in your own protein era, you want food that’s filling, easy to make, and actually tastes good. What you don’t want is a spice rack negotiation every night or a recipe that turns dinner into a project.
You don’t need a new appliance or an elaborate meal plan. You need fewer decisions, especially at the end of an already long day.
That’s where my cooking finally changed.
What worked wasn’t a total overhaul. It was a shortcut.
Instead of trying to season everything differently, I started relying on one spice blend I could trust. One that worked on chicken, steak, vegetables, whatever protein I had on hand, without overthinking it.
The Shortcut That Worked
For months, Julia Marcum of the Instagram account Chris Loves Julia teased a new product launch. The rollout was preppy, sleek, and quietly confident, and when it was finally revealed that her husband, Chris Marcum, had created a spice blend, I thought: That rollout alone deserves a try.
Chris and Julia Marcum, the duo behind Chris Loves Julia, created Over Achiever as a simpler way to season everyday meals.
(Hey Old Sport/ChrisLovesJulia)
I’m a public-school teacher in New York City, and I often prep dinner during my lunch break at home. That means I don’t have time to experiment with a long list of ingredients.
I ordered the two-pack of Over Achiever, partly for the discounted shipping, and put it to work right away. First up: homemade chicken tenders. It instantly elevated the basic breadcrumb, salt-and-pepper air-fryer recipe I’d been relying on.
Next, I used it on a crock-pot skirt steak, turning a cheap cut of meat into something genuinely satisfying. Then I added it to a homemade vegetable soup, where it gave real depth to what had previously been a bit of a hodgepodge recipe.
Instead of pulling out six spices and hoping they’d work together, I started reaching for one, Over Achiever. If that’s all I used, dinner still tasted good. If I had extra time, I could layer in more, but I never really had to.
Why Fewer Choices Made Cooking Better
What surprised me most was how much better cooking felt with fewer choices.
I was so intrigued, I invited founder Chris Marcum on my podcast, “Tidy Tidbits.” He explained that “tidying up” cooking isn’t about doing more, it’s about prioritizing. His goal in creating the blend was simple: make food taste like food, using real ingredients, without overcomplicating things.
The result is something you can keep out on the counter, not buried in a cabinet. One reliable option you reach for again and again.
What I’m Taking Into the New Year
This is the habit I’m taking into the new year, and one I’d recommend to anyone feeling burned out by dinner decisions: fewer choices, better systems, and tools that support real life instead of complicating it.
Cooking doesn’t need to be a performance. Sometimes the smartest shortcut is the one that lets you stop overthinking and start enjoying the process again.
And for me, that started with one spice blend.
