Yesterday my roommates expressed astonishment that every night I can "just take whatever's in the fridge" and whip up something out of nowhere for dinner. The meek me is glad to appear effortless, but the diva me is hand on hip. This takes effort, y'all. Recognize: meals are planned, groceries are shopped for, and any possible prep work is handled ahead of time. Every night I take what I have prepped in the fridge and make what I have planned for that night.
I think one of the main hindrances for healthy eating comes when we mistake "taking effort" as "hard". Yes, the act of planning and making meals takes effort, but it doesn't have to be hard. And for me, it's always worth the effort. Here's the process I've found to work best for me:
1. Decide what to eat. Food blogs, Pinterest, your mom's coworkers, wherever you like to find recipes, find recipes that sound good and have easily attainable ingredients that you will either use up in the recipe or be able to use somewhere else. I always plan what day of the week I'll eat what meal, too, and write it out on a big sticky note. I deviate, but the plan is nice to have, just the same.
1.5 Try new things. Make a recipe you've never made before at least once a month. If it works out, save the recipe as a tried and true. If it doesn't, grab the peanut butter. You'll never expand your tried and true base if things are never tried.
2. Make a grocery list and go shopping. Buy what's on your list. Adapt your plan if things are on sale.
3. Prep! The weekends are good times to chop up vegetables and cook meat to use during the week. I bake lots of chicken at a time and keep it in the freezer for nights when I just want to microwave something and be through cooking.
4. Make dinner. Refer to your sticky note, put on some tunes, pull out the ingredients, and get to it.
"But it takes way too much time!!!" This is a myth. Get off your computer and cook.
It's easy to figure out your staple recipes once you get into things. For instance, I can be ready at a moment's notice to make sweet potato fries (and usually do at least once a week). If you want to talk recipes with me, please do. Food is my favorite topic of conversation.
I think one of the main hindrances for healthy eating comes when we mistake "taking effort" as "hard". Yes, the act of planning and making meals takes effort, but it doesn't have to be hard. And for me, it's always worth the effort. Here's the process I've found to work best for me:
1. Decide what to eat. Food blogs, Pinterest, your mom's coworkers, wherever you like to find recipes, find recipes that sound good and have easily attainable ingredients that you will either use up in the recipe or be able to use somewhere else. I always plan what day of the week I'll eat what meal, too, and write it out on a big sticky note. I deviate, but the plan is nice to have, just the same.
1.5 Try new things. Make a recipe you've never made before at least once a month. If it works out, save the recipe as a tried and true. If it doesn't, grab the peanut butter. You'll never expand your tried and true base if things are never tried.
2. Make a grocery list and go shopping. Buy what's on your list. Adapt your plan if things are on sale.
3. Prep! The weekends are good times to chop up vegetables and cook meat to use during the week. I bake lots of chicken at a time and keep it in the freezer for nights when I just want to microwave something and be through cooking.
4. Make dinner. Refer to your sticky note, put on some tunes, pull out the ingredients, and get to it.
"But it takes way too much time!!!" This is a myth. Get off your computer and cook.
It's easy to figure out your staple recipes once you get into things. For instance, I can be ready at a moment's notice to make sweet potato fries (and usually do at least once a week). If you want to talk recipes with me, please do. Food is my favorite topic of conversation.
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