The reason for this is because I'm not comfortable being in the kitchen. It causes anxiety to even think about looking at recipes online or in cookbooks, let alone buying the ingredients and then putting them together and making them into what's supposed to be a meal. And it's supposed to be edible? Nothing I have made has ever turned out 1. The way it looks in the pictures or 2. The way it's supposed to taste.
But, I feel like one of the reasons I fail is because I am so uncomfortable in the kitchen. I often say yes to eating out and I rarely buy fresh food, opting for pre-packaged food because it's easier to just grab something and go rather than prepare something myself.
When I'm bored I sometimes find myself spending hours at a time on pinterest. I have pictures saved for my future house, decorating and to-do ideas to where my house that I do not own (and probably won't for years) is already decorated in my mind. The board I look at the most though is the health and fitness one. It used to be just for motivational quotes, which then turned into looking for workout ideas and finally, today, I started looking for easy recipes that I can do in order to give me another chance to be successful.
I found some recipes for a couple easy breakfasts, but I was mostly looking at recipes for smoothies (yay fresh fruit!). Smoothies are easy for breakfast, a snack, after a good workout and especially on a hot summer day (which are on their way). I wrote these recipes down and now I cannot wait to make them! I found a peanut butter and banana and a chocolate raspberry smoothie recipe from Prevention.com and I found an apple banana cinnamon, a raspberry orange and a kiwi-strawberry smoothie from Foodnetwork.com. I will be blogging about these smoothies with recipes/photos soon!
While on there I also found a great pin about 9 things to do in your kitchen to lose weight. I found it helpful (even if it is basic common sense to most people). For me, being so uncomfortable in the kitchen, I found this list to be something I can do easily without feeling too overwhelmed.
So, I want to share it here so that if for any reason someone feels uncomfortable and hasn't seen this list they can benefit from it the way I hope to. Please visit the website directly for the entire list, however this is what I took from it:
1. Make fruits accessible: Wash, cut up and store fruits in reusable containers so they're easy to grab and keep them up front at eye level so they're the first thing you see.
2. Prepare a container of salad: Having a salad before dinner is a great way to fill up so you eat less of the main course. You're sure to eat a salad with dinner if it's already made.
3. Have measuring cups and spoons on the counter: Measuring your food will keep portions in check. Seeing measuring spoons and cups on the counter will be a visual reminder to use them.
4. Pre-make snack packs: Take your favorite healthy snacks and some Ziploc baggies and make your own snack packs that you can keep in your cupboard. This will prevent you from eating an entire container of your favorite snacks.
5. Ditch the unhealthy foods: If unhealthy foods are within your reach, you're bound to crave them. Throw out or give away the junk because if it's not there, you can't be tempted to eat it.
6. Use smaller-sized plates: If you start out with a smaller-sized plate, there's only so much you can pile on, so you'll end up consuming fewer calories.
7. Freeze fruits and veggies: Buy larger bags of fruits and veggies, wash, cut and store them in baggies in the freezer. You'll not only save money but you'll also have them on hand.
8. Double or even triple the recipe: Don't just make enough for one meal, package the leftovers in containers you can easily grab for the next few days. If your lunch or dinner is already prepared you won't have to resort to unhealthy takeout.
9. Put food away before you sit down to eat: After you've cooked, serve yourself an appropriate serving size and then wrap up the remaining food and put it in the fridge. If you leave it out, you're more likely to go back for seconds.
Like I said, I hope to benefit from this list. I think that they are simple enough tips that I can follow. Next step is to make it to the grocery store in order to get some fresh foods for healthy snacks. Hopefully someone else can benefit from this list as well!
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