I hear you, the food struggle is real. Even going to the grocery store isn't always inspiring, when a lot of the produce is less appealing than usual. Every year around now I find that people share their lack of zest in the kitchen. I thought it was a good time to share with you how I have been staying motivated to eat well.
1. Use lots of flavour
- Herbs and spices are a great way to switch up even your regular meals. I have been using fresh rosemary, dill and thyme often. Additionally, I have made a chicken curry recipe, lots of burrito bowls, quiche, pulled BBQ chicken in the slow cooker, and this weekend I plan to make chili. An easy way to change up the flavour is to select meal inspiration from different areas of the world. These flavours are all very different than the holiday meals from December. Also, the potent flavours help to stop taste buds from seeking salt and sugar.
2. Choose warm
- Even though I made a strawberry spinach salad last week (pictured above) just to mix things up, in winter I mostly make warming foods. Cold foods, like smoothies, are often much less appealing these days but I look forward to enjoying them again in the spring and summer. Soups, stews, roasted veggies made into a salad, stirfrys, and other cooked foods are best in the winter. Using garlic and ginger also warms up meals, and I'm using hot sauce on scrambled eggs.
3. Make larger portions
- Cooking once to eat 2-3 times is always a goal for me. Usually our leftovers don't make it to the freezer (because I have two teenagers), but they do make good lunches or dinners the next day with our busy schedules. I also cook extras of certain ingredients like ground beef and turn it into something different the next day (e.g. burrito bowls, spaghetti, and nachos all use ground beef). And the other thing I do often is to make two meals at once. Many recipes have overlapping ingredients, so I will use leftover roasted chicken to make a bone broth soup at the same time as making another dinner like shepherd's pie. Both need carrots, celery, onions, and other similar ingredients.
4. Continue to focus on proteins and healthy oils
- Keeping blood sugar balanced requires eating protein, healthy fats, and fibre. When we get stuck in food ruts, it's more likely that we gravitate to breads, pastas and other quick fillers that also spike our dopamine (reward and pleasure) centres. Unfortunately, these foods also elevate our blood sugar and leave us looking for more food when it crashes.
5. Make it fun
- Have a dance party, involve other family members in the food prep, and encourage everyone to select new recipes to try. Reframing cooking as something to look forward to, and as something to be grateful for, helps to change your mindset around mealtime.
Here are some recipe ideas to help you out. My favourite thing about whole foods recipes is that it is super easy to swap ingredients to fit your food preferences and sensitivities.
Curried Quinoa with Lentils and Veggies
Moroccan Chicken Stew
Turkey, Rice and Tzatziki Bowl
Ginger Beef Stirfry
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Wishing you a beautiful day filled with wonderfully good health.
Happy cooking!
Dr Christa
1. Use lots of flavour
- Herbs and spices are a great way to switch up even your regular meals. I have been using fresh rosemary, dill and thyme often. Additionally, I have made a chicken curry recipe, lots of burrito bowls, quiche, pulled BBQ chicken in the slow cooker, and this weekend I plan to make chili. An easy way to change up the flavour is to select meal inspiration from different areas of the world. These flavours are all very different than the holiday meals from December. Also, the potent flavours help to stop taste buds from seeking salt and sugar.
2. Choose warm
- Even though I made a strawberry spinach salad last week (pictured above) just to mix things up, in winter I mostly make warming foods. Cold foods, like smoothies, are often much less appealing these days but I look forward to enjoying them again in the spring and summer. Soups, stews, roasted veggies made into a salad, stirfrys, and other cooked foods are best in the winter. Using garlic and ginger also warms up meals, and I'm using hot sauce on scrambled eggs.
3. Make larger portions
- Cooking once to eat 2-3 times is always a goal for me. Usually our leftovers don't make it to the freezer (because I have two teenagers), but they do make good lunches or dinners the next day with our busy schedules. I also cook extras of certain ingredients like ground beef and turn it into something different the next day (e.g. burrito bowls, spaghetti, and nachos all use ground beef). And the other thing I do often is to make two meals at once. Many recipes have overlapping ingredients, so I will use leftover roasted chicken to make a bone broth soup at the same time as making another dinner like shepherd's pie. Both need carrots, celery, onions, and other similar ingredients.
4. Continue to focus on proteins and healthy oils
- Keeping blood sugar balanced requires eating protein, healthy fats, and fibre. When we get stuck in food ruts, it's more likely that we gravitate to breads, pastas and other quick fillers that also spike our dopamine (reward and pleasure) centres. Unfortunately, these foods also elevate our blood sugar and leave us looking for more food when it crashes.
5. Make it fun
- Have a dance party, involve other family members in the food prep, and encourage everyone to select new recipes to try. Reframing cooking as something to look forward to, and as something to be grateful for, helps to change your mindset around mealtime.
Here are some recipe ideas to help you out. My favourite thing about whole foods recipes is that it is super easy to swap ingredients to fit your food preferences and sensitivities.
Curried Quinoa with Lentils and Veggies
Moroccan Chicken Stew
Turkey, Rice and Tzatziki Bowl
Ginger Beef Stirfry
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Wishing you a beautiful day filled with wonderfully good health.
Happy cooking!
Dr Christa
RSS Feed