Finding a new weekday routine
This year, I made a very practical commitment to doing more meal prep and planning. I guess you could say it was my New Year’s Resolution, though I try to avoid thinking of it in that category.
To me, resolutions have a bad wrap and, like clockwork, become something you can let slip after the first quarter of the month. What I wanted instead was to make a permanent adjustment. I wanted to flip the switch on a behavior I was not doing before and never look back. I wanted to be transformed like a little caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly … but with snacks.
I knew this would be hard but I also knew it wouldn’t be impossible. While permanent change isn’t guaranteed, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks to make the change a bit more ‘sticky’ for me.
For me, it comes down to the following:
Know why you are doing something
Be realistic about what you are committing to
Build in your break
The Why
I have always been a curious person. I get why four-year-olds are constantly asking, why? I, too, wonder! And I’m glad one of us is speaking up.
When it came to meal planning, my ‘why’ was pretty easy to define: I was motivated by cost and quality.
A foodie by nature, I often find myself filling my cart with items that have no rhyme or reason for being in there other than me thinking “Oh that looks interesting!” I regularly blackout midway through strolling Central Market only to find myself at the checkout asking, “What the hell did I just buy?” as I watch my bill tick up, up, up.
Meal planning was one way to help myself reel-in the impulse buying and ensure that I buy what I need, when I need it.
The other reason for meal planning was directly attributed to the NY Times.
Their series on ultraprocessed food really rocked my world and got me curious about the food additives and emlusifiers within my own pantry. A little digging confirmed what their reporting suspected: ultraprocessed food was everywhere.
Planning would be one way for me to spend a little more time on what I was eating on a regular basis.
Being realistic
I’m not a hero, folks! I am not going to be cooking dinner seven nights a week. I just don’t have the energy or creativity.
As much as I want to have more meal planning in my life, it has to be a realistic commitment. For me, right now, this is three nights during the week. Beyond that, well, say a prayer.
Build in the break
Going back to, ‘I’m not a hero folks’, I need breaks. And those breaks need to be open to some real trash options.
Yes, I would like to eat healthy, delicious meals every day. But I also like pizza with those little pepperoni’s that become little pools of grease when baked. And french fries? You will have to pry them from my cold, dead hands.
I committed to three homemade and healthyish meals a week. And also for one night where anything goes.
So far, the routine is working. It’s not perfect, but I’d say most weeks I am doing what I said I would. I make the meals. They have better ingredients. I am using what I buy and trying to limit what is unnecessary. And I’m livin la vida loca one night a week just to blow it all and show ‘all things in moderation.’
Is this a perfect plan? Definitely not. Is this a plan that is working right now? Yes, I’d say it is.
When this stops being true, I’ll work on finding something new.