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How to kick the restaurant habit
May. 16th, 2011 01:41 pmLast week a student of mine (one of those kids with lawyer parents he never really sees) had one more question after our tutoring session.
"What should I eat tonight?"
Huh?
He really wanted to know.
He was trying to eat better, but there really wasn't anything convenient at home. Still, he didn't want to just grab a burger at McDonald's. The conversation wandered through nutrition, sugar, organic foods, exercise, on and on.
I'm not sure I answered his question. So I'd like to answer it here.
How to kick the fast food habit in several steps:
- Find out why you're eating this crap and solve the immediate problem
- Learn basic cooking skills, if need be; learn more recipes if need be
- Make cooking more convenient: STOCKPILING ingredients, put recipes easily at hand
Kicking the fast food habit: ask yourself why you're eating this crap
At various points in my life I've found myself depending on restaurants, take-out, and sadly, fast food.
If you love restaurants and have tons of money, this isn't a problem, eh?
But for me, I developed restaurant fatigue. It was too expensive. I also gained weight (portions were way too big for me, even with the doggy bag). Plus I didn't feel ... healthy. All but the very high-end restaurants use cheaper ingredients to save costs and I can't afford Volt every week.
I looked at why I depended on restaurants. I assumed it was time, but really, restaurants take up time. For some people it may be not knowing how to cook (I looked and yes, my repetoire was limited).
Mostly though, I lacked energy.
I lacked energy because I ate poorly. Uh-oh.
First, I let myself get too hungry. I stayed up too late and skipped breakfasts. My job's flat-out six-hour shift left me starving. By dinner I needed food now, now, now.
Step one for me: buy breakfast foods and keep them on hand, put a bowl of fruit and veggies by the computer (my primary starvation zone), and stock my office with snacks like almonds, carrots, bagels and cream cheese, sugar-free fruit leather.
"What should I eat tonight?"
Huh?
He really wanted to know.
He was trying to eat better, but there really wasn't anything convenient at home. Still, he didn't want to just grab a burger at McDonald's. The conversation wandered through nutrition, sugar, organic foods, exercise, on and on.
I'm not sure I answered his question. So I'd like to answer it here.
How to kick the fast food habit in several steps:
- Find out why you're eating this crap and solve the immediate problem
- Learn basic cooking skills, if need be; learn more recipes if need be
- Make cooking more convenient: STOCKPILING ingredients, put recipes easily at hand
Kicking the fast food habit: ask yourself why you're eating this crap
At various points in my life I've found myself depending on restaurants, take-out, and sadly, fast food.
If you love restaurants and have tons of money, this isn't a problem, eh?
But for me, I developed restaurant fatigue. It was too expensive. I also gained weight (portions were way too big for me, even with the doggy bag). Plus I didn't feel ... healthy. All but the very high-end restaurants use cheaper ingredients to save costs and I can't afford Volt every week.
I looked at why I depended on restaurants. I assumed it was time, but really, restaurants take up time. For some people it may be not knowing how to cook (I looked and yes, my repetoire was limited).
Mostly though, I lacked energy.
I lacked energy because I ate poorly. Uh-oh.
First, I let myself get too hungry. I stayed up too late and skipped breakfasts. My job's flat-out six-hour shift left me starving. By dinner I needed food now, now, now.
Step one for me: buy breakfast foods and keep them on hand, put a bowl of fruit and veggies by the computer (my primary starvation zone), and stock my office with snacks like almonds, carrots, bagels and cream cheese, sugar-free fruit leather.
