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We’ve all been there:\u00a0 I gotta get this done. . . then I have to drive over there by 11:00. . . then go to a meeting . . . then drop by to see my sick friend real quick . . . finish up something at work then pick up the dry cleaning and mail a package on the way home . . . .<\/p>\n
A Very Dangerous Point\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n All of a sudden, the day is gone, you’re racing into the kitchen and you haven’t even thought about what to fix for dinner.\u00a0 This is a Very Dangerous Point because at this point, dinner will likely be whatever you can lay your hands on fast.\u00a0 It’s such a dangerous place because the foods you can lay your hands on quickly are usually the very foods you want to stop eating!\u00a0 The ramen noodle packages . . . the frozen pasta meals . . . the cheese and crackers . . . a bowl of cereal . . . .<\/p>\n Goal Fail . . . Again<\/strong><\/p>\n Does it seem like you hit the same dangerous point, day after day–and default to the same old foods day after day?\u00a0 And so every time you check in with your healthy eating goals you must chalk up yet another fail?<\/p>\n The Interrupt<\/strong><\/p>\n The think-ahead-and-plan-habit is just the “interrupt” you need to jolt you out of this depressing cycle.\u00a0 You can readily make a good meal if you have planned it and bought the right ingredients.\u00a0 The last newsletter talked about this saving habit–with a reminder that it has two parts: planning + thinking ahead<\/a>.\u00a0 In other words, plan with enough “thinking ahead” time to give you some reasonable options and you’ll optimize the power of your planning efforts.<\/p>\n But we all know that sometimes life doesn’t work out so neatly, and you’re left without a meal plan.\u00a0 That’s when you need:<\/p>\n A Backup Plan for When You’re Back’s Against the Meal Making Wall<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n And the best option when your back’s against the wall:<\/p>\n Be Your Own (Healthy) Fast Food Restaurant!\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n And the key to being your own healthy fast food restaurant is:<\/p>\n The Pantry! Making do in a pinch is where a pantry shines.\u00a0 With a few strategic staples, a quick meal is always within easy reach.\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n With just these few things, I can whip up dishes like<\/p>\n A cabbage, carrot and onion hamburger skillet with Cuban Island Spice Blend and canned tomatoes<\/p>\n A cabbage, carrot and onion stir fry with e.g., tofu (or egg crepes), ginger, garlic and soy sauce<\/p>\n A lime and cumin cabbage slaw with microwaved potatoes on the side and quick thawed ground meat from the freezer<\/p>\n Microwaved sweet potatoes, saut\u00e9ed coconut frozen green beans with curried celery-tuna salad on the side<\/p>\n These dishes may not be fancy, but they are plenty good-tasting, healthy and satisfying.\u00a0 Which brings me to the key mindset shift needed to become a successful fast food restaurant:<\/p>\n Moderate Your Expectations<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Meal making can be a wonderful time to experiment, try new recipes and have a great culinary adventure.\u00a0 But when your back’s against the wall, it’s not that kind of time.\u00a0 The point is to just get real, whole food meals on the table as best you can without the benefit of thinking ahead and planning.<\/p>\n So of course you shouldn’t expect gourmet creations from your fast food restaurant!\u00a0 You’ll just be putting together simple skillets, stir-fries and soups from just what you have on hand.\u00a0 Don’t beat yourself up or demand more of yourself.\u00a0 Remember:\u00a0 Simple is A-OK!<\/p>\n If it’s any comfort, 60 to 70% of my meals are “healthy fast food meals.”\u00a0 But don’t think that means you are stuck with bland, comfortless food.\u00a0 With just a little seasoning magic even super simple meals can be delightful and completely satisfying.<\/p>\n Bonus Option:\u00a0 Cook without Cooking<\/strong><\/p>\n Feeling unsure about getting your fast food restaurant up and running?\u00a0 I have the perfect class for you:\u00a0 How to Cook Healthy Meals . . .\u00a0 Without Really Cooking<\/a>.\u00a0 Over the course of five online classes, learn how to shop for healthy convenience foods and then assemble them into super quick meals, faster than going out for fast food!\u00a0 In fact, each follow-along class is just 35 minutes long.\u00a0 By the end, your dinner will be done–and you’ll have learned some valuable nutritional information and skills.\u00a0 How would you like to be making these kinds of delish dishes: *<\/p>\n *(All recipes vegetarian, paleo or option on request)<\/p>\n Find out more and register here<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We’ve all been there:\u00a0 I gotta get this done. . . then I have to drive over there by 11:00. . . then go to a meeting . . . then drop by to see my sick friend real quick . . . finish up something at work then pick up the dry cleaning and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3921"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3933,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921\/revisions\/3933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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