The other day I wrote, “Simplifying an Overloaded Life” which has inspired me to work on a single goal developing a healthy diet. This morning, in the predawn darkness of being neither awake or asleep, a good idea came to me. I imagined creating a menu, like the kind we use in restaurants, that would have all the healthy foods and dishes I could eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, listed in an attractive way, that will remind me of what I might want to eat, or should eat. If it’s not on the menu, then I don’t eat it.
[click on photo for larger image]
I even imagined using Microsoft Publisher to lay out this menu with attractive lettering and appetizing photos, printing it on card stock, and even having it laminated. I pictured myself pulling out this menu whenever I got hungry so it would remind me just what I could eat, knowing that if I ordered from this Healthy Living Home Menu, I’d be eating just what I need to feel better and lose weight.
Of course, in the light of day, this appears to be quite an ambitious project. What if my menu offers twelve different dishes for breakfast, lunch and supper? That’s learning how to cook 36 meals. Damn, that sounds like a lot. 28 has always been my favorite number, so let’s go with eight items for breakfast, and ten for lunch and supper. Even that sounds too ambitious.
Of course I know myself. I cook one thing and eat on it three days, and freeze any leftovers. I tend to eat the same breakfast every day. Right now I live off of about six different meals I know how to prepare, but what I need to do is eat more variety of vegetables and fruits, so I need to expand that repertoire of items on my menu.
I’ve decided that December is the month I’ll totally focus on learning to eat healthy as my one and only goal. Here’s what I plan to do:
- Gather all my diet/health/cook books into one place for study (see photo).
- Read and compare these books for their best recommendations.
- Write down the best advice and tips I read in Evernote.
- Learn how to shop for the best foods I should eat – how to tell when fruits and vegetables are in season, at their best to buy, etc.
- Learn how to store food for optimal quality – fruits, veggies, spices, condiments, dairy, eggs, nuts, etc.
- Learn how to chop and cook food properly.
- Select 20-30 recipes to master and start learning to cook them – save them in Evernote.
- Create and print my menu of approved foods.
- When at home, only eat from that menu.
- Research menus at local restaurants for their most healthy meals and make a list of approved away from home menu items.
- Make a list of all foods and ingredients I want eat and know about, and why they are good for me, and if they have any curative powers.
One problem I’ve always had when I’m at the store, especially a healthy one like Whole Foods or Fresh Market, is seeing all the fruits and vegetables and not knowing how to select and prepare most of them. Recently I’ve been adventurous and started buying avocados after some training with my friend Janis. I’m still never sure how to pick out a good one, but I’ve learn how to cut them open, even though I make a mess, but all I do is put a few slices on my salad and then I have half an avocado that I don’t know what do with. I really need to get to know fruits and vegetables.
I also need to learn how to use spices. I can cook by a recipe, but crudely. What I like to do is think of a selection of tasty veggies and make a stir fry or soup, but I’m never sure how to season my concoctions. So in studying my cookbook, I need to select a range of recipes that will educate myself about spices.
I assume my menu will be a good place to save all the recipes I want to master, so it might end up like a small book.
My ultimate goal is to simplify my life. I want to get past thinking about what I should eat. I want to get past thinking about how to live healthy. I want to learn what’s in my diet/health/cook books and then give them away. I want to stop worrying about what I should eat. I want to stop worrying about eating an unhealthy diet.
I want to start the new year without having to make any resolutions about dieting.
JWH – 12/4/13
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