Are You Stuck in a Food Rut? Here's my tips to get out

 

It happens to the best of us. We start out with great intentions. We are food lovers at heart after all. We crave the healthier food more often, and are happy to give in the some choccie here and there. We get creative in the kitchen, Instagram incredible looking dishes, that taste even better.

What happens when that food spark dulls a little?  

When you're feeling hunger pangs, but open the fridge and nothing excited you? Ditto the pantry (besides superfoods there's not much else in my pantry to really make a meal out of anyway).

This is me right now. And I'm feeling the struggle of it a bit. There's plenty involved here - our weekly organic box has been pretty similar for quite some time now sparking no creative bones in my body; the fridge needs a good clean so the scraps here and there are totally uninspiring; the big bag of compost that now lives in our fridge as it's too hot up here to leave it out, is putting me off choosing something otherwise delicious every time I open the fridge; I haven't flipped through any recipe books of late to fill up in some more inspo; our cupboards are bare; and my man is quite content eating kale with tomato and saurekraut most meals.

Ontop of this, I've felt very tired again this past 2 weeks, sleeping loooong hours whilst still trying to study and go to work (which has died down a bit thank goodness). But that's no real excuse for a lack on food inspiration.

Being a food blogger, a nutrition student-soon-to-be-practitioner, sure I can edcuate you all on what's best to eat for you, when, why, blah blah blah but most people struggle with actually putting something delicious and inviting on their plate. They can get to the grocery store to buy fresh produce... but it goes rotten in the fridge drawer as 'salad' is simply unexciting to most. And I'm right with those folk at the minute.

Lettuce and tomato? Please I'd rather not eat. These are the thoughts going through my head right now...

If I was wanting to start a weight-gaining regime and hook into all things fried, processed and take away, I'm walking the right path (laziness, uninspired, and hungry). However that is not my goal, not my aim, not my healing path, and it will certaintly not make me feel my best.

So what am I to do?

I've come up with a few ways to add some sparkle into my kitchen so that sparkle infiltrates into every one of my cells. Wanna join me?

+ Buy at least 2 new veggies each week to do something different with. Google a recipe. That whole lettuce and tomato thing is getting really boring.

+ Find at least 2 new recipes each week to try; nothing OTT or I know I won't do it. Small and simple. And if you're like me, those 2 recipes soon turn into 4 or 5 once I'm in the kitch and the juices are flowing.

+ Book a brekkie, a lunch, or a dinner out each week. Either at a fav cafe or restaurant, or simply at a mates place. Creating food is way more fun with friends. Or they end up cooking for you, you're off the hook, and you're eating something different too. At a cafe I also ponder the menu thinking up my own creations based on what I see. Double creative inspiring win!

+ Buy something different for the pantry - this week I bought mung bean noodles and black bean noodles. I also bought buckwheat to cook and make a tabouli with.

+ Visit your local fish shop once a week and buy a small piece for yourself (and whoever else is feeding at your place). B and I do this and fish is sometimes less than $5 for the both of us. We are also blessed that "fresh and local" fish in Cairns actually does mean fresh and local

+ Use your veggies differently; I also chop up carrots for a stirfry but they are also great shredded into a salad. The same with beetroot. Instead of slicing tomato or capsicum; throw it in the blender with fresh herbs and use it as a dressing.

+ Condiments; and no I'm not talking tomato and BBQ sauce. Add-ons like tahini, nut butter, chutney, sprouts, seeds, tapenade or home made dip can make a meal for me. So much that that lettuce and tomato combo can turn into a winner! Nutritionally you're adding extra nutrients too.

+ Prep a few things each weekend; I very often have leftover roast veg in the fridge - lifesavers. A few extra veggie patties from the Saturday night BBQ. A container full of ready-to-eat quinoa (for sweet or savoury). Cook a big batch of soup and freeze some. Ditto bone broth. Buy extra steaks and freeze them too - I'll eat any veg if I've got a steak on my plate. Boil up half a dozen eggs for last-minute additions. Whizz up hommous or other protein-rich dip and use it with veg, salads, on sandwiches, flax crackers, whatever's going.

Hope that helps you, and me. I'll check it with how I'm going on Facebook next week. Until then, make sure you're subscribed to my weekly newsletter for more recipes, a weekly round up from here, and be the first to know of any goodies and competitions coming up! Sign up here.

Christie xx