A food rut is when you are tired of eating what you've been eating. I constantly find myself cooking the same food- having the same thing for lunch, breakfast, snacks, everything. I want to eat healthy, but nothing seems exciting. And I look at new recipes but for some reason just can't get excited about them. So here I am. In my food rut. Where. Do. I. Go. From. Here.
I am here to tell you- it is a terrible place to be. But I know I can break it- and so can you!
But how???? Lets start by thinking about what has been going on that may have attributed to this food rut. First of all- the seasons are changing. Instead of craving sandwiches, salads, fresh fruits, and raw nuts I am craving chili, stew, hot sandwiches, and just warm filling food. That is the key word I think- "filling." Something that is going to make me feel satisfied, and warm. So how do we achieve this filling, satisfying, warm meal that is going to break our food rut?
I think the key to this is experimenting. Experiment with new foods, recipes, and invite your friends over for it! Or even better, get your kids involved. Let your kids look at your recipe books and pick out a few that they think sounds good! The other day on one of those shows where the nanny comes in (Supernanny I think is what this one was) they were showing how to get kids involved with the weekly meals. In this case they let the kids pick out 7 meals (one for each night of the week). Each recipe was written onto a pie shaped piece of paper and when they were all put together they made up a whole pie. Then every night one kid would spin the "wheel" or pie and that is what they would have for dinner. Now this is a little creative for me. So you could just write them down and have the kids draw out of a hat for what is for dinner tonight! But if you are this creative- go for it! because it sounds really fun!
So here is my experiment that I wanted to share with you:
Now, I don't have kids- I have a boyfriend who likes to eat, eat, eat filling satisfying foods. So today I let him pick out a recipe that he thinks looks good. At first he was really skeptical- but as soon as I opened up the cookbook he got excited looking at the pictures- and believe it or not he even said "man, this is fun!" Now he probably doesn't want me sharing all of this- but either way- it's important to the story line. :) His choice was a recipe for "Veggie Joes." The vegetarian version of sloppy joes.
This simple exercise takes 3 minutes- it gets everyone involved in the cooking process- and it helps everyone to get involved. Now husbands (or boyfriends) and kids are infamous for picking out recipes that aren't the healthiest. But that is OK! It gets you out of your rut- and it gets them involved! And just incase the recipe is insanely unhealthy (which you should probably give them a cookbook that has semi-healthy recipes in it) I am an expert at taking regular recipes and modifying them into healthier versions that taste just as good! So please send me a recipe if you would like me to "modify" it.
Just for fun I thought I would include the Veggie Joes recipe. So here it is:
what you'll need:
4 cups frozen soy-protein burger crumbles
1 small onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups ketchup
2 tbs packed brown sugar
2 tbs white vinegar
1 tbs yellow mustard
1/2 tsp salt
16 sandwich buns
directions:
In 3 to 3 1/2 quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except buns.
Cover; cook on Low heat setting for 4 to 6 hours.
Fill each bun with 1/3 cup mixture. Enjoy!
(I am not sure why this is such a large recipe- but I will be cutting it in half because it is just the two of us!)
This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks:
I hope that this idea helps you to get out of your food rut! Or even better- to not ever get stuck in one!
This is so true. I had never thought about it this way. I think I will try the Veggie Joes. They sound really good.
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