With apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan for this post title, I’ve been thinking about one of the reasons you backslide. It usually happens when you’re tired or overwhelmed and doing the right thing just seems like too much trouble.
So I am writing a little list that incorporate two things—one is to have the world’s easiest recipes for getting a good meal on the table in next to no time; the other is to have a list of my favourite ‘fail’ foods and to find a way to replicate them in a healthier way.
For example, there is always store-bought pizza in our freezer for the occasional nights when I just don’t have any ideas for dinner and nothing healthy seems to appeal. I have realised, though, that I have an easy cheat recipe for the pizza base. I make this when I feel like having pizza and have the time to do a little preparation. What I need to do is make better choices in the flour I use and see if this homemade version will freeze. Then at least I am improving over the store-bought product which has who knows what in its ingredient list.
In this way I would have a fall-back position for the nights when I’m just not in the mood to cook. So my list will contain all the possible ‘fast’ foods that I can prepare in advance and freeze.
We have been eating pre-breadcrumbed fish of late. I need to find a way to buy just fish and put a little coating on it myself, so that I know what goes into it. I’m going to try an egg dredge followed by a coconut flour dredge and see how that cooks up in a bit of coconut oil. And maybe do a bit of homework on coatings. It’s so good when you can do all this yourself when you have the time and inclination for food preparation.
Another idea is the preparation of all the ingredients for a whole dish and then freezing or putting in the fridge to cook up the following night. I already precook meat-centric dishes and freeze in portions, but this other style of preparation is worth looking into. Anything that gives you power over the quality of food you are eating is worth a little study. And having something available for those times when you feel tired and uninspired is just common sense.