In an attempt to purge my itty-bitty home of things I don't need anymore (and to restore some sort of control and order in my life), I've decided to start with clearing out my kitchen. As a child of immigrants and a native Californian, I inherited the need to stockpile my cupboards with assorted non-perishable foods just in case some catastrophic event, like war or an earthquake, comes my way. I realize that should I survive the apolcalypse I will probabaly starve to death as a result of this project, but I feel that's a small price to pay for a little bit of sanity right now. So my first step in tackling this thing was to either eat anything edible or throw out the stuff that's lived in my cabinets way past their expiration dates. Needless to say, I've been eating a lot of soup and oatmeal this week.
I grew up in a home where food was abundant. My mom shopped as if she had a family of football players instead of two daughters, which would explain why my sister and I have very healthy appetites. To this day, I can still open the fridge or pantry at home and find a huge assortment of food. I'm trying to avoid this pattern, well, at least until I have a family of my own.
Over the years I've tried to avoid stockpiling my fridge and cupboards simply because it really isn't practical for a single girl living in 750 square feet. It made sense when I lived with two boys and had people visiting all the time. I also cooked more during that period of my life. Now, I've learned to make pasta for one, and I don't really cook dishes that require more effort than that, like my parents' famous and oh-so delicious ribs. I usually save that little gem for times when I need to feed a lot of people. The only time portion control becomes an issue is when I bake. It's difficult to bake for one so I either end up eating it all during the span of a week or I take it into work.
So what happens once I've purged all the food from my place? Well, I guess I have to go grocery shopping. I saw something on realsimple.com that featured a meal for every day in January. Some of the recipes looked fairly simple and sounded kind of good, so I thought I'd try them out once my little project ended. I'll need to restock all my spices and purchase new ones I've never used. Oddly, I'm kind of excited about that simple task.
Every year I try make an effort to eat better, which is also a reason for this kitchen makeover. I know I need to add more fresh foods into my diet, but I find it difficult because 1) I'm a lazy ass and 2) I crave pizza, burgers and ice cream more than all that healthy stuff. Don't worry, I'm not going to cut out all my favorite foods and become some crazy person who obsesses over calories and nutrition labels. I just don't care that much. I do know that I need to achieve some sort of balance because right now the scales are definitely tipped in favor of comfort food and fast food.
All this talk of food has my tummy grumbling. Time to go heat up that can of soup!
I grew up in a home where food was abundant. My mom shopped as if she had a family of football players instead of two daughters, which would explain why my sister and I have very healthy appetites. To this day, I can still open the fridge or pantry at home and find a huge assortment of food. I'm trying to avoid this pattern, well, at least until I have a family of my own.
Over the years I've tried to avoid stockpiling my fridge and cupboards simply because it really isn't practical for a single girl living in 750 square feet. It made sense when I lived with two boys and had people visiting all the time. I also cooked more during that period of my life. Now, I've learned to make pasta for one, and I don't really cook dishes that require more effort than that, like my parents' famous and oh-so delicious ribs. I usually save that little gem for times when I need to feed a lot of people. The only time portion control becomes an issue is when I bake. It's difficult to bake for one so I either end up eating it all during the span of a week or I take it into work.
So what happens once I've purged all the food from my place? Well, I guess I have to go grocery shopping. I saw something on realsimple.com that featured a meal for every day in January. Some of the recipes looked fairly simple and sounded kind of good, so I thought I'd try them out once my little project ended. I'll need to restock all my spices and purchase new ones I've never used. Oddly, I'm kind of excited about that simple task.
Every year I try make an effort to eat better, which is also a reason for this kitchen makeover. I know I need to add more fresh foods into my diet, but I find it difficult because 1) I'm a lazy ass and 2) I crave pizza, burgers and ice cream more than all that healthy stuff. Don't worry, I'm not going to cut out all my favorite foods and become some crazy person who obsesses over calories and nutrition labels. I just don't care that much. I do know that I need to achieve some sort of balance because right now the scales are definitely tipped in favor of comfort food and fast food.
All this talk of food has my tummy grumbling. Time to go heat up that can of soup!
Last year I probably had salad for lunch 80% of the time. I hope to continue that streak this year, but it's going to prove kinda difficult living at home for 6 months ... good luck!
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