“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. ”
― Walt Disney Company
So today was food preparation day since I have been saying for a while that New Year's Day was the day I was going to start a strict diet for 30 days. I am not even labeling it a New Years resolution but yet using New Years as a reason to start new. It is very much needed as I have gotten a bit off track this holiday season and since I am unable to workout much at all with my back diet is extremely important. This not just to keep my weight down even though that is a huge part but also to see how diet can improve an injury such the one I have been dealing with for over 6 months.
I will be starting the whole 30 diet first thing in the morning.
Step One: Clean out your fridge.
Now I am not one big on wasting but sometimes it is necessary to get you on the right track otherwise you will always have a reason to not do something.
Step Two: Place all your produce out so it reminds you it exists.
Step Three: Make sure you have containers. Not just for packing the food you cook but to also bring your food to work. Having food with you at all times in a necessity.
First up....Spaghetti Squash. I cut it in half. Place it upside down in a microwavable dish with a little water covering the bottom. Then I microwave for 10 mins.
First mistake....or well first mistake I am admitting to is leaving butter on top of the microwave while I cook spaghetti squash. The clean up got a bit messy needless to say.
Next up...Mashed sweet potatoes. Now normally I cook my sweet potatoes in the microwave but I have say this way the potatoes turned out much better even though the process was way longer.
If I had paid much attention to the recipe I would of remembered that I should of been looking for the potatoes to be drooling should I say. So the first time I took them out I started cutting them up realizing they were not done yet. Back in the oven they went until the caramelizing process started. Yum....
Ok it would of been nice if my dog got up and helped me a bit but she was having too much fun enjoying the first. Look at that smile! :)
I am a big fan of coconut oil but since budget has been a big issue recently I chose to buy a tremendously big bottle of olive oil from Costco since I was positive that would last me a while and it was much cheaper. Just because funds are tight doesn't mean you can't make this work.
Next up....sauteed onions and mushrooms with garlic. Why? Well why not I guess. I have done many diets before and I know if I don't do something to spice up the chicken it will get very boring after a while.
And now of course the chicken. Sauteed a little in a pan to brown each breast and then popped it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 mins. Came out a bit dry so it probably didn't need to cook that long. Lesson learned I will eat it anyway. This food is not to be wasted.
Of course I didn't have a plan before throwing the chicken on to cook so I had to scramble for some quick spice ideas. Nothing much simpler then salt and pepper. Of course if you notice the box below I had to do some digging since I haven't been cooking a lot recently and the chicken was cooking fast and not waiting for me to figure out what spices I was going to use.
Of course in the end finding out my thermometer was broken I couldn't make sure the chicken was 165 degrees so I just went with the good old cutting open and making sure it wasn't pink and was flaky.
Of course when you are working on eating healthy water just automatically comes with it and since I don't like water much expect Evian which is one of the most expensive waters out there and coconut water which cost even more. I have to get creative.
Now at this point in the day I decided to forget or just skip breakfast all together. Its early afternoon and I am completely exhausted. So lesson learned for sure. I had to put my cooking to work to give me a few calories so I could get back on my feet. Of course as I sat down to eat I decided I was done cooking for the day. Being at a complete loss of motivation and energy. I believe I have prepared enough food to get a great start in the morning.
Man, for someone that really dislikes cooking this is certainly one of the hardest parts of eating healthy for me. I already this will be very difficult but it is my determination that has gotten me through every difficult situation I encounter.
Happy Cooking!
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