Cooking from scratch

I'm not dieting. Every time I think "I should diet" I immediately crave a bowl of ice cream or a bag of PB M&M's. Or anything with 40% sugar, 40% fat, and 20% refined flour.

So instead of dieting, I'm changing how I eat by baby steps.

I've long found it remarkable how different pre-fab food is from it's homemade counterpart. I found that to be unquestionably true concerning beans cooked from scratch and now I know for sure that the same could be said of garbanzo beans. I've also found a section in a local grocery store that has whole grain/legume combos with no spices or preservatives that cook up (with a little help from my spice cabinet and a fresh chopped veggie) into something far tastier and healthier than Rice-a-Roni.

And do you know how much less expensive it is to buy dried grains and legumes? It's expensive time wise, but crockpots cure that issue. Just soak overnight then throw into your slow cooker in the morning with spices. Easy.

And let's have a cheer for steamed veggies. I can have a couple of medium wedges of steamed cabbage in a day for either a snack or as a side dish for about 80 calories (1/4 of a small cabbage plus one tsp melted butter) and it's delicious. A heaping serving of broccoli is about 50 calories and doesn't need butter at all. Quinoa also has about the same calorie count as basmati rice, but it has tons more nutrition. I do prefer the texture of the rice, but they also mix pretty well.

This week's goal: increase fiber through plain low fat veggies, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. Sounds like a big goal, but so far it has been very simple. Lunch = more lentil/quinoa pilaf, an apple, and broccoli.

And if you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that I'm anything but consistent. So the dieting updates won't last long.

But I'm not dieting. Dang it.