Why you hate everything in your fridge
And what you can do about it!
Photo by Sydney Moore on Unsplash
We open on a familiar scene: lingering at the fridge with increasingly urgent stomach rumblings and the persistent thought: “Why does nothing look good???” You might despair in your kitchen for a while or, if you’re like me, make childlike moaning sounds loud enough for your husband to hear from downstairs. If you’re also like me and the need is dire: you decide to order in.
When this happens I don’t take issue with the mismatch between what I have bought vs. what I actually want - I’m human after all and will occasionally make such errors - however, if/when this becomes a trend, I take notice and get curious:
{Insert stream of consciousness}
Why aren’t my expectations meeting my reality? When I buy groceries, what am I imagining making and do I really want that? Or is something telling me I should want it and so I think that I could force myself into eating it by idealistically purchasing the food anyway?
I imagine the latter scenario speaks to many - and who can blame us? We have a billion-dollar diet industry spending good money getting us to buy into idealistic lifestyles through the promotion of certain foods. We also have a healthcare industry that continues to blame/shame folks for their health outcomes - another factor that encourages a panicked urgent purchasing of “healthy” foods. The message we get time and time again is that we can (and should) force ourselves to consume these foods, preferences be damned. But if you’re like most folks, this leads to unsustainable behavior that often results in a return to old patterns because who wants to eat food they don’t like forever? (Not me.)
What’s the solution to this mismatched dilemma? Don’t worry, I got you:
Make a list of meals you would order for yourself right now if you could. Let your appetite & imagination run wild for a minute.
Make note of any trends and common themes on the list. Do burgers and pizza make an appearance? Or pasta? Burritos? Bowls? What flavor profiles abound? Is there cheese involved? Are things hot or cold? Toasty or soft?
Now, look at what you have in your fridge/pantry. Are any of the themes of meals you enjoy and crave represented there? Note the gaps that need to be filled.
Lastly, think about how you could bridge your expectations with your reality. Maybe you pick up a frozen pizza once a week to satisfy a craving. Or plan to make a hearty pasta dish with veg added to the sauce. OR you find that allowing yourself to order a specific meal once a week would feel amazing. Dream big!
While we’re told that foods are “good” or “bad,” all cuisines feature the building blocks of what our bodies need - carbs, protein, fat, and produce. When we start by focusing on what the food we are already eating (or craving) provides for us, we can more easily determine what we would like to add (if anything) going forward to help meet our needs. More on this in a future post!