Transitioning

For quite some time now I have been trying to gradually make the shift toward a more plant-based diet. It sounds easy…just eat more fruits and vegetables, but it turns out that for me it has not been quite as easy as it sounds.

I love food and I love to cook, so when I start changing the ingredients that I am accustomed to cooking with and trying to eliminate certain things from my diet it can really trip me up.

it takes a little bit longer to find new ways of doing things. There is some experimentation that has to be done. I'll try a new recipe only to discover that I don't like the taste or the texture. Or maybe I'll try a new ingredient that I have never worked with before. I'll use it for the one recipe I bought it for and have no idea what to do with the leftovers.

I have found that one thing that is very helpful during this time of transition is to only allow myself to try 1 or 2 brand new ingredients at a time. If I try more than that it usually winds up to be a waste of money in unused leftovers.

I also find it very helpful to print or write down any new recipe that found online. If I like it, I keep it in a file to refer back to. If I don't like it, I toss it.

My old standby recipes became my old standbys because I have made them over and over again for so many years. I will never have new "old" standbys if I never make the same dish twice, right?

Finally, I try to plan my evening meal in the morning. As I am transitioning I find that I don't necessarily buy a week's worth of groceries at a time because I don't want to "stock up" on ingredients I'm not sure I will use again. If I decide in the morning what I will make for dinner I have plenty of time to do a little research to find a good recipe, if necessary and to run to the market if I have to.

All in all, I guess you could say the moral of the story is "slow and steady wins the race." I know my health and wellbeing are worth the effort.