What am I going to cook for dinner? It’s seem to be an everyday question I ask myself and my family. Eating out is so much easier but is it healthier? I am sure if you live in an urban area you have your fair share of local farm to table gems or maybe even a Whole Foods, eating out can be a healthy option. Some of us aren’t so lucky. Oh, we do have some great restaurants in my town, though I live about 20 miles from town. I live in farm central. Our farmers market is one of the best I have been to. The best things about our farmers market is that I know most of the farmers. So, with careful planning, I can think ahead for five day’s worth of meals.
There are many restaurants in our area that are a part of a 30-mile meal, meaning everything you eat in one of the many dishes they offer, came within 30 miles. You cannot beat that local cooperation. So, regardless of whether or not I am going to eat out or take the time to make dinner, we’ve got the goods.
From a spiritual point of view, preparing your own meal adds just a little bit of extra love and that is the best medicine after a long day of work or school. Plus, there are a host of other reasons to eat at home. The research has been done and what they found is that people who eat home cooked meals on a regular basis tend to be happier and are likely to healthier. They consume less sugar, eat less processed foods and have more energy. The mental health benefits also increase to a larger extent when we eat home-cooked meals with other people. Now, I understand that this is not always true if the people you are breaking bread with are arguing which is my childhood memory. I speak in general terms here with the idea that we are in and have healthy relationships. I think the point I am trying to make here is that there is a spirituality if you will, to practice an intention that your body will be healthy and strong so your soul will be fit and able to accept the gifts of farmers, friends, conversation and love that touches all of those things. I personally try to strike a healthy balance in my own life. I cook for me and my family and love when the meal fills their hearts. But I do eat out and I travel so the same kind of meal planning that goes into my weekly grocery shopping goes into eating out when I am at home or on the road in a new city or favorite city. I will say this … I do not eat fast food. I used to when I was a teenager but have not for a very long time. If you are paying attention, you can feel the lack thereof of the things I mentioned (the farmers, the love and the care) when your food is mass produced and they can whip it out in 25 seconds or less. Not for me.
So, what am I going to cook for dinner? I’ve just worked an 8-hour day and I’m not feeling terribly creative. I have to back up for a minute because this question is made a whole lot easier if my grocery planning was well thought out. Having a well-stocked kitchen and pantry is the key. I don’t mean over stocked either. I mean, there’s always rice or quinoa or pasta, whole grain flours, eggs, butter, olive oil, plenty of spices and a host of fresh vegetables.
My family is divided in what they desire for nourishment. My husband and daughter eat meat and I do not. I eat fish and eggs and mostly vegetables. I love saying this but I am a lacto ovo pescatarian. Whatever I plan for a meal has to accommodate all of us. About three times a week I will make a meat or chicken dish with plenty of sides for me. The other days, it’s either all vegetarian and there’s fish. I am a really good cook so if something is not quite right, it’s not the food, it means I didn’t plan and that hurts knowing how easy it is to plan ahead. I also gave up all refined sugars almost two years ago. So, I never make desserts. I have a lot of fruit in the house and that is where I don’t compromise. It’s a slippery slope and I don’t go there for a lot of reasons. There is usually organic chocolate in my cupboards because I know that my family likes it so if they need something sweet, it’s there. There do not complain about not getting a dessert. My meals are full of everything they want and need so by the time the entrees are finished, there is no room for a sugary treat.
Let me just show you the things we eat in a week. Now, I will say these dishes lean toward summer dishes. It was a good summer. Autumn is officially here but it is still warm outside so I will eat like it’s summer until my farmers market finds dwindle. You’ll also see some variations of the same thing because I like what I like. That’s OK! If you can also imagine that in everyone of these food photo’s that didn’t include shrimp, there was another one just like it that had either local lamp chops, local chicken thighs or a NY strip because I have to please the meat eaters in my life.
Each dish did not take more than 45 minutes to make and sometimes less if I am not distracted. So what are you having for dinner? Did you plan it out or did you wing it. Let me know.
Living Your Dream 
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