In the past, I have thrown out so much deliciousness because I let it literally rot away in my crisper drawer of the fridge. On a Saturday or Sunday, I would decide that "This is it, this is the week - I am going to eat salads and only salads and lose 100 pounds!". I would go to the grocery store and spend $35-$45 on fresh fruits and veggies and that was about it, maybe some sliced turkey from the deli. There were SO many things wrong with that..... 1) I would buy more than 1 person could possibly eat before it became spoiled. 2) The whole mindset was wrong because healthy living does not say salads and only salads. 3) I would get bored of the lettuce and shredded carrots after two days and be right back at the drive through ordering a burger & fries.
This was a plan designed for failure and guess what - I failed, every time I did this. Ten days after my grocery store outing, I would open the crisper drawers and pull out soupy tomatoes, soggy cucumbers, browned lettuce, moldy strawberries and shriveled grapes. It was ridiculous! I thought of this post because yesterday I went for a snack and ate the last cup of watermelon I cut up on Sunday. I have also put a good dent in a big bag of cherries I bought. I am much more successful because I have changed my mind's schematic about what healthy eating is and what is certainly is not. I buy enough fruits and veggies to last 3-4 days so they are fresh when I go to use them, not rotten and ready for the dumpster. I find new ways to prepare them so they never get boring. Have you tried oven roasted broccoli with garlic salt, olive oil and black pepper? It's amazingly flavorful and very filling!!!!
I know I have a long road ahead and many more habits to be instilled in my daily life, but this is a win for me right now and I am going to enjoy it! This is a very positive note for my weight loss and my budget! August is no spending month for me, so it is good to know when I go grocery shopping, nothing will go to waste.
I still get rotten veggies sometimes lol but I have been trying to pair them with everything I eat like putting cucumbers of a sandwich or a wrap. Planning to have greek salad made in a container all ready to go so that I have it and boy is it yuum after a couple days. I stopped buying a bunch of tomatoes and went to just buying one big one, slicing it and putting it in a container, reusable containers seem to be my fix to it all, because if I take some time to cut it up after I buy it, it makes it so much easier to eat! lol wow that was long, sorry I guess I'm long winded today!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Grace on this one, I have specific meals planned for my veggies and when I get home i prep the veggies so when I'm ready for that meal I don't have to chop, peel and dice.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing so well! That's one of the hardest things for me is eating my veggies!
ReplyDeleteI am now back at the point where I crave so much fruit it is crazy! Open up the refrig and reach for an apple. Or come home and cook up some yummy vegies to go with my meal - delish!!
ReplyDeleteStaying MOtivated MO
I always do this, and like you I am buying smaller portions more often....it is saving me tons of moulah!!!
ReplyDeleteBeen there, done that. Except I didn't have the mindset that I'd only eat salads to lose weight but I thought, "if I have all these veggies and salad stuff in the fridge then I'll eat lots more of it and less of the no-good stuff". It worked sometimes but most of the time, I was dumping lots in the trash. Now, I buy for 2 or 3 days and make myself go out to get fresh stuff. It also makes me go for a walk, even if it's a short one. :)
ReplyDeleteI used to do that too. Now I only by what I like. I never even eat lettuce. And fruit-my children are fruitaholics. Mmm roast broccoli is delish!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on changing your mind's schematic. I still tend to over buy fresh produce but I'm getting better about using it up before it goes to mush. I started buying frozen fruit for my green monster smoothies and that has helped. When my banannas start to go bad I peel them, cut them in half and freeze them to add to my smoothies. So much less is getting wasted and that is better for my waisteline and my pocketbook.
ReplyDeleteI love it. I have tried to make a point of buying only what I can eat before it spoils. I don't always succeed but for the most part I've got it down. Lettuce and strawberries are hard for me to get eaten before they spoil (only cause my eyes are bigger than they should be for those lucious strawberries... the lettuce, yeah that just doesn't last long:-)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this one! I would buy veggies and end up letting them sit there until they liquefied, which is gross. But I too am working on changing my ways. You're doing to awesome!
ReplyDeleteI can so relate to this, I do exactly the same thing. Buy the healthy stuff and then don't want to eat it. Week after week...
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to tossing vegetables in the trash rather than in a salad bowl.
ReplyDeleteLike some of the other posters, I started buying less produce on the weekend and buy more mid-week if/when we ran out.
I get so jazzed now when I see an empty or almost empty crisper!
I definitely buy smaller portions for the simple reason that I am cheap. LOL. It's just so wasteful to throw food out - it's sinful, really. So I always try to be very careful and mindful when I go grocery shopping.
ReplyDeleteI do that constantly so I stock up on frozen fruits and veggies as much as possible. I want to sign up for our local Bountiful Baskets and get my fresh stuff from the local farmers.
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