from the kitchen

The best benefit of my nutrition consultation?

Experimentation and variety.

That appointment was a wake-up call for me: I was eating the same food all the time. Toast or cereal for breakfast. Some kind of sandwich or a burrito for lunch. Pasta or rice dish for dinner. (And if I was feeling lazy, Chinese takeout or pizza.) Over and over and over. And if you look at that list, that's a lot of wheat and not enough veggies or fruit.

Changing my diet so it better suits my metabolic type has forced me to cook more and think about my meals. I'm trying foods I had never thought about (chia seeds!) and discovering new ways (kale chips!) to prepare my old favorites. Within the past month, I feel like I've become much more confident as a cook and am enjoying myself more than I ever have in the kitchen.

Tonight I made One Pot Kale and Quinoa Pilaf. (I wish my kitchen had better lighting -- this photo just doesn't do this dish justice.) It was kick-ass and was ready so quickly that I could barely believe it.

I'm already thinking about what I can cook up tomorrow.