Back to Basics

I am participating in a wellness challenge right now.  This is the 6th one I've done.  Every challenge we are supposed to set a personal goal for the 6 week challenge.  I have done this 5 times before now and was having a hard time coming up with a new and challenging goal for me to complete.  Being pregnant, tired and generally not motivated to eat the things I cook we had been eating out alot.  I decided that my goal for the 6 weeks would be to not eat out.  My plan was to make sure I had a menu that sounds appetizing to me and to make sure all the groceries were on hand each week for me to cook our meals.  I would start dinner early so as not to fall into the "I'm too tired to cook" trap that often happens around 5:30pm everyday.  The one caveat was that I knew we would have Dustin's parents in town at some time this month.  For that one visit eating out would be okay and secretly I wanted to keep it as much to a minimum as possible.

These past 3 weeks have been some of the best!  We have had wonderful food.  I have remembered all that I enjoyed about cooking and making the food that we eat.  We have tried recipes that were wonderful and have quickly become family favorites.  We have all been happier and felt good.  I even cooked when we were all sick.

While Dustin parents were here this last weekend we ate out once a day (for me).  Monday was the only exception - the boys spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa so Dustin and I slept in and went out for breakfast.  Eating out this last weekend left me feeling super full.  I enjoyed my food selections but not the same as I enjoy the food here at home.  The leftovers have reheated okay but haven't been as exciting to eat as when we reheat our home cooked meals.

I am very thankful for my ability to cook good food.  I love the way I feel when I eat the food I prepare and I love the way I feel knowing the food my family eats.  I know it was just a little thing and really shouldn't have been a big deal but it's been a really good one for me and my family.

**I want to also to know that we really don't eat out that often except when I'm pregnant.**