planning with my food diary

for those who don't like to plan, preferring to wing-it etc.. i salute you free-thinkers *S* and you may want to skip this post.

Personally i have moments of 'come-what-may' but in general i feel most secure/less stressed about food when i can control what is coming (for the most part) *LOL*

Obviously there is a LOT in life we cannot control... Heck, even just by choosing to share your life with another person you have added the 'uncontrollable' to your home *LOL*

So i take great comfort in the things i can control.. and in those things i find security, comfort, pride, and yes, pleasure!

Which brings me to this post... my food diary *LOL*

i cannot tell you HOW thankful i am for this simple lil tool!
i mean besides the obvious bonus of keeping it public so i remain even more conscious of keeping myself accountable, and the satisfaction of adding 'one more day' of healthy eating habits to my growing chain of successful days.

i love this tool because i can use it to pre-plan!
i know what i have in the fridge, i know what leftovers and fresh veg need to get used up.
No more standing in front of the fridge with the door wide open staring hopefully into the frigid interior for some sort of meal inspiration to hit me at same time my stomach is growling and saying things like 'just grab a bun and some cheese cause i am hungry NOW!'

What does this mean?
- better use of my grocery dollars is a big one! No more throwing away a whole bag full of fresh brussels sprouts cause they got hidden behind a bowl of leftovers and i forgot they were there and they got yucky... why? because i had already planned to use them!
- anticipation! when i plan meals ahead of time i am freed from the burden of trying to figure out 'what's for supper' and can instead simply look forward to the meal i know i have everything for, and which fits perfectly in my eating plan.
- lack of stress! Now when hubby asks 'what's for supper?' i can tell him instantly, and so ends the responsibility on my part to try to come up with something he 'feels like' having at last minute. Either he can choose to eat what i am planning or he can find something else for himself but either way he cannot complain. (yes, i do make concessions for his preferences, ie: i never plan chickpeas for a meal he is home to share *LOL* he hates them as much as i love them).
- cost! Since i am planning better, and making better use of the fresh produce and meats and fish (yes, i cook almost everything from scratch) with less spoilage, despite the costs of the veg etc going higher and higher i am still actually now spending less than i used to for groceries! woohoo!!!
- variety! Because i am planning ahead it is easier to add in something new i might never have tried before because since i am browsing healthy recipes for ideas alot more now, i already know what i want to try next.. (celeriac here i come!) and how i will prepare it.
- control! *L* yes.. did i mention i take pleasure over taking control of my food instead of my food controlling me as it did for too many years?
- No nasty surprises! Even when i go out to a restaurant now, whenever possible i will check out nutritional values online to see if there are choices i feel good about making at that spot. And if there is no such info available i know i already have a pretty good idea about how many calories/sodium etc most meals i would choose may contain. So no arriving home afterwards wondering how the heck to enter that meal and then finding out i completely blew it for the day!

Sorry this was a long post... but i just cannot say enough good things about using the food diary to 'plan'

Sure i have times too when i don't feel like planing or the meal i planned just is not what i feel like having afterall, and i can adjust for that easily enough.. it is simply not an every-meal situation anymore. Pre-planning is simply liberating... for me.