Today, let's talk about creating sustainability. I believe one of the things I find most enjoyable about cooking is really exercising that creative side and adding variety. Two powerful practices I strongly believe can help sustain a healthier lifestyle for the long term. While, meal prepping usually entails using the same concept every week, organizing, planning, and executing. Living a healthier lifestyle doesn't need to be monotonous/repetitive.
So how do we avoid repetition without hindering consistency an enjoy sustainability? First, let's look at repetition v.s consistency. There is a fundamental difference between repetition and consistency. Please don't confuse them. Repetition is doing the same things over and over again in hopes of perfecting every tiny detail. You are stuck in perfection and doing things one certain way, not sustainable by human nature. Repetition will dry you up and leave you joyless in your work. Consistency, on the other hand, does not require repetition. It's steadfast adherence to the same principle, a course that builds quality over time. So when things become too repetitive I encourage you to:
Consider
Assessing your routine (what's working and what's not- be honest with yourself)
Allowing change to occur - change is healthy, we can't always stay the same- otherwise, it limits our growth
Reverting back to the fundamentals of organizing, planning, executing
Practicing your creativity by shifting things around and not staying stuck with what's not working
Adding variety to your lifestyle by using and reusing ingredients in different ways
This Sweet Potatoe recipe is an avid example of using the practice of creativity and variety by using one ingredient; endless ways of preparing it. Sweet potato an ingredient so versatile, it can be an ingredient enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or dinner- steamed, baked, or sauteed. In addition, paired as fries with burgers, chopped as a side dish, or simply enjoying it as a toast topped off with spinach, egg, and bacon. #tasty.balanced.fast For example: If you love an ingredient so much and like adding it to your meals almost every week, but are afraid you will get bored of the ingredient- - below find an example of how to mix things around using the same ingredient.
Week 1: Cooking sweet potato as salty baked fries to pair with a burger.
Week 2: Cooking sweet potato as more of a snack by baking it with cinnamon.
Week 3: Cooking sweet potato as a mashed potato style with creamer and butter. (recipe coming soon to the blog)
I just gave you three other ways to cook sweet potato! So, in the end, it's really about playing with what we love and mixing things up a bit to avoid falling into that boredom space and using more of our creative side to create a long term healthy lifestyle.