I've been thinking about my habit of planning out a week of dinners at a time, and there are just so many variables that influence the process. So many in fact, that I decided to liberate myself from it this week! But really, think about all the factors that go into a well-formed week of dinner plans.
1) Variety in the proteins - a mix of fish, poultry, and protein-rich vegetarian dishes, with some pork or beef making an occasional appearance.
2) Variety in the starches - should it be rice? pasta? potatoes? quinoa? some new au courant grain? Or skip it entirely in favor of protein and veggies?
3) What's seasonal - a particularly driving factor in the produce choices.
4) What are the healthy options - always looking for choices maximizing veggies, fish and poultry, and minimizing most pre-processed foods.
5) What do we just plain feel like? - that visceral reaction that sometimes overrules item 4.
6) What's a good deal at the moment - given how complicated the above variables are, this can be the driving factor to simplify it all, and in produce, the good prices usually coincide with item 3 for seasonality. It's why I started looking to Boulder's natural sales to begin with for my planning process, as they inherently help to channel my thinking to make the other choices above a little easier. Still, it's a complicated and under-appreciated process!
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