One of my favorite things to do is to find and try new recipes.
I’ve got a few tried and true recipes - the family favorites - but those have changed over the years, too.
Except for Stromboli. I’m not allowed to NOT make Stromboli at my house. But, I have changed one thing… I don’t use Jimmy Dean sausage anymore. But, why would I when my husband makes the best sausage ever that’s waaay less fatty? Yeah. Not a tough choice.
When I look back to how I used to cook, it’s soooo different than how and what I cook now.
I learned to cook using Campbell’s cream soups with pasta or rice and your meat of choice.
Pork chops over rice with Cream of Mushroom soup. Chicken, pasta and cheese with Cream of Chicken soup. Tuna, pasta, cheese, mushrooms, and Golden Mushroom soup. Okay, you get the idea. Eventually, I graduated to adding broccoli or a California mix to make it “healthier”. Ugh!! It was just all I knew at that point.
After I had my first son, I spent hours - I mean I rarely missed a night - watching Emeril Lagasse. BAM!
The seed was planted.
I would go online and print his recipes off of FoodTV’s website. I had so many recipes printed I started putting them in a 3-ring binder.
Then, I also read magazines. Yes! I loved both Better Homes & Gardens and Martha Stewart Living. I would pull out pages of recipes and add them to the 3-ring binder - now with colored, labeled dividers. Please. Don’t be jealous of my fanciness. LOL
Another family favorite - my pancake recipe - is one from Martha Stewart that I’ve been using for so long that I have NEVER made my kids pancakes from a box. The recipe is so easy and foolproof, there’s no need to make the boxed kind. I've come to learn that my boys have such keen taste buds that if I added a little whole wheat flour (Canadian whole wheat, I might add, which is the BEST whole wheat flour ever), it was like I had totally ruined breakfast! Thankfully, enough chocolate chips, peanut butter and syrup, and all is well. Whew! Eventually, they got used to it even though it wasn’t their preferred pancake.
I was planting a seed.
Now, they both love the whole wheat oatmeal pancakes their uncle makes (and now me, too!).
It’s all about planting seeds.
If you’re not trying new things, it’s time to plant that seed.
If you’re not printing pages and pages of recipes, that’s probably a good thing!
Now, you can bookmark pages and sort them right online. Make your folders and subfolders as elaborate and fancy as you choose (I feel mine is fancy, but nearly as colorful as my 3-ring binder dividers).
I must be candid. Even though I have printed out TONS of Emerils' recipes, along with the countless magazine recipes, I’ve actually only made a fraction of them. They often had 1) so many ingredients it looked complicated and too overwhelming of a process to even start, or 2) it was ingredients I couldn’t find (because it was back during dial-up internet days). Point being - start easy. Just because a recipe is simple doesn’t mean it can’t be delicious. Herbs and spices can make a recipe to die for. Or lime juice. Lime juice is my jam!
There are so many food bloggers out there now that you can find very specific niche recipes for whatever type of foods or special diets you choose. And, that doesn’t count the food vloggers. It can be overwhelming for sure!
For the 5-Day Spring Into Summer challenge, I have tried and tested all of the recipes. Now that you know if they’re hard, I won’t make them, I feel confident you can make these without being stressed about it. And, I have a make once, eat 2-3 times during the week program. Let’s make life simpler… along with delicious.
Now that that seed is planted, you can get more information and get registered here. If you have questions beyond that, please get in touch with me. I will answer whatever questions you may have. My email is incourage@incourage-health.com.
Early bird registration is available at a discount until May 23rd. Don’t miss out on the savings!!
InCourage, Dani
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