I started a year of 30 Day challenges for two reasons. One – To test my own commitment to myself. We so often hold promises and commitments we make to other people but not the ones we make for ourselves. Two- Just to spice up the daily do. After living through 2020 I think it’s safe to say that we so easily get stuck in our routines. I wanted to change up something that we already to each day to make life a little more fun.
With That in Mind, This is what I learned this month:
- Meal PLANNING is key. I have been a huge believer in planning out everything you are eating for the week on Sunday so that mealtime is seamless. It fits in your day instead of feeling like an exhausting chore that you don’t have the brain capacity to handle. You already have all of the ingredients needed and it takes the guess work out of “what are we eating tonight” and “do we have time to cook”. You can even plan what leftovers you are going to have so that there can be lunch for a day or two. While I have been meal planning for years, I had to kick it up a notch with Pinterest dinners to make sure I was using similar ingredients within the same week so that I didn’t just use something once!
- The lighting in my kitchen is pretty terrible. During the day wee get great natural sunlight, but as soon as the sun sets, it’s pretty bad. I think I have always known this but kept thinking one more lamp will save the day. I finally caved and became one of those people – you know the ones who purchase a ring light off of Amazon? Yup, I did it for the food pics and I don’t regret it.
- I learned how to make an Instagram Reel halfway through the month. I wish I had started filming the food cooking journey earlier! Everyone loves a good food video.
- Sometimes you just want to make a nice frozen dinner. I do still have standards when it comes to frozen dinners: must be cooked on the stove or in the oven. Sometimes you just want a quick and brainless meal and there is nothing wrong with that. I don’t even think I realized that frozen food is almost like a comfort food for me. Who doesn’t love Orange Chicken or Spinach and Artichoke Dip from Trader Joe’s?
- Be open to different meals! I always thought Stuffed shells only came frozen at the grocery store. I had never had Chicken Shawarma, Moco Loco, Eggplant parmesan, Lentils, or Cauliflower gnocchi before! It was nice to explore some different food options and find some that we will continue to cook forever!
And most importantly our ABSOLUTE FAVORITES from this month are (drumroll please….)
Top 5 Dinners (just in case you missed it)
- Sweet Potato Bowls
- Eggplant Parmesan
- Chicken Shawarma
- Pesto Tortellini
- Butternut Squash and Brussel Sprout Salad
Be sure to check out all of the 30 Days of Pinterest Dinners for fun recipe ideas to spice up your week!
Hope you enjoyed following along as much as we enjoyed making these dinners! Check out (or join along!) 28 Different Workouts in February!
xoxo
Krysta
