foody 1
I have been watching a lot of solo living vlogs lately which has inspired me to make more food at home (well, I’ve already been doing that, haha). I’ve also been really into making sure I have cute dishware and cute place settings as well. It’s become one of my favorites way of self care.
Speaking of dishware, I found this Japanese brand at a small boutique gift shop in town, and look forward to adding more plates to my collection (but I will have to curate them). I used to think that I would want multiple place settings for a table (when I used to work at furniture store), but decided that my current lifestyle means I won’t be hosting any dinner parties anytime soon haha. Instead, I have been shifting to collecting single plates/cups that fit an aesthetic I like.
Cooking food, for myself, every day
This feels like the most daunting task always. You have to make a meal for yourself, every day, forever, lol! And it never stops.
I feel like I’ve already had the mindset of “eating at home” to begin with - growing up Filipino in America meant that we always ate meals as a family, and a majority of that food was always home cooked/prepared. Also, the formula for a Filipino silog is one of the easiest simple meals to prepare if I’m feeling lazy - rice (sinangag/garlic fried rice preferred), egg, and a protein.
All this to say: eating at home can be as easy or hard as you make it.
Things that I have found helpful:
- Ingredient prepping rather than meal prepping (particularly vegetable prep) so that I can feel like I'm having new meals
- Premade side dishes
- Eating less red meat as I don’t like preparing them
- Always have cheat/easy meals for the days that I feel lazy or am struggling
- Having a "set formula" for a meal has been a game changer. I love presenting my meal in small plates rather than trying to be more economical and one-plate or one-pot everything.
Also, I’ve had varying “goals” for eating in. Saving money and being mindful of what I eat is a wonderful benefit. My current goal is to minimize food waste, especially veggie waste. I have been getting better at estimating how many veggies I can buy before they go bad - but ultimately I have been resorting to making a stop by the store on my way home to buy veggies as needed (which only adds a few minutes to my already long commute).
To be clear, I eat in most of the time for dinner unless I am going out to eat with my friends. However, lunch is a different situation, and I buy lunch more than I'd like haha.
Meals from April - June
I’ve been documenting my meals in my photos/journal. Posting some of the highlights here of my favorites.
For viewing purposes I have photos under a cut.
#food