I can’t, like, plan a delicious meal with ten sides and dessert for every night of the week, even though I love to cook.

Here are my reasons:

1. Money, of course
2. Time
3. Spontaneity. I like order a lot, but I want to be able to be like “I have had a super bad day, let’s go out and get something to eat somewhere and treat ourselves” every once in awhile. Most of all, I want Cam to be able to say “You have had a super bad day, let me take you out to eat at your favorite place and also give you thirty gifts,” without me having to say, “That all sounds great, but I have GOT to make chicken breasts again, otherwise my whole plan will be thrown off and I will die.”

My strategy at the moment is (though subject to change) to sit down at some point, usually on the weekend, with the current issues of the several cooking periodicals I get and try to find some healthy recipes that meet the following objectives:

1. Use staples I have in the house, reducing grocery bills.
2. Use some of the same ingredients (like cilantro - who ever uses a giant bunch of cilantro for one meal?) (Chicken broth, parsley, bacon, chives, green onions, basil…all of these are good examples).
3. Use some of the specialty-type things I bought while splurging on something else, so that I can feel like my splurge isn’t really a splurge. I get tons of satisfaction from finishing off bottles of things - especially from my vast spice, oil, and vinegar collection.
4. Heat up well so that one of these meals can last for two days. This way I can just plan two or three meals a week.

This is working pretty well. By using my periodicals, the cookbooks I have that are organized by season, and the knowledge I have accrued from reading books like How to Pick a Peach, I try to get as much seasonal stuff as possible. I try really hard to get good ingredients that are environmentally responsible and local (if possible), but sometimes the People can’t afford these, so I feel like I’m always making judgment calls.

Anyway, it’s stressful. I’m trying to incorporate grocery circulars into this routine, but it is so much work. I have a job and tons of DVDs that need watching. Sometimes I get discouraged, and it all seems like too much. I feel like I’m always feeling guilty about either spending money or getting processed stuff because it’s cheaper or easier. THERE HAS GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY, right? I’m going to find it. Or you are going to tell it to me.