Tiny Tweaks (In the Kitchen) Can Go a Long Way

A few months after I started grad school, I stepped on the scale to discover I was carrying around fifteen extra pounds. Fifteeen! The truth is, ever since I’d started grad school on top of my full-time job, most of my hours were spent sitting at my desk or in a classroom, and free time was dedicated to homework. Cooking was definitely not a priority, especially since I lived in a city where I could have all kinds of different foods delivered to me at any time.

But after seeing the number on that scale, I knew I needed to make some changes, and fast. So I started with the food (I’d tackle exercise later). I realized that part of the appeal to eating out was enjoying something different every day. Still, I didn’t have the time or energy to play around with fanciful new recipes. But then I learned that making some tiny changes to the basic recipes I did have time to handle made a huge difference in how they tasted and how much I enjoyed them. 

For lunch, I’d regularly been eating turkey sandwiches—plain, sad turkey sandwiches that consisted only of a couple slices of turkey, some lettuce, a piece of tomato and mayonnaise. I’m no fan of mustard, but did you know that mixing a dab of mustard with some mayo creates a seriously delicious spread? I copied a recipe I’d seen at a sandwich shop and threw in a few slices of avocado, a handful of fresh baby spinach, some red onion and sliced cheese, and all of a sudden my ordinary turkey sandwich became a delicacy I looked forward to.

It may seems scary to commit cooking at home instead of going the easier route and ordering in, but starting with some small changes to the staple recipes you already know (and may be bored of) can make the challenge way more doable and rewarding.