September 17, 2022 by Molly Patrick

My inner dialogue

A couple weekends ago, I was in my kitchen getting ready to batch cook for the week, and I was not feeling it.

I didn’t want to get out my cutting board, knife and mixing bowls.

I didn’t want to start chopping, dicing, slicing, roasting, and simmering.

I didn’t want to do a shit-ton of dishes (the technical term for the amount of dishes one generates on batching day).

I didn’t want to be on my feet for three or four hours.

Sometimes I’m excited to get in my kitchen and cook, but this was not one of those times. 

So I paused, took a seat, drank some tea, and had a bit of dialogue with myself.

What would I do if I decided not to cook today?

I can read my book.
True, but you could read after you’re done batching AND have a fridge full of food.

I could go to the beach. 
Yes, but you could also go to the beach tomorrow morning and not think about getting home to cook.

I could work on the stool I’m reupholstering. 
Yeah. I mean, you could do that instead of cooking, but is that urgent? Do you really want to finish the stool more than you want to use all the groceries you bought and have yummy plant powered meals next week?

I could watch TV. 
You don’t even want to watch TV right now.

I could work. 
No.

I could watercolor.
You haven’t painted in months, so first of all, I’m not convinced you really want to paint. Next, you could paint this morning and cook tomorrow, but then you’re just delaying the inevitable, right? You know you’ll need to cook at some point before Monday if you want to eat yummy, homemade food next week, so you may as well do it now. If you want to paint later, you will paint later.

I could nap. 
You literally woke up an hour ago. Plus, you know there is no better nap than the post-batch nap.

That was it. I gave up.

No, I did not feel like cooking.
But there was nothing I truly wanted more at that time than the result of cooking. I wanted a fridge full of healthy, delicious plant based food more than I wanted to do anything else.

Since the ingredients don’t cook themselves, I wrapped up my pity party, tied up my hair, put on my audio book, pulled up my big girl panties along with the Summer's End meal plan on my iPad, and got to work.

The next time you don’t feel like doing something you know will benefit you, ask yourself: what would I rather do instead?

It could be you truly would rather be doing something else. If that’s the case, honor it! But if not, pay attention to your thoughts, see where they go, and give yourself a little nudge.

For your next delicious meal, you must try our Roasted Butternut Squash Tacos. They’re almost as yummy as a post-batch nap.

And if you haven't signed up for our free 10-day trial of Clean Food Dirty Girl yet, do it now and get ready to nourish yourself with the best food ever.

Molly

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Written by ex-boozer and ex-smoker, Molly Patrick that will help you eat more plants while throwing perfection down the garbage disposal.

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