The Dreaded

I avoid grocery shopping like I do the plague (or any global virus, I should say). Probably more.

In reality, it’s eating – from start to finish – that I wish I could avoid.

From planning meals to (the dreaded) grocery shopping to preparing, cooking, and cleaning up, the daily question of what’s for dinner is the one chore I’d be happy to eliminate from my life.

If I could eat out or order in every night of my life, I would. Oftentimes I wish all my meals could be taken in the form of a pill.

I buy food from the gas station as much as I can. If I could make a meal out of milk, eggs, and Lunchables I would. Serve it all on paper plates and snap!

Recently, a friend and I had a discussion during a weekend at our friend’s cabin. I was opening a bottle of wine and asked her what she wanted to drink. She said water, explaining she’d rather eat her calories than drink them. The others agreed (thus confirming the reason why I’m usually the only one drunk at our gatherings).

Do I love the taste of food? Sure. Especially when someone else makes it. And serves it. And cleans up after me.

The strange part of all this is that my husband and son are the cooks in the family. And not just slop together find-what-you-may-in-the-fridge kind of cooks, but amazing cooks. Grill masters, actually. As long as they have a slab of meat in front of them every night, they are happy.

Yet the daily question of what’s for dinner is something I can’t get past.

I’ve asked myself what my biggest hang-up is about food, and consequently, I’ve made a lot of sub-par, even rotten, meals in my life. I’m just not “good” at cooking.

Most of my disdain stems from the fact that I didn’t come from a long line of gourmet chefs. I grew up with the basic  motto of eat to live, not live to eat. And, as true Minnesotans, the only spices in our cabinet were salt and pepper. I never spent time in the kitchen with my mom. Nothing much was made from scratch. We ate to fill our bellies – and fast – so we could head off to watch TV.

Am I thankful that I have access to food, money for food, and shelter under which to cook said food? Of course. And we as a family express that each time we pray before dinner.

But how can I get past the negativity I have towards all things home cooking? What can I do to make looking at meals as a positive in my life?

Easy  – planning.  

As with most things in life, planning is key. If I engage our household to put thought into what we’d all like to eat during the week on Sunday, I can make sure we have the correct ingredients or shop accordingly Monday morning.

I work from home, after all. I have no excuse.

Sure, I may still race through the grocery store, throwing food in the cart, oftentimes mistakenly grabbing a low-cal or light product instead of the real deal in my haste. But if I concentrate and do a good job, I can always treat myself to something special.

After all, the liquor store is right around the corner.