Have you ever had best of intentions to eat healthy and stock your fridge with good food, only to find that after all that effort you suddenly have no desire to cook?
I find this feeling usually hits me mid-January when my resolution-driven will power starts to wane. I had to laugh when I saw an Instagram post with a picture of a tasty cheese- and guacamole-topped taco with a caption that read "I have a fridge full of groceries and all I really want to eat is tacos," because I've been there.
This is why my new year's resolutions rarely extend to my refrigerator. I personally have found that if I want to make a lasting change in my eating habits, then I need to take a more realistic look at how much time and energy it's going to take. It's easy to make ambitious meal plans on Monday, but that won't help me on Friday night when I'm tired and hungry.
In order to keep myself eating well and cooking, I found that I need to be honest about how much time I actually have to cook. Some nights have to be quick to get dinner squeezed in between all the after-school activities. So, I try to be kind to myself and plan something easy on those crazy days. The other important factor that keeps me cooking is making sure I am making flavorful dishes that I want to eat.
One of the healthy, but still satisfying, meals that I like to make is this ginger soy salmon. It's a sheet pan dinner that cooks in 25 minutes and everyone in my family loves it. The sauce has fresh ginger, honey, sriracha and soy sauce. I like to serve it over jasmine rice or instant rice noodles, but it would be good over brown rice too. This is one my go-to dinners that I make when I need a quick and delicious meal.
- Amy McCauley of Hinsdale is the paper's food columnist. Readers can email her at [email protected].
