SusanB

Thanks SugarCube and Shannon. This Sunday, I'll chop up some veggies and put them in the fridge and see how it goes..... After I chop the vegetables for the meal that I'm cooking at that time, I know that I have time while the food is cooking to chop some more to have in the refrigerator. I just need to get myself into the routine of doing that. It would save me lots of time !!

I also am cooking for one. One problem that I have is that I don't do well on pre-cooked protein that is stored in the refrigerator, so following the Mel advice of a big cook-in once a week does not work for me..... at all. Instead, I keep things really simple (and.. yes... boring). I buy ground beef and boneless chicken breasts and frozen shrimp and always have lots of eggs on hand. I also have a freezer full of frozen vegetables - but ONLY vegetables that are vegetables - no sauces and no seasonings in the bag/box. So I cook a hamburg patty and have a baked sweet potato and a steamed veggies from my bags in the freezer. Or I pan-fry a boneless chicken breast and have a salad and a steamed veggie. Or a veggie omelette and a baked sweet potato. Of I'll chop up veggies and saute them while I am cooking (in a different pan) either ground beef or a boneless chicken breast cut into chunks and then when everything is cooked, I mix the protein and sauteed veggies together and have some fruit. I don't mind eating boring meals. I change the spices to get a different flavor and I try to vary the veggies as much as possible so I'm not eating the same ones all the time. I do need to start chopping things like scallions, onions, red pepper, mushrooms and store them in containers in the fridge because the prep time is mostly chopping vegetables and that can be very time consuming. For those of you who do chop vegetables in advance for omelettes, stir fries and salads...... how long do they stay fresh in the containers in the refrigerator? I really like my food to be as fresh as possible, but I really need to cut down on the chopping time for 3 meals a day from scratch. TIA for any advice....

After 60 years of delicious half'n'half in my coffee, I didn't think I could ever do without it. But.... I'm here to tell you that you can adjust... I drink my coffee black now and wouldn't go back to the other. The first couple of weeks it was awful. The next couple of weeks it was tolerable. Now I prefer black coffee. There are 2 key points: 1) Patience. It takes time to adjust. 2) Good coffee. That doesn't mean super expensive. But I found a Keurig/Green Mountain coffee that I really like. There are lots of choices.

Day One for me. I've done 30 days of "prep" time - eliminating most no-nos, but still eating things like white rice and butter and some processed foods like regular mayo and ketchup. So today is Day One of my real Whole 30. Yesterday, I cleaned out the refrigerator and pantry of non-Whole 30 foods and restocked with real food. I can do this.... I can... I really can. (my mantra for the next 30 days)