Active Low-Carber Forums - View Single Post - The "I am so bored with Low Carb Food" thread

Excellent thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NancyLC

I know I have plenty of foods I like, but they're not the foods I'm presently craving. If you asked me previously to identify what the source of my discontent is, I'd say "I'm bored with these foods". But on further reflection, I know that isn't right. (...) Come the snacking hour (between bed time and dinner time) that restlessness sends me scurrying to the pantry looking for forbidden eats. That is not boredom... it is cravings.

Quoted for truth!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gypsybyrd

So, now you've shifted to a different eating plan, one that prohibits certain foods. You fix meals and, surprise, you gravitate toward the same recipes/menus week after week. Except now, you realize, your plan prohibits you from eating other things. So you decide you are "bored" when in reality, you just want something you'd already made a conscious decision to do without.

This, too!

There's a statement that someone made on this forum years ago on this topic, and it stuck with me. It was an "aha" moment: Food should not have the capacity to bore you.

Now, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't enjoy your food. I'm a hedonist when it comes to food! But it means pretty much what Nancy andGypsybyrd said: you have to do a bit of soul searching and dig around the word "boredom".

For me, the misnamed boredom feels like grass-is-greener syndrome. Sometimes I get bored of having to take care of my yard: but when I was in an apartment, I was bored of not having a yard. Know what I mean? "You can have anything you want, but you can't have everything you want." Similarly, we can get bored about the food limits we've placed on ourselves.

Boredom requires a little creativity to remedy. I could complain that an hour commute on a train is "boring", or I could use that valuable time to do something productive or relaxing.

Backing off the deep thoughts...

Here are my tips for avoiding boredom:

learn to cook, and start out with the simplest, fastest, easiest things. Learn how to cook a steak well. I can cook a steak, open a can of green beans or mushroom pieces, nuke 'em, and slap some butter on the whole mess in ten minutes. Delish and simple. Save the more complicated, time-consuming recipes for when you're genuinely in the mood to cook.
I cook for one, for the most part - my SO is a veggie. So my freezer and Gladware are my best friends. I've got about six different entrees I could nuke from my freezer, plus fully-cooked burgers and gluten-free weenies. I've also got raw steaks and pork chops, plain frozen cooked chicken, cooked bacon, several types of broth, frozen and canned veggies, and all kinds of spices and oils I can turn into a quick meal if I have more time. The big reason for all of this variety: I can have what I'm in the mood for, and it's 100% on-plan.
If you don't already, learn to love foods of ethnicities other than your own. Again: the theme is variety.
Similarly, stay caught up on grocery shopping and keep a fully-stocked pantry.
If you're disorganized like I am, literally make a list of your favorite meal ideas. Sometimes I just plain forget about my faves!