Unlike most food bloggers on the net, I actually started this blog (read: food diary) not out of my love for cooking. I view cooking as a necessity of life and one of the best ways to be healthy. Therefore, I cook almost everyday.

I love to read about nutrition, healthy food and healthy lifestyle. However, I don’t enjoy slaving in the kitchen for hours and hours. If I do so, I feel like I’m missing out on life. There are so many other things I’d rather be doing (or should be doing) than standing in the kitchen. At the same time, I also feel very strongly about providing healthy food for my family of 5. I often browse around the net for healthy, simple, and easy recipes. I have several website that I visit very often and find them very useful (I will list them on the blogroll section).

Since many food bloggers love the cooking process and are serious cooks, I find that a lot of their recipes require so many different ingredients and take a long time to prepare. I don’t doubt that these recipes will taste delicious but considering the time it takes for me to make them, these recipes will only be used on special occasions (read: when mommy is not too busy).  There are some simple ones that are also delicious; those are usually the ones I make at home (over and over again).

Sharing Recipes

The purpose for my food diary is to share simple (5 ingredients or less), easy and fast recipes which are also healthy. This blog reflects our family day-to-day meals. My recipes will need at most  5 ingredients  and will take only 15 minutes to prepare (not including waiting for cooking time). When I count 5 ingredients, I don’t really count salt, pepper, sugar and oil because  I assume all kitchens should have those basics (if you don’t, go buy them now). If the recipe require a certain type of oil, sweetener or seasoning where using substitution will alter the taste, than I will count them as one ingredient.

To minimize my preparation time, I learned to multitask and work very quickly and efficiently. I’m used to using several appliances simultaneously and my preferred method of measuring ingredients is “eyeballing” (GASP). That’s right, if I want to spend only 15 minutes in preparing my dish, I can’t afford the time to measure meticulously. I also like to use kitchen tools as much as possible, such as: a food processor instead of chopping by hand, using blender, mixer etc. I’m also not opposed to buying pre-washed; pre-cut vegetables.  “Time is Money”. Therefore, if you don’t want to spend the time, you spend the money. There are so many creative ways to earn money, but there is no way to go back in time. (Sci-Fi fans, I understand if you may disagree.)

As a family, we don’t have any food allergies or illnesses that require us to be on a special diet. However, some of us have minor gluten sensitivity and tendency for elevated blood sugar. Therefore, most of the recipes will be gluten free and low in carbohydrate. I prefer to use whole ingredients (read: it used to have a face, it grew on a tree or in the ground) for my dishes. We don’t follow any certain diet strictly; we still eat everything on some occasions. I just prefer to eat clean.

Most of the time, I will choose to buy organic ingredients. However, if I can’t find them, I don’t mind using the conventional variety. I also refer to the clean 15 and dirty dozen when grocery shopping. I buy most of my groceries at Costco, because in my opinion their price is very reasonable for their quality. I also shop on Amazon for non-perishable groceries. I try minimizing my groceries hopping (you know, when you buy different stuff in different stores). For me, Costco, Amazon, and Whole Foods will cover most (if not all) my groceries need.

I hope these recipes can be helpful for people who want to eat healthy but don’t have a lot of time to cook (Don’t we all?)

Sincerely,

 

Yuli W.