Letting Go with SITS: It's OK to Take a Time Out From Cookin'

Preparing healthy meals for my family has become more important to me than ever since entering this wonderful world of cooking almost 2 years ago. I know that the "best" meals for us to eat are the ones we cook because we control what goes into them. All this cooking and experimenting with recipes has taught me many things; including the fact that cooking healthy meals doesn't always require a lot of time or effort. Cookin' lean is easy! No excuses, right? Even knowing all of this and being armed with new kitchen tricks, there are days where I just flat-out don't feel like cookin'. And when I feel like this, I feel a sense of guilt; as if I have failed to deliver on my promise to provide healthy, home-cooked meals for my family.

Tuesdays are the days where dinner is a bit of an afterthought. I teach all day, drive an hour home, stop by Starbucks for a Skinny Vanilla Latte and head right over to the University for my 3-hour class. By the time I get home and walk in the door, it is a little after 8 pm. It's late, I'm tired, my husband is asking me what we are having for dinner, I'm thinking "let's just order something"...and then the guilt sets in. Well, I am letting go! No more guilt! 

Whether it is Tuesday night or some other night in the week, there are going to be days where life just takes over my time and/or energy reserved for cooking. I can't feel guilty about it or feel like I have let my family down just because they don't get a home-cooked meal 7 nights a week. I may be the cook of the house, but that is just one of the hats I wear. It's time to cut myself a little slack and let this go. I will no longer feel bad about ordering in because I don't feel like cookin'! Instead I am going to enjoy the occasional treat and relax. I will cherish the small breaks from cooking, from doing dishes and from cleaning up the kitchen. 

Focusing on the things that I am doing well has allowed me to let go of something I felt I was "failing" at. Most of the time, we eat great in the Rudolph house. I shop for healthy snacks and make "cookin' lean" meals. So for me to take a night or two off a week is not such a big deal. I do a pretty darn good job most of the time and that hard work is deserving of a break. Could I think ahead and prepare something quick for us on those nights? Sure! But then when would pizza night or Chinese night fit in? I think I'll stick with my imperfection. I kinda like it now.

This post was part of the #SITS Letting-Go Link up. Do you have something to let go? Write up a post and share it HERE.