A couple of weeks ago I wandered up and down the aisles of a Safeway and felt an odd combination of awe, appreciation and overwhelm. That’s quite a bubbling stew of emotions, isn’t it? Why so many? The vast amount of food choices we have in our society is truly something to behold. Yet despite this overflowing cornucopia of plenty, most people struggle with the question of what to make for dinner. Wow, that’s a strange paradox!
The scholarly and academic people have concluded that being bombarded with so many choices isn’t necessarily good for us. Too many choices cause our psyches to feel overwhelmed and confused and then we shut down; there is simply too much information to process. The condition has a name - decision fatigue. Yes, that’s definitely a thing. What a strange irony it is that we float in this sea of unlimited choice yet do not know what to eat. How can we transform this abundance into a satisfying meal? Or at least prevent that desperate last minute pizza order.
Last week, I chatted with my Kimi Claus of Fossil about this odd conundrum and we did a bit of troubleshooting. How do we each solve that problem? I told her that when I make something delicious, I jot down a few notes on an index card and keep them in a recipe box. I rarely use recipes, but I do make a list of ingredients and record how I made the dish. If I did follow a recipe, I note the website and the title of the recipe. For example “www.nytimescooking.com + salmon patties. I write down how I altered the recipe. When I look through the box, I am so thankful I wrote down the notes because there is no way that I will remember four months from now the great dinner I made today. The only thing I have to remember is to take the time to write the recipes down before I forget! When I need inspiration I will look through the box and reminisce a little, too. That’s fun!
The other way I tackle the problem is to dial back to simplicity. Great beauty lies in simplicity, especially if the food is of the highest quality that money can buy. Keeping a well-stocked pantry also helps. That’s kinda’ like having an in-house grocery store.
Kimi suggested that I ask readers to tell me how they answer the “What’s for dinner?” question. I invite you to share your kitchen wisdom! Do you use a meal planning app? Or have a theme night such as Taco Tuesday, Soup Saturday, etc.? Do you consult the AI?
Please do tell, and tell it all!
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