Exploit those fridge visits!

Have you found yourself visiting the fridge a little more often than usual, now you are stuck at home at lot more?

There are enough folk telling us what not to do… “Don’t this!” and “Don’t that!”

And there are lots of cartoons and memes making light of it.

But what if you could embrace those visits to grab a boredom snack instead?

Here are my top 5 reasons to exploit your extra visits to the kitchen:

1 – Enjoy one meal a day

That’s right. Instead of breakfast, lunch and dinner, how about just having a big breakfast? Or, as in the case today, Easter Monday, a large lunch of leftovers? The rest of the time you can snack. Your metabolism will thank you. The problem comes when we eat like we normally do AND throw in a few extra visits. One meal a day also means less cooking, prep, and washing up, too.

2 – Mix it up

One thing I’ve found is that denial sets in really quickly. Pretending that our bodies don’t need or crave sweet things, or the occasional manufactured food, is unrealistic. So, among the plums and pears, little bowls of blueberries and walnuts, it’s OK to grab half a cup of Life cereal (with or without milk), or some chocolate cookies. As my doc says: eat what you want, as long as you didn’t eat it yesterday.

3 – Walk it off

How many times did you walk up and down the stairs yesterday? Add two more trips today. Honestly, stairs provide the most amazing and easiest cardio exercise you could want, without needing a mask. No stairs? Walk around the house or the block once. Just once! Not because it’s healthy, but because you want to make room for that cup of tea and little snack you’re going to head for when you get back… as a reward. Actually, you might find yourself forgetting that particular trip to the fridge, so well done you!

4 – What’s new?

When approaching your fridge or pantry, keep your eyes open for something that’s new. Look for the sell-by date on everything you can get your hands on easily. If it’s at least next month, put that item at the back of the shelf and bring something else forward. That way, you get to use stuff up and also avoid having to throw away food you’d [conveniently] forgotten about.

5 – Give it a good scrub down

When was the last time that shelf had a good clean? On your next visit, just start taking everything out as you consider what’s immediately snack-worthy. Only leave it out until the shelf is absolutely empty! And while it’s got your attention, get one of those nearby handy disinfectant wipes and give it a good clean. Perhaps even change the liner if you have one. Then put everything back by sell-by date order.

There… you’ve actually EARNED a snack, now!

Happy exploiting those fridge visits 🙂