The Simplified Life (Month 2 Update)

I am a little past month two on trying to live a more simplified life, but as my nana would say, "Que sera, sera" (whatever will be, will be). In terms of simplicity, I mostly find myself prioritizing more simplicity with cooking. It is a big part of my "job" at home, so it makes sense.

Several years ago, after listening to The Lazy Genius podcast, I started working through cookbooks, rather than googling for recipes. It decreases time and decision fatigue in men planning by a ton. Don't get me wrong. I still like recipe blogs and I do google recipes, but I do it less for our overall meal plan. Simplicity. I continue to do this now. Our main cookbooks now are:

Easy Vegetarian Slow Cooker Cookbook: 125 Fix-and-Forget Vegetarian Recipes by Rockridge Press

Good Housekeeping Family Italian Cookbook:185 Trattoria Favorites to Bring Everyone Together by Good Housekeeping

The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook: Easy Recipes for Fast & Healthy Meals by Laurel Randolph

Rise and Run:Recipes, Rituals and Runs to Fuel Your Day: A Cookbook by Shalene Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky

As I mentioned last month, I am cooking more and more in big batches. We eat some and freeze some, and then rotate in the frozen stuff again later. It's not new variety, but it's variety. 

I am seeking to do something akin to zero budgeting when I buy special ingredients: plan to use up all of them. Sometimes that means making even bigger batches of things. Sometimes it means finding multiple recipes that will use up all of the thing. While more complicated in the beginning, in the end, it leads to simplicity, because I am not tracking an extra item and its potential spoilage. 

I am trying to use up leftovers, too. It's not my favorite, but having too many leftovers, even frozen, means complication over simplicity.

I enjoy a good sale and saving money, but I am trying not to stock up so much. As things currently stand, we can find most things in the grocery store. I really stockpiled during COVID, and I pray I can keep away from needing to continue to do that.

Simplicity does bite me sometimes, like when we run out of things, or I am forced to pay full price for something that was on sale earlier. Oh well. Even simplicity comes at a cost.

Those are the main updates for now. Already into this next month, and we will see what the Lord holds in it.