fftf: behind-the-scenes of my breakfast

Hi friend!

Question: how many times can you eat the same thing without getting sick of it?! What if that thing you’re eating is REALLY FREAKING GOOD?! Then how long can you eat it?

You might assume that I spend a ton of time cooking… and often, that is true… but during the week, and especially lately - I am honestly pretty lazy. And… I still eat really well, even when I’m lazy. I cook certain "elements" ahead of time, and then mix and match those with things I cook fresh, which allows me to make meals that I don't have to think too much about... but I make them just a little bit different each time to keep things interesting while still doing "lazy" cooking. I also make food I LOVE, so I can generally eat it for several days without getting sick of it.

It just so happens that I took pics of many of my meals this week (I was trying to time my cooking... saving that story for another day), so I thought it’d be fun to share a week of my breakfasts with you for a little "behind the scenes" of what I REALLY eat. I usually think of these simple meals as "too boring to share"... but sometimes that's the stuff that's most interesting to people, so - sharing with you today!

Quick note before we get to the pics: I knew this before but have re-confirmed it in quarantine... When I eat intuitively with my hunger (and without any social life/influence) - I have found that I’m the hungriest in the morning, and then my hunger peters out throughout the day. So - I usually eat a big breakfast, a medium lunch, and a very small/light dinner. (Honestly sometimes dinner is just olives and wine. Or a mug full of chicken broth from my freezer.) Since I’m by myself, I can really do whatever I want, which is kind of cool! I try to listen to my actual hunger and go with it. Not saying this is good/bad/right/wrong, it’s just how I eat when I’m home alone and listening to my body. And it’s why you are seeing my breakfasts instead of dinners in this photo series… So here we go! Five days of my actual breakfasts below!

So - what's the takeaway?! Honestly - I would love to hear what inspires or surprises YOU when you see this! Would you have been bored/sick of this similar breakfast, or no?!

Here are a few tips for "lazy but still interesting" cooking:

A newer thing I do lately is make 2 sauces at a time. One sauce is great - two sauces is even better! This allows me to have more variety within the week, and feels like an efficiency hack because I already have the immersion blender dirty and out. If the sauces are similar (like these salsas) I don't wash the immersion blender in between the two sauces since they have similar flavors!
Normally I try to eat greens with my breakfast - but I was out of those this week, so I added fresh herbs in place of greens. Don't know why I wasn't doing this before - it takes just a minute or two to chop it up right before! Or with the oregano I didn't even chop it :).
Because of the salsas (and black beans/guac), these breakfasts are all Mexican-inspired. I had variety within this series of Mexican-ish breakfasts. I often make these things together: my fav black beans, 2 salsas, and guac. Next week I will go to a different type of cuisine entirely. If you think about mixing and matching different elements within a cuisine over the course of the week, and then switching to a different cuisine-of-influence the following week - to me that feels like an easier way to have variety in what I'm eating, versus trying to eat from a different cuisine every day. Thoughts?!?!?!

Would love to hear your comments / questions / observations if you want to share!!

Love,
Jess

PS. In case you missed it, I was interviewed on a friend's podcast - Listen here! It’s an hour long, so if you’re in a rush - skip to 35:06 (my favorite part) where I do a live "intuitive cooking lesson" in which I advise the hosts on how to switch up their go-to meals with a few simple changes. If you listen in full, you’ll hear: my thoughts on the Alison Roman drama, my awkward intro where the first thing I say about myself is my age (LOL, NERVOUS), and why I never cook boneless skinless chicken breasts.

PPS. I'm taking this awesome summer series called Whiteness at Work (check out the first session, which is free!) Just did the 2nd module live on Wednesday and it was SO well done and thought provoking. Reading the books is important AND it was really nice to have a live chat, thought-provoking questions, and an expertly prepared presentation/conversation full of frameworks and prompts. You can still sign up for the last two sessions coming July 15 and 28 (I think you'll get access to the recordings too). It's called "at work" but it definitely applies to "life" in general! Check it out!

If you like this email, I would LOVE IT if you forward along to your favorite food-loving friends, or better yet, forward and then cook something together! Wannabe subscribers can sign up here. Thanks for reading!

In case you missed out, here are a few past issues to check out:

June 26: 5 ingredients, 5 minutes - a favorite summer salad
June 19: to shuck, or not to shuck peas?!
June 12: who has "authority" over a cuisine?
June 5: food justice is racial justice
May 8: It's been one year of FFTF!
May 1: SPICE UP your cooking, intuitively!
April 17: I’m 100% sure you can do this veggie trick
April 3: my dad’s surprising vitamin advice

Hi, I'm Jess! I help health-conscious, busy people transform their cooking from "chore" to "whippin it up!" through intuitive cooking, which I teach through online classes, free content, coaching and more. This is my newsletter, Food for Thought Fridays, where I share highly actionable tips and inspiration to help you cook more intuitively (which makes cooking feel easier and SO much more fun!). Once a month, I share a recipe that's really worth making, and I only share those with my email subscribers.