The One Best Way

The quick answer:  To reform your diet, organize and simplify your kitchen.
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We stand at #48 of this year’s 52 Healthy Changes.  Taken together, they have the power to transform your diet, and your health, by reinventing how you eat.  Fair warning:  they can also complicate your life.  For example:

• Exercise:  We’ve asked you to get outside and exercise most days, to work up a sweat.  We even had the nerve to suggest you reconsider the laborsaving devices in your life.
• Refined flour:  We proposed that you replace the modern flour with freshly ground flour that is so full of nutrients it must be refrigerated.  We also suggested baking your own bread.
• Packaged cereals:  We’ve shown you how to make your own breakfast cereals, here and here, when it’s so easy (though costly) to just go to the store.
• Canned soup:  And we’ve noted that homemade stock is better than store-bought; a future post will include recipes for homemade soups.

There are two themes here:  First, cook more (some food processing now done in factories is best done at home).  Second, sweat more (exercise is good for you; it makes you stronger and healthier).  These things, good as they are, take time.  Rather than get crazy busy, it’s best to simplify our lives.  We suggest a process of not adding but of replacing bad stuff with good, and good stuff with better.  Simplification can also reduce the stress of life and bring us that elusive peace we all seek.

Cheaper by the Dozen

As a child, I loved the book, Cheaper by the Dozen.  Frank B. Gilbreth was the father and author, but he was also a leader in the emerging field of scientific management.  The goal was to discover the most efficient way to do every task—the one best way—so when Gilbreth took a shower, he used two bars of soap.  He was a creative guy who led the family on many fun adventures but there was a sad turn to all this rushing about—he died of a heart attack at the age of 55.    

From the shadows of Frank’s premature death a new star emerged—his wife Lillian, also a practitioner of scientific management.  Lillian maintained the Gilbreth’s consulting business while rearing the children and making her own contributions to scientific management.  She put her children through college (one died in childhood), traveled the world, and advised five US presidents on women’s issues.  A less known book was written about this early career mom, appropriately titled, Making Time. 

The Gilbreths made a big impression on me as a father (when the kids were small, I put them all in the tub at once), engineer, and novice cook.  For example, when we make freezer jam, I reduce waiting time by doing multiple batches at once.  The beautiful wife thinks this a little reckless and patiently does her batches one-at-a-time, with exactness unknown to me.  So in the kitchen, I look for that one best way, trying to improve my cooking skills.  Those are my credentials for the following discussion on simplification.

Simplification

We humans can’t keep from complicating our lives.  For many, self-worth is linked to owning whatever’s in fashion.  We live in a shopping culture and a whole nation—China—has grown its economy by cheaply manufacturing whatever we might next fancy.  Did you notice the elaborate Halloween costumes?  Or what those crazed shoppers were carrying out of Wal-Mart on Black Friday?  Acquisitiveness isn’t a new habit, rather a human trait exposed by the limitless productivity of the Industrial Revolution. 

The poet William Wordsworth spoke to this human frailty: 

“The world is too much with us; late and soon.
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.”

Henry Thoreau, rejecting the materialism of his time, retreated to the woods about Walden Pond, seeking to discover the essence of life by removing all distractions.  He found new meaning in simplicity: 

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”

Concealed within the Healthy Changes is a thesis worthy of Wordsworth and Thoreau:  “Life can be made more healthful by using modern means to reinvent olden ways.”  This thesis allows us to reject the “getting and spending” but to embrace those few things that most enhance the quality of our lives.  If we can learn to do this, less really can be more.  So starting in the kitchen, here are ten steps to simplicity.

Ten Steps to Simplicity

Here are ten ways to simplify your life, all centered on healthy eating. 

#1.  Write a weekly dinner menu.  This is a major time saver and stress buster.  Save old menus by season in a binder for future years. 

#2.  Collect your favorite recipes.  It’s great that chefs, once hidden away in kitchens, have become celebrities, but we must resist the trend of complicating food.  Exotic 15-ingredient dishes may be fine for the chef but for the home cook, traditional dishes of six or so ingredients are practical, healthful, and delicious.  Let the family vote as you collect 24 favorite recipes of comfort foods.  If you use 2-3 each week, it will take several months to repeat.  Preparing a few dishes repeatedly is key to finding the one best way to cook.

#3.  Keep a weekly shopping list, as discussed here.  You’ll save the hassle and expense of multiple runs to the grocery store.

#4.  Make Sunday dinner special.  Plan your best meal for Sunday and have family and friends over from time to time.  Cook a roast, whether chicken, beef, pork, or lamb, and reserve a portion to flavor meals during the week.

#5.  When you cook family favorites, make a double portion and save one for a rainy day.  This is easier to do if your freezer is just ¾ full (see #9, below).  Soups are extra work but can be eaten for several meals. 

#6.  Relish leftovers (for smaller families; large families tend to eat everything in sight).  You don’t need to cook an original dish every night.  Get the family’s support to include leftovers in following meals.  Some dishes even taste better the next day.

#7.  Recognize that stuff accumulates.  It collects in your kitchen drawers, cupboards, and in your pantry. Periodically dump the kitchen drawers on the counter—save the simple tools you regularly use and toss everything you haven’t needed in the last year. 

#8.  Clear out the pantry.  We recently went through the pantry and threw everything away over the expiry date.  There was so much stuff it became a game to find the oldest item—the winner was ten years expired.  When the pantry’s too full, you don’t know what you have.

#9.  Manage your freezer.  Most of us toss stuff in until it’s full and forget what’s underneath.  This follows the FISH inventory rule (meaning, “First In, Stays Here”).  Adding a freezer in the garage may just expand the problem.  Here’s a better idea:  When you write your weekly menu, poke through the freezer for stuff you can use.  Set a goal to keep your freezer just ¾ full.  If you do this with your refrigerator also, you’ll save money via less spoilage.

#10.  Include frozen foods.  Frozen fruits and vegetables, unlike the produce in grocery stores, are harvested at their peak so you get extra vitamins while saving prep time.  In the next post, we’ll take a walk through the frozen food aisles of our grocery store, to sort out the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Please comment on your favorite ways to save time while cooking better food.  Share your shortcuts and clever simplifications.

Need a reminder? Download our Healthy Change reminder card. Print and fold, then place in your kitchen or on your bathroom mirror to help you remember the Healthy Change of the week.

Comments

[Laura]

When I bake bread I make several loaves. Whole grain bread is rather filling, so 2 loaves lasts us 5 days. Making a double batch and freezing half is a great time saver. I only bake with spelt flour and the bread tends to last (although it gets crumbly) longer at room temperature than bread made from regular wheat.
I make trail mix for the kids as an easy snack to which they can help themselves. Having snacks ready to go is a great way to save time. Cut carrots and celery, slice or dice cheese, cut apples put back together and secured with a rubber band (so they don't brown)- these are all things you can do ahead of time.

[Alicia]

Thank you for yet another fantastic post. And Laura- what a great idea for snacking!

One thing I try to do in my menu planning is to use the loss leader sales in multiple applications. For example, if corn is the loss leader (it was 8 for $1 about a month ago) I will make corn on the cob as a side, corn chowder, and tortilla soup.

If split chicken breasts are on sale (I look for it about .99/lb, unless it's free range), I cook them all at once, bone, skin and all, brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper, roasted at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the meat begins to pull away from the bone. I remove the meat with my hands (it comes away easily) chop it up and portion it out so I have chicken for multiple meals throughout the month (to add to pasta, soups, burritos, casseroles, etc.) plus I have bones perfect for stock. This way I save a lot of money and time!

[Kelsi]

Thank you for this message about simplicity. I have endured a year of personal trials and my sense of peace through it all has been through seeking gratitude in the simplistic changes I have made. It really is counterculture to live with the mentality that less is often better.

[Marne]

Thanks for this post. I have been trying to do this during 2011, but not very hard. I think it is scary to make so many changes and to leave the norm we are used to. Recently I went on a tour with my teenage girls youth group to a facility in our town that helps women get back on their feet after being addicted to drugs or alcohol. Room and board is provided during their education and therapy time. They take classes to help them get their GED and they are given chores to do. Each morning they have to clean their room...which is small. They are taught that less is really more...they don't need STUFF to have a meaningful life. I appreciate your post today...and at this time of year it is a good reminder to simplify!

[Emily]

Thanks for this post... I really love the idea of simplifying my kitchen and want to be better at it!

[Lisa]

Skip, you're a man after my own heart! I try in earnest to simplify our lives where I can because I do feel things can get very hectic (and unhealthy) very quickly.

One thing I've been doing more of is buying frozen veggies, as you suggested. Especially with winter approaching, I am less inspired by the fresh vegetables at the store, so I use frozen sometimes. It is also a more convenient way for me to ensure my kids are getting their veggies!

Great post.

[Shelly]

This is a great post! One way I simplify and save time: I like to make my own sauces (spaghetti, enchilada, etc.) and to save myself time, I keep little containers full of the blended dry ingredients so that I can just dump them into the recipe as needed.

[Lindsey]

Great post. I've been thinking a lot about simplifying this year. I read two books on the subject that I really loved: Organized Simplicity and Simplicity Parenting. The ideas presented in the books definitely go against the cultural grain, but they really rang true to me. With Christmas approaching and two small children, I feel like I'm swimming upstream in this area!

As a new bride, I really liked fancy recipes with different ingredients. This was good because it exposed us to new tastes, like curry, that I use now. However, now that I have children, simpler is better in the kitchen! I feel so good when I can put a delicious dinner on the table that is all real food (no hidden MSG). Of course, my four-year-old would go for processed chicken nuggets over the food I cook any day, but I figure his tastes will develop over time.

I also have a simple kitchen as far as gadgets go. I am always re-evaluating to determine if I really need what I have in my small kitchen. I recently realized that my whirly pop is unnecessary. I now make delicious homemade popcorn in a covered stock pot. One thing that just broke that I really do miss is my immersion blender; I thought I could get along without it but transferring hot soup to the blender really is a hassle.

[Melissa]

Skip- Love this post, love the quotes, love jam in triple batches, and love organizing. You totally rock.

[Cherilyn]

I'm a wanna be minimalist. Thanks for the quotes on simplifying and the reminder of what systems we can put in place to make cooking and meals easier.

[Zane]

I also love this post; it is one of my favorites on your blog this year. I like the idea of just dumping out drawers. . . In fact, I think I'll do that tomorrow.

We considered buying an extra freezer for our half of a hog pork share this fall. However, we were happy to discover that, with a little cleaning and reorganizing, everything fit in our existing freezer. And I know that I'm much more likely to use food that is easy to access.

Simplifying in the kitchen for me means resisting the temptation to buy more than we really need. I typically shop once a week and try to buy only for that week. Some things last longer, of course; but I try not to buy something unless it is an ingredient necessary for my current meal plan.

Thank you for so many thoughtful posts, Skip. Your blog is a joy to read.

[Amanda]

My husband and I try to keep our meals simple and healthy by eating what my friend calls "four square meals." We try to incorporate protein, vegetables, carbs, and fat into every meal. Ideally, our dinner plate is half veggies, one-quarter protein and one-quarter carbs with a little good fat mixed in. So as long as we have all those elements, I consider our meal a success, no matter how simple the ingredients may be. Instead of dealing with fancy recipes, I just cook up some brown rice in chicken stock, pork chops with salt and pepper, and a green salad with whatever veggies I have on hand, dressed with olive oil and vinegar.

[Danelle Sandoval]

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