$3ADDP: You Can Do It Too!

When talking to people about this project, and in my own experiences, it seems that the most difficult part really is the record keeping. The minutiae of tracking calories and cost is a bit much for most people so I think going forward for the project, I'll be posting recipes instead. You don't really care what I ate for the day, what you probably care about was how I made it and how you can do the same.

Though I do already have some recipes up, you might want to ease into this project yourself, especially if you're looking at doing this for the long term. Here are a handful of things I would suggest for you to start saving now and eating healthy!

1. Cook all your meals at home. Yes, eventually you might be able to swing a quick an easy meal out ala Ten Ten Chinese Food Restaurant, but cooking your meals at home prepares you for the time commitment of actually cooking! Once you make this part of your routine, it will make is significantly easier.

2. Plan out your meals, especially if you have a family. I would plan for 4 meals a day because as I started to eat the smaller portions I saw that I got hungry every 3-4 hours and that a snack was usually necessary. Use the local supermarket advertisements to see what's on sale for the week and plan your meals around it. This is particularly important because you'll need to start mentally tracking where you can buy what for cheapest.

3. Only buy enough food to eat for one week of perishables. I found during this project that I was buying more food than I needed and as a result as things got on the older side I was less inclined to eat it. Once you plan out your meals though, you'll know exactly what you really need and will be less likely to eat more of it because you know it's already planned for.

4. Buy pantry items in bulk when it's at it's lowest price. For instance, I went to Big Lots and saw Annie's Organic Salad Dressing on sale for $0.80. No, they weren't about to expire or anything, it just so happens that they overproduced a handful of their flavors like Pomegranate Vinaigrette and Garlic Asiago, which is good for me because I love both flavors! I picked up 4. Same goes for anything else that won't go bad before you get a chance to use your whole stock.

5. Make one day a week your serious prep day. If you are planning on making bread or pizza dough or crockpot meals, prep it all on one day. It'll make cooking every meal everyday less daunting.