Scrub first, Eat Second...

Let me set the scene.  It's ten minutes post dinner inhalation.  You are pleasantly full and know that you should be content with the well portioned meal you've just consumed.  Yet for some reason that pesky and unhelpful brain inside your head keeps nagging you to waddle back to the kitchen for a second helping.  As if you are possessed and have no control over your body's actions you feel yourself walking back, plate in hand, to the stove and see yourself piling a fresh helping for consumption.  Before you know it, you're back on your couch in your spot that is so familiar there is a small dent in the cushion and you've eaten helping number two.  After some time goes by you decide it's finally time to get the kitchen cleaned up before you lose all steam and then are forced to battle a sink full of encrusted dishes the following morning.  While piling dishes next to the sink, and getting Tuperware ready to hold leftovers, you hear that crazy voice in your head again, "Go on, lick the spoon" or "It's just a pinch of cheese, no big deal" or "You might as well finish off that last little bit, there just isn't enough to save and it's a shame to waste."  And before you know it you're like a cow grazing through the remnants of the evening meal.

One solution to this annoying self control problem is simply to make ONLY enough for just one meal (or however many people are eating).  Sometimes I do this, but often times I like to make extra for leftovers.  It's so nice to have a night off from cooking...let Mr. Microwave do the work!  But I must say it is a battle for me to stop myself from snacking on that leftover portion!

Another option, which requires a little extra effort, is to clean up BEFORE sitting down to eat.  This sounds pretty simple and silly to suggest but I've found it really helpful.  The hardest part, for me at least, is that by the end of the day I'm so hungry I can barley make it to the end of the cooking time before digging in.  But I have tried to make a habit of plating my food and then immediately putting all leftovers in containers and placing directly into the fridge.  Then once I'm in this mode, I figure I might as well go the extra distance and just get the dishes cleaned so I don't have to do it later.  This also saves me just in case I am in a total state of desperation and in the absence of accessible leftovers, I am forced to lick the contents from the bottom of the pan.  The added bonus is that the dishes are still hot making cleaning super easy.  AND another bonus is that your food has time to cool while you do the dishes.  I don't know about anyone else out there but I think I am permanently missing layers of skin inside my mouth from endless battles with steaming hot food.  I simply can't wait and I pay the price.  But now with "Operation Pre-Clean" my mouth seems to be recovering and my taste buds are experiencing a whole new world of flavors!

So, before you eat, pick up your sponge and dish soap and get those extra food scraps into the fridge before they have time to do a number on your waistline!  You'll find a whole new speed of clean propelling you forward toward that first luscious bite of dinner.  

I know this week has been a bit bland in the creativity department.  Still trying to get my bearings from being away and fighting a cold.  But stay with me...I was inspired by something I saw yesterday which I am hoping to write about tomorrow.  Until then, happy eating!