One of the most stressful times of my week is Monday, around 5 pm after I get home from work. This is when I stand in my kitchen looking around helplessly as I try to figure out what to cook for dinner. I go grocery shopping every weekend, but at that moment, it feels like there is nothing worth cooking and I am most tempted to go out for dinner. Well, in order to save myself the hassle of cooking after a long Monday; and to save my pocketbook (and waistline) the cost of eating out; I've resolved to cook something on the weekend that can be easily reheated on Monday. Last weekend I threw a pot roast into the crockpot with some veggies. I just had to add a salad and we were good to go for Monday (not to mention sandwiches for a few days.) This was a special treat, because as a rule, Kelly and I don't eat red meat. So this weekend I cooked an 18 lb turkey. We invited some family members over for a Saturday night meal and had a wonderful time! Today we had leftover turkey, potatoes, and stuffing; tomorrow we'll have turkey dips and salad for dinner. You know, in one of my favorite books, "The Seven Pillars of Health", Dr. Don Colbert identifies stress as a major contributor to disease and stress in our modern world. He talks about giving ourselves some margin.
Margin is simply adding some room to the edges of our life. It might be leaving for work earlier; taking time for a leisurely walk, or having a heart to heart talk with your children or spouse; or, in my case, cooking enough today so that I don't have to cook tomorrow. I challenge you today, to start identifying stressors in your life, and find ways to build in a 'margin.' And if you have some great recipes for planned-overs, (especially vegetarian or fish and chicken based) let me know! Wow; this was a great weekend; and I think I'm going to enjoy Monday too!
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