I mentioned in my previous post that I often find myself in little food ruts and thought it might be useful if I share where I go when looking for some inspiration.
'Cause surely I'm not the only one who gets in these ruts! I mean it's so easy to continue to eat the same thing day after day, whether it's for convenience or the fact you 'know' the syns/calories/points in each item you're eating.
But not only do you get bored, your body gets bored too. And I mean, can you blame the poor thing.
It was used to eating a different chocolate bar (or three) every night and getting excited when it was Friday 'cause that meant extra special evening treat, and now it's just lettuce leaves and a cereal bar every.single.night.
You gotta give your stomach a break, but without breaking your diet.
Have you noticed that many plateaus are broken with a simple food switch up?
So here are my go to places when I need a little something different to try. The best bit is, if you see a recipe you like, you don't have to follow it exactly, you can completely tailor it to your liking and dieting needs. Sometimes you just need to see something to get that 'aha', light bulb, moment.
Pinterest
Now, I go through a love/hate relationship with my ol' Pinterest account, but I have to say, as soon as I want any sort of food inspiration, I head to straight to Pinterest and start searching. Yes there are a lot of food recipes on there that are more likely to hinder your weight loss than help, but there are also a crap tonne of healthy recipes that will have your insides feeling on top of the world.
Instagram
I don't think it's any secret that I love Instagram. I think it's been a very important tool to help me stay on track, and I've found that sharing my journey has made it a lot easier to tackle. But aside from all that positiveness that stems from Instagram, it's a great place to find recipes and inspiration. I'm further drooling over other peoples meals which I then re-create and devour. If you look through the screenshot section of my phone, it's not full of messages or naughty pics, it's full of food recipes. Although, that probs says more about me than Instagram, but you get the idea...
BBC Good Food
Forgetting all the controversy that occurred when they started archiving the site, BBC Good Food often has so pretty darn tasty recipes that may ignite your recipe fire and get you grooving in the kitchen. Or, you know, they may just have a recipe that you cook and enjoy eating.... They even have a 'Healthy Eating Plan' #justsaying
Magazines
I'm that person that buys all the weight loss magazines each month and then just flicks through to the recipes, vowing I'll go back and read the stories but never do. However, I do keep hold of most of the magazines because a lot of them (especially Slimming World, not just saying that for bias) have some pretty darn tasty recipes in them. If you are following a specific plan that has a magazine also, then you already know the number of points or syns in the meal, making it even easier for you. Yay for no thinking.
Weight Loss Websites
The Slimming World website is chock full of recipes, that you can access without being a member. I used so many of their recipes before I even started following their plan. I also know that Weight Watchers have a load of recipes on their site, though I do think you need to be a member to access them. Regardless though, both plans provide you with resources to help you succeed and not go hungry. Just take a browse, you might surprise yourself.
Old Cook Books
Funny (not really) little story, I still have Weight Watchers cook books with the old old points in them. However, just cause they don't have an up to date plan in them, doesn't mean they aren't useful anymore. You do have to use your brain to figure out how they fit into your plan, but the recipes are just as tasty. You don't even have to look at old weight loss cook books, have a flick through any cook book and see what you can adapt and adjust.
Facebook
I'm sure you've all drooled over countless 'Proper Tasty' videos and all that Buzzfeed Food posts, but there are also loads of groups you can join that post delish recipes, and even some of the more 'naughty' food posts that crop up can be made more 'plan friendly.' Here's one of my new fave pages. Plus, I'm like 99% sure you're all spending a lot of your day on Facebook anyway...
Also, as a side note I love The Hairy Dieters Books.
Also, as a side note I love The Hairy Dieters Books.
Cooking Channels - YouTube
Everyone loves a good 'how to' video, right? Head to YouTube and you'll find a gazillion different videos to showing you how to make a vast array of tasty treats. To start you off into a deep, dark YouTube food spiral, why not check out Sorted Food?
Right, now it's your turn! Tell me your fave places to get recipe inspiration, 'cause girl likes her food.
