30 Day FITastic Cooking Challenge

It's time for a challenge.

I have been whining lately about how I need to be cooking more at home. Everyone I know seems to cook scrumptious meals at home, and I want to jump on the bandwagon. I'm tired of eating the same types of healthy foods over and over and over again. I am not bland (that's an understatement), nor do I want my diet to be.

Cooking is not something I naturally enjoy doing. Some find it to be very cathartic; I tend to find it time-consuming and a chore. I think part of the reason is because I cook for one person, me. It takes 30-45 minutes to prepare, 15 minutes to clean, and 5 minutes to eat. That's quite a bit of time in preparation and cleaning to spend 5 minutes eating. Nevertheless, I am too old to not know how to fix yummy dishes. Seriously!

Something has to change. I don't want to be the woman who doesn't know how to prepare Thanksgiving Dinner. I don't want to be the woman who doesn't have any recipes to pass down because I simply didn't take the time to cook. I don't want to be the woman who doesn't have dinner parties because I can't cook anything beyond the basics. I want to be the person who loves preparing healthy meals at home. Just think of how much money (and calories!) I could save by eating at home.

I want to be the woman who knows how to cook! I want to be the woman who people can't wait to see what concoction I've created! As a woman, I need to know how to cook. (Yes, I just went back in time about 60 years with that statement.) The time has come for me to step it up and develop my cooking skills.

And what better way for me to develop my cooking skills than to have a challenge!

During this 30 day challenge, I am going to prepare healthy meals 5 days each week and post the recipes (with pictures) for you, along with calories and protein/carb/fat count. Because I'm a novice cook, I haven't mastered the art of creating my own dishes (yet!), so my recipes aren't going to be of my own creation (unless I'm feeling adventurous...or out of my mind). I am going to search for recipes that are easy to prepare, budget-friendly, and healthy (or healthier than the alternative).  I plan on throwing in one dessert recipe each week since many people are dessertaholics! (I am a cheeseaholic. Someone told me about how delicious a 24 layer chocolate cake looked. I immediately thought of a 24 layer cheese dip. Seriously...it's THAT bad.) Not only will I be posting the recipes, but I will also post my food journal. My diet can be very repetitious at times, and I am all open for suggestions. Variety is the spice of life!

The challenge will start on Monday. If you have any suggestions for recipes I should try, please let me know! Also, if there are any pointers you have in terms of cooking, preparing, or cleaning that makes things easier or better, do tell! I need all the help I can get!

I am anxious to get started! It's time for me to cook at home and branch out in terms of my diet. It's time for me to make a fool of myself in the kitchen. IT. IS. TIME!

Let the FITastic challenge commence!