Food is delicious, fun, beautiful, nourishing, and necessary for a healthy life. It can also be all-consuming.
- What’s for dinner?
- I’m hungry.
- What’s our grocery budget?
- I need a snack.
- Does that have gluten in it?
- I’m hungry.
- How many points is in that?
- I really want a treat with my coffee.
- Should we save the leftovers?
- I’ll start eating better tomorrow.
- Who ate the last ________?
- I’m addicted to sugar.
We can’t go a few hours without thinking about, talking about, or eating food. Sometimes it’s overwhelming and feels complicated. Is there a way to simplify the thoughts, the habits, and the food you eat to simplify your life?
Yes. The answer is less.
After many years of practicing capsule wardrobe challenge Project 333, and dressing with 33 items or less every 3 months, I’ve been thinking about how similar my kitchen is to my pre-P333 closet. Every morning, I’d look in my closet at all the clothes, all the choices, all the stuff, and think, “I have nothing to wear.”
In the kitchen, I open the refrigerator and look at all the food, all the choices, and think, “I have nothing to eat.”
Logically, I know (and am so grateful) that I have always had something to wear and something to eat, but when I have so many choices, decision fatigue sets in and instead of choosing, I buy more.
Decision fatigue wasn’t the only thing that kept me shopping.
- I’m sad. New shoes will cheer me up.
- I’m bored, tired, frustrated. Give me a cookie.
My destructive shopping habits ended in my closet 4 years ago, and a few weeks ago in my kitchen with the new Project 333 challenge/experiment.
The Capsule Kitchen: 3 months, 33 ingredients.
I made my list, made my commitment out loud , and got started. Hundreds of people joined me and are exchanging great ideas in the Capsule Kitchen Facebook Group.
Instead of going on and on about how awesome I think it is, I’ll let you hear from them.
- One tiny thing I’m noticing in a much bigger way than I anticipated is that the pantry and fridge get decluttered by themselves as I’m using up the items that I have in storage that are not part of my 33. Everywhere I store food looks much nicer now and is a lot easier to manage. – Anne-Marika
- I have pretty much eliminated any added sugar and my cravings have been greatly reduced. – Vicki
- We are saving money and eating healthier! Meal planning and prep seems easier, too. – Amy
- I always spend too much buying a million different ingredients, then it ends up going to waste. Now, I will buy less and use it all. – Susie
- Biggest benefit? Using the time I’m saving. Knowing that for a few months my meals will be simple and healthy. It takes time to research recipes and it takes effort to be constantly thinking of your next meal. – Laurel
Ok, I’ll go on and on for just a moment. Mark and I are saving money, spending less time at the grocery store, eating out less, losing weight, and sleeping better. It’s only been a few weeks, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this Capsule Kitchen experiment will impact other areas of our home and lives.
One of the reasons I was so excited to dig into this challenge is that some of my friends are food bloggers, and I want them to cook for me, at least a little virtual cooking.
Calling all food bloggers! Will you make me dinner? Feature a recipe with my Capsule Kitchen ingredients shown here, and send it into the world on your blog or social channels. I’ll make it, and share it. Use hashtag #capsulekitchen on Instagram or wherever you share (or email me) so I can find your Capsule Kitchen creations.
What’s for Dinner?
Heidi from Foodiecrush.com (a food blog that will have you drooling before you have a chance to scroll up) is a close friend of mine. Her blog isn’t just a food blog either. She infuses her writing with honesty and heart. You’ll love her as much as you love her recipes.
We used to work together before we started our own microbusinesses, and we encouraged each other to be brave, and walk away from the 9-5. We continue to have working dates help each other with new ideas and solve problems, and more importantly to catch up and laugh, cry, and drink coffee.
Heidi was as excited about the Capsule Kitchen idea as I was and made me dinner last night. I didn’t get to taste it, but she sent me images via text and email and then shared it on her blog. You have to see this mouth-watering Portobello Mushroom Burger with Avocado Chimichurri. It’s healthy, beautiful and most importantly, simple.
I’ll be making it this weekend on the grill, as we are expecting a high 40’s heat wave on Sunday. That’s hot for January.
Heid and I are cooking up some surprises for the Capsule Kitchen Challenge so if you are interested, subscribe to blog updates here and/or join the Capsule Kitchen Facebook group for future announcements.
P.S. Dear Heidi, Thank you for giving me permission to use your beautiful food photography in today’s post. If you aren’t busy Sunday and want to come over and cook for me, I’ll do the grocery shopping and dishes, while you cook and take pictures. xo
I’m so inspiring to hear the great results people are getting – more space, more inspiration, more free! Your photos are so tempting!
I really liked the ideas in this post. But I’m a pastry chef (retired) working for clients out of my home. I’m the culinary equivalent of Tim Taylor’s Tool Time. When I came to South America, I gave all my kitchen stuff away (felt good, too). Now the stuff is piling up again. As long as I stay here, it’s manageable. Hope I don’t have to move any time soon.
Food and everything that goes with it can and does really become time consuming. I’m all or less is better in the food. Our bodies use so much less than we see or consume. It’s a new learning process for me to cut down ingredients. But my brain can take the growth.
I love this idea and will follow the ideal but perhaps not get down to the 33 ingredients. To begin with I am actively using up items in the pantry. It is amazing what can be created with a little ingenuity.
I intentionally mix up my fruit and veggie selections each week to make sure I’m getting a wide variety of nutrients, so limiting myself to 33 items for 3 months wouldn’t work for me. My doctor told me not to eat anything from a box, bottle or can. So, when we started doing this in our house, we donated all packaged foods to a food bank and our cabinets are clear. Shopping is a breeze, because we go to the produce isle, bulk items section and meat counter and that’s usually about it. If we want a treat, we go out for it. Super simple, no lists, no counting calories and we both lost weight. Minimalism at its finest!
I agree. Food and clothes are two different animals. I think the way to limit food is to limit the type of recipes, not the ingredients. For example, when it isn’t summer I usually roast a chicken and make chicken broth from the carcass. Whatever goes in the pot is whatever looks good at the farmers’ market, along with the staples of onions, celery, carrots and fresh parsley and thyme. But if the celeriac looks good that week, I use that instead of celery. The process of soupmaking doesn’t change, just what produce I chop up to put in it. Doesn’t require much thought.
Except for summer my recipes are pretty predictable–roast chicken, chicken soup, crock pot pot roast, various stir-fries usually with some kind of mushroom and wilted bitter green, smoothies, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce punched up with meat and sauteed onions over rice, elaborate salads, berry protein smoothies for breakfast, and homemade thai food or chili every so often when I get bored. My main variety is whatever vegetables are in season, either steamed or fried, and of course fruits too. If you have a limited repertoire of ingredient-forgiving recipe types you cycle through, cooking becomes automatic but keeps a variety of flavors and nutrients. It also helps to keep a variety of spices around, and also herbal teas.
We have always had a rule that before we plan the week’s menus we shop first in our pantry. I don’t think I have done one of those “big shops” for years. I do have a lot of cookery books and I like to choose three for the week. I check the freezer/fridge and pantry for key ingredients spend an hour or so over the weekend flicking through looking for some recipes I like the look of and use up what I already have and then only need to shop for the extras and have the entire week’s menus ready and planned and stuck up on the fridge for reference.
Where we would probably fail on this challenge is that we make all our own jams, jellies, sauces, cordials and can a lot of our own fruit and veg so at the the end of the summer our ingredient list would be huge, but then we don’t have to buy anything much on that front during the year.
I am copying the link and sending it to my daughter who is in her first year at medical school. She loves to cook and we had great fun working out the minimum equipment she would need to be able to get away with! Now she can do the same with her pantry!
This is a great and inspiring challenge! I’ll have to modify it to fit my life, though– I have something like 40 different herbs and spices! It will be like the jewelry aficionados who exclude their collections from their P333 closets. 🙂
During the warmer months, I have a CSA share that keeps my cooking simple. I get a box of vegetables on Tuesdays, make up a menu to use them all up, and all I have to get from the grocery store is a little protein, some rice or bread, and a few extras. People tell me they find CSAs overwhelming; I found mine liberating. Constraints make for creativity, every time!