Food rut

Ever feel like you're in a food rut? That you go through the same dozen or so recipes (no matter how good they are) so many times that it's like eating in your sleep? I feel like I hit this point a few weeks ago and have been trying to figure out how to get out of it.

I love to eat. Plain and simple. I love the standards and I love trying new foods. I have things I love and a very few things I don't like. I'm not Andrew Zimmern adventurous (or crazy) but it takes a good bit for me to say "No" to a new food experience. I love cooking, especially low and slow, stir fry, and on the grill. I love that I married someone who is a better cook than I am and who I have learned a lot from. At the same time I'm glad that I have been able to use my travels to expand her world of food and flavors and am looking forward to introducing her to a ton of new foods at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival when we go in October...plus I can't wait to dig into dishes I haven't had in a long, long time and try some new stuff too.

So how did I get into a food rut? Part of it, I think, is laziness. It's much easier to just take and throw something together that you know by heart than to get out a recipe, make sure you have everything, follow the directions and hope it comes out edible. Having Brielle around makes things a little harder too, we try to ensure that our meals have something she can eat, too. Plus the fact that with my little helper around we have to work around naps, appointments and everything else in terms of prep time and getting ingredients- this can make it a challenge. This time of year, too, I'm trying to get as many things done outside as possible before the heat and humidity really kick in and many times that's in the time between when Viv gets home from work and dinner, which I feel bad about because that often leaves her with the double responsibility of dinner and the little one (unless we just throw something on the grill).

How do I get out of this food rut? Considering everything I've just mentioned and the million and one other things involved in being a husband, dad, homeowner and working it seemed impossible at first. But then I realized one very important thing- change doesn't have to be drastic. I don't have to completely change everything about what I do and how I eat, I just need little changes here and there. So what I've decided to do is, at least once a week, to do something different. Prepare something new, try a new flavor combination, get outside my food comfort zone. Yes there are going to be weeks when I can't do this but if I'm able to most of the time I think it will help.

How to do this hit me and I started last night. We were out yesterday and decided to stop at a fish market we love. As we were looking around I saw oysters and thought Hey, I haven't had oysters in a long, LONG time, why not? It was like a bolt of lightning hit me- here was a great way to start breaking out of the food rut. So I picked out a half dozen, bought an oyster knife, got everything else and we headed home. With a quick search online I found a video on how to shuck the oysters and I was ready to go.

At dinner I found out quickly that experts are called that for a reason. I got the first oyster open with a little difficulty but not quite too much, added hot sauce and sucked it down- delicious!!! The next five, however- not so much. The oysters won, wasn't able to get into any of them. Luckily I didn't get cut; I followed the video and used a towel to hold the oyster otherwise it could have been a messy night. I was a little disappointed but knew that anything like this took skill and practice so I shrugged it off and looked online for grilling instructions. Turns out you pop them on the grill and wait for them to open, doesn't get much easier than that, so I'll be doing that for lunch today when Brielle goes down for her nap.

When I got up this morning and thought about yesterday's oyster experiment I realized I was doing the right thing. Change doesn't have to be huge- even making a small adjustment to what you've been doing can make all the difference in the world. With the 4th next weekend I may not be able to experiment next week but I will be sure to get back on track the week after. Trying something out "again" for the first time...ordering a dish that I haven't had before...taking the time to prepare a new dish. These are going to be the three keys to success here as I hope to broaden my palate and food experience. This is also something that I hope to be able to pass onto Brielle. There are so many foods and flavors out there, so many things to experience in this world of ours that is growing smaller and smaller every day and I am looking forward to trying as many of these as I can.