Tips to Help You Along

Technology is a beautiful thing when used correctly. How does it help me stay on track? Pinterest and Evernote are my staples when it comes to having a handy way to keep all of the recipes and motivation right at my fingertips. I discovered Evernote through a blog that was discussing homemaking. One thing I  keep on it is my grocery list. This app syncs to other devices, like my husband's phone. So if he is out shopping, he can look up what we need at any given store and buy it and delete the item off. It all communicates so that our grocery lists are always up-to-date. Evernote is just a list-making app and website. Nothing fancy and it was pretty easy to get to know.

One thing that I love about it, is when I see a post on Facebook in one of the great Eat to Live facebook groups, I can copy the post and paste it into Evernote. I have copied recipes that people have just posted into the feed without any links. I've also copied links.

 If you have another app that you use to keep yourself organized, then think about using it to keep recipes and anything that will help you stay on track. I've copied links in Evernote to websites that give ideas for eating out as a vegan and vegan eating at Disneyland.

Do I Prep and Cook EVERYDAY???

I actually love to cook and make food, but take the help when I can get it. One helper is storing salad makings already prepped in the fridge. They last for days and I have the convenience of having a salad whenever I want one. Here's what I do and have found that works the best.

I buy organic leaf lettuce of varying varieties or whatever is on sale. Some weeks I add finely chopped kale or whatever green I feel like adding. My salad spinner gets used a lot. I will wash the lettuce and chop it, then spin it in my salad spinner. My aunt gave me my spinner years ago and I've finally started using it regularly. The dollar store has spinners too, if you need a cheap option. They actually aren't that expensive, but you can't beat a dollar. So I spin the lettuce and/or greens to get them as dry as possible. Then I put them in a plastic or glass bowl that is fairly large. Large enough to hold a head of lettuce plus added peppers and such. Other veggies that I have found that last a while in this storage method are cut up peppers, cut up or shredded carrots, radishes, and other not-too-juicy veggies. On top of all the salad, I put a paper towel. The paper towel is the magic trick in this! It keeps the lettuce dry and helps prevent that nasty black goo that can form. On occasion, I will cut up cucumbers and tomatoes and store those on top of the paper towel, away from the greens, but they don't last as long.