Not eating meat has helped me TREMENDOUSLY.  I haven’t felt this good in YEARS.  Maybe since the last time I didn’t eat meat or dairy?

(look at that glow! It could also be that I’m 24 in that picture not almost 30!)

But! I’ve found that I’m so unmotivated to cook anything for myself.  I’ve kind of been living on rice and beans with a little tofu thrown in. I’ve also found that I’m ravenous at night and can’t eat enough.  Last night I broke down at midnight and ate:

-A GF tortilla with melted cheese and hot sauce
-A bowl of rice and beans (surprise) with melted cheese
-about 15 slices of Pepperoni-WTF?!?!  It was Gluten Free but really Chelsea, really?

I then dealt with gastrointestinal issues for a good 2 hours after that.  Thankfully this morning I feel okay.

Here’s my deal, a meal without protein feels so WRONG to me and doesn’t feel like a meal. BUT when my only source of protein is either tofu, beans, or nuts (which don’t really feel like protein) I feel stuck and like it’s Groundhog Day.  I KNOW that there are a TON of blogs out there that are dedicated to this but I just don’t have the time to search OR I guess I haven’t made it a priority.  I need to.  I need to get back on the cooking band wagon and make myself some real food!

Any ideas?  Suggestions?

Oh and I’ve been CRAVING a bacon cheese burger with avocado for about a week now.  I’m tempted to just go get one and deal with the consequences and have that be a lesson to me to never eat it again.

I’ve been in a mild state of panic ever since arriving at the new house.  It’s huge and nice and everything I imagined BUT the kitchen has VERY little storage space.  I’m freaking out and trying to figure out what to do.  I came from a kitchen that had 26 cupboards and 9 drawers.  This kitchen has 8 cupboards and 3 drawers. I know that if I lived in New York, this would be a ton of space.  I don’t live in New York and I don’t know how anything is going to fit!

I thought I’d show you the space constraints and tell you my ideas and see if anyone has any clever ideas.

So remember my cute kitchen?

Well, it doesn’t have much space.

First there’s the open shelf…Lucy has claimed it as her own:

She put all of that there.  I don’t foresee being able to use the shelf for anything.

Next up we have my one, yes one, large drawer:

There are 2 other small drawers in the entire kitchen:

I have this cupboard:

That thankfully rolls out:

Then there’s the cupboards on the other side of the stove.

Cupboard and drawer by the sink (sorry for the blur):

A little ledge above the sink:

A lazy susan (that I’d like to keep my kitchen appliances in-food gets lost):

And my last 3 cupboards:

Dishes will go here:

Interesting shelf that doesn’t fit many non-perishable items (unless they are in cans):

While I was doing the dishes tonight, I decided to record a video (on my phone) so that you could get a feel for how limited I am. (it’s about 4 minutes long)

And you get to hear my voice (and my bird scream). 

Our thoughts are that we will put a pot rack/shelf, like this:

  (source)

on the wall, in between the fridge and sink (above the awesome new trash can). I’ll then use the roll out cupboard for things like mixing bowls, glass storage containers, breakable things as I can get a non-damaging child lock (like the one on the kitchen sink) for this cupboard.

If you watched the video, you know that I’m planning on using my upstairs closet as a pantry which will free up the lazy susan for larger appliances.

Where do I put my spices?  Where do I put my cooking utensils?  Where do I put my kitchen towels and pot holders?  ACK!

Thoughts? Ideas? HELP?