Buy One New Ingredient Every Time You Go to the Store
Monotony is the enemy of enjoying homemade food, but it’s a little more difficult than usual to avoid, especially since we’re all trying to limit the number of trips to the grocery store. Whims and impulses have been replaced by caution and planning, and buying the missing ingredient at the last minute is not really “important”.
To keep yourself out of your recipe routine, grab one new ingredient every time you go grocery shopping, and then add it to your meal in a challenge-the-basket style.
An ingredient can be a seasoning, a vegetable you’ve never seen before, or a new grain. Heck, it might even be a big fish. A big old fish could give you a nice little project to distract you from things , especially if you’ve never cooked a whole fish before. Don’t go into too much of this – just grab something that catches your fancy and toss it in the cart with your rest of your essentials.
This, of course, is not a reason to mess around. If you can’t pick something new without hemming and chatting in the aisle, then maybe do some research before you leave the house. But I think you can deal with the slightest impulsivity by continuing to get in and out as quickly as possible. I believe in you so much.