147.8 Organized Pots and Pans

Organizing my pots and pans makes me five times more likely to cook from scratch. No, really. I am a visual person. If I can't see it, then it sort of ceases to exist. Seeing these pots and pans whenever I enter the kitchen inspires me. Well, it does when it isn't 90 degrees F in the house.

We got this free-standing Style Sections shelving unit at Lowe's. It was easy to assemble and didn't even require any tools. It comes in wide varieties, too. It only cost $60, but that varies by where you live.

We used to keep all this stuff inside the low cupboards by the stove. Getting any of it out involved digging through all the rest of it. We are both so much happier now that we store our pots and pans out where we can see them and easily grab them!

Cooking from scratch is much healthier than eating prepared foods. I heard that all my life, but I didn't really pay attention to it until I was trying to lose 90 pounds. Much of that weight was water weight that I had retained because of all the sodium that is in most prepared foods. I had heard that, too, but again, I hadn't really believed it. Seeing the scale drop when I cut the sodium is believing in cutting the sodium -- and therefore in cooking from scratch.

I gained .2 pounds yesterday. I think it was because I had a midnight snack. I usually quit eating two hours before bed. I walked the dogs a mile. Here is what I ate yesterday:

Small bowl of Special K and organic soy milk

Sliced small Gala apple candied with 2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter and 36 dark chocolate chips

Half a can of Cattle Drive chili, three slices of American cheese, one diced red bell pepper sauteed in a pat of butter, and two cups of corn tortilla chips to eat this with

Sliced small Gala apple candied with 2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter and 36 dark chocolate chips