Grains are a funny thing to organize and store in my opinion.  It took me some time to figure out the best way to do this well.  Bags don’t work very well, ball jars can tip if stacked on top of each other, so I got canisters (not rocket science, I know I got glass canisters from Target (great lil place- you may have heard of it), and they were really cost-effective.  Then I pulled all of my grains out of the cupboard, and filled each canister with them (I combined two different kinds of quinoa as you will see in the pic).  Label the canisters (I used tape, but you could use stickers or paint to make it prettier).  Then stack the canisters and use your grains!

My grains in their neat-o canisters, just waiting to be used.

I don’t know about you, but when I cook, things get messy (Oliver will attest to this statement).  That is why I tend to cook two meals at a time- at least, which I refer to as a cooking marathon.  It is also a matter of momentum, when you are in the cooking mode, it is better to bust out that cooking and have it ready to go for the rest of the week.  These are just 2 reasons to have your own cooking marathon…

Here are some more:

You can do this when you cross the cooking marathon finish line. Photo thanks to familymwr.

• Saves time
• Takes advantage of your cooking momentum
• Makes sure you have your next meal ready-to-go as well
• Two or more meals- One clean-up
• Energy efficient- your own energy and appliances’ energy
• Utilizes your motivation to cook, which is nice because there are other times when you will not have that motivation and want to eat something quick and easy
• Create an abundance of healthy foods

• High sugar intake: Sugar has a snowball effect.  We eat sugar, we want more sugar.  When we eat less sugar, we become more sensitive to sugar and it’s effects.

Sugar looking so innocent...Photo thanks to Kevin.j.

• Nutrient- depletion: When we are low in nutrients, and are eating food lacking in nutrients, our bodies often keep telling us to eat more and more because it is hoping to get more nutrients from the foods you eat.