The Dinner Question I Should Have Never Asked
I made a rookie mistake tonight. I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner.
I know. I know.
We'd had sushi delivered last night, and all I wanted was something homemade and simple. You know, a no fuss, no production type of meal.
What I should have said was, "So, what are you making us tonight?"
Instead, he answered like I was running a restaurant kitchen. It was sweet, honestly, for the most part he loves my cooking and he never takes my cooking for granted. But today, there was zero part of me that had the time, energy, or inspiration. No cravings, no clear idea, nothing. Just that restless, itchy feeling of wanting something without having any clue what that something actually is. (Like way back when I was in college, I could have eaten a bowl of cereal and been perfectly fine, but the “mom” in me wanted more than that for everyone else.)
So instead of going in circles, I did what a lot of us do these days: I asked ChatGPT what to make for dinner. And then I laughed out loud at myself. Here I am, someone who spends so much time helping others tune into their own instincts and here I am, outsourcing mine to an algorithm.
But honestly? It wasn't really about the food.
It was about the noise. What sounds good? What should I want? What's going to be enough?
I just didn't know.
I'm learning to let "I don't know" be a starting point instead of a problem that needs immediate solving. Because intuitive eating isn't always peaceful and clear. Sometimes it looks exactly like this: standing in your kitchen, mildly annoyed, slightly overwhelmed, with no idea what you actually want (and it’s not just about food, is it?!?).
So I paused. Closed the fridge. Stopped scrolling and searching. And I just asked myself : What would feel good enough right now?
And something shifted. Not in a dramatic way. A simple idea surfaced. Familiar. Easy. It wasn't what my husband had in mind. It definitely wasn't what ChatGPT suggested. But I think that's actually the work, not getting it exactly right, but catching the spiral before it takes over. Allowing the pause. Choosing good enough over perfect.
Tonight wasn't about being a great cook or what we were going to eat (we wouldn’t starve). It was about listening closely enough to hear myself underneath all the noise.
And what did I land on? My absolute go-to: honey mustard salmon, baked sweet potato, and salad. I could make it in my sleep 😀And the noise got quieter for me 😀
And if any part of this feels familiar, please know you’re not alone. If you need support, I’m here.