September 2020
Nutrition Blog
Find Joy In Cooking
One of the best ways to change the state of our help with nutrition is my eating more meals that have been prepared at home. Many of us feel we have been forced into doing this over the past six months, but the fast food drive-thru lines are also longer than ever so clearly, we have a choice. When you eat food prepared by someone else, why is it? Common reasons are, “I don’t have time”, “I don’t know how to cook”, “I’m bored with what I make” and/or “I buy all the right things and they go bad before I make them”. To make permanent healthy lifestyle changes will require some preparation and time spent in the market and the kitchen, but cheer up, like many challenges in life it is only a matter of getting started and you may even learn to find joy in cooking. Let us try to reframe cooking and food preparation as an aspect of self-care and family care which needs to be a priority.
Here are a few simple steps to get you started.
1.If you have many meals out of the house it is not realistic to change to preparing and cooking all your meals. Set a goal as to the number of times you will make and eat a homecooked meal this week. For example, if you currently eat out 6 times per week a good goal would be to bring it down to 3 times this week.
2.Take inventory of what you have in your freezer, refrigerator and pantry. This will help remind you of recipes that you have not made in a while or inspire you to create a twist on an old classic. While you’re at it look at the expiration date of your items in inventory and throw away as appropriate.
3.Plan – write a list, then go shopping and stick to the list. Review the circulars or sale items on the store website so you’re not surprised by them once you get there which may result in straying from the list. Formulate your list with the staples that you need in addition to at least three recipes- new or old that you will make before going back to the store again. Having a plan and sticking to it saves time in the long run.
4.Prepare some items ahead of time. When you get home from the store wash your fruits and vegetables and put them in a bowl on the counter or the refrigerator, so that they are ready to go when you need them. If you buy in bulk, separate items into ready to go portions. For example portion nuts into single serving snack bags or small containers or 2 pounds of ground meat can be split in two and half can go in the freezer while the other half in the refrigerator for tonight or tomorrow dinner.
When you approach cooking differently it can be a welcome break from our work, a way to relieve stress and express creativity or bond with family. So, if we look for and expect join cooking, we just might find it!