Do you hate cooking at home? You know you should be doing it, but do you hate it? It is a task we can’t escape from so if you hate it, let’s explore a few practical tips that can help you go from uber eats to uber excited about making a meal for yourself in your own kitchen!
Tara’s Tuesday Tips:
9 Practical Tips to Enjoy Cooking at Home
I think I may have heard every counter argument to cooking at home. Cooking is too hard, I don’t like to do dishes, eating healthy is too expensive, I don’t have the right supplies, the recipes never turn out right for me, take-out is easier/cheaper/faster/tastes better. The list of reasons people use to justify why they object to cooking at home could go on and on. I get it. We are all guilty of it. We get into a rut where nothing at home looks good, tastes good, is worth the time, effort, or money. Grabbing a quick bite to eat somewhere else seems like a much better idea.
I am going to let you in on a little secret. Cooking for yourself, in your own home, does not have to be stressful, expensive, tedious, or difficult. You don’t need to be a master chef to master the art of cooking at home (and actually enjoying it!). I’m talking about a few easy things we do in the MVF kitchen that help us enjoy cooking at home. Today, I am sharing 9 practical tips to enjoy cooking at home. Let’s cook!
1. Clean Your Kitchen
Clear the counters, organize the pantry, get rid of old spices or dry goods that you haven’t used recently. Make room for new ingredients and new ideas. Once it is clean, get in a habit of keeping it that way. Find a good time of the day to clear the counters, empty the dishwasher, and clean the sink. Do it that way every day. That is what I do, and it works!
2. Involve Your People
Whoever you live with, get them in on it. Allow them input on foods they might be interested in trying. Learn the spices or flavors they enjoy eating, don’t enjoy eating, and want to try. Try a weekly meal planning calendar that they can write ideas on. Occasionally, make cooking a family event so that everyone can appreciate what goes into getting a meal on the table. No one is too old or too young to learn how to enjoy cooking at home.
3. Have A Little Confidence
A recipe is just a starting point, there are no mistakes that cannot be fixed. Taste test as you go along to be sure you are on the right track. A little anxiety will push you; a lot of anxiety will derail your efforts. Give yourself grace. It is just one meal. You will make mistakes, but everyone makes food mistakes, everyone!!!
4. Use Your Kitchen Gadgets
Take the Instant Pot out of the box. Dust off the air fryer, find all the pieces to the spiralizer. These things make you a kitchen rock star … use them! Do not be afraid!
5. Make Spices Your Friend
My best advice here is not to rely on salt or pepper to flavor everything. Boring! Don’t be afraid! Every mistake can be fixed. Of all of my 9 practical tips to enjoy cooking at home, this one is so important! If your food is bland + boring, of course you order food that someone else cooks!
6. Don’t Try Something New When You Are Pressed for Time
This is a recipe for disaster. Make your creative day your least busy day of the week. Commit to one new recipe that you are going to test out on a day where you have extra time. Make it again another day, get good at it, then you will see, it gets easier and it can be on regular rotation.
7. Prep
Prep your kitchen like you mean it! Shop, chop, freeze, buy in bulk, prep the basics. I wash, dry, cut, and portion out veggies for the entire week of recipes. Two main reasons I do this. Firstly, if I chop it, I feel forced to use it because I do not want it to spoil. Secondly, if everything is chopped, it cuts down on the time a meal takes. Pre-cook grains, beans, even pasta and sauces. This is one practical tip that you do not want to skip if you want to enjoy cooking at home.
8. Track Your Savings
Seriously. Eating at home is cheaper for one person or for 20 people. No arguments here. If you eat at home instead of eating out, take-out or delivery, the savings add up. Around here, that is incentive enough for me to cook at home!
9. Throw Away the Self-criticism
There is no place for that in the kitchen or anywhere for that matter. Do not resort to eating out of a package because you think you can’t cook. Yes, you can! Some day starts today. Jump in!
Food For Thought
Take it from me, learning to love cooking takes time + patience + practice. First and foremost, you must create space in your life for the joy of cooking. If this does not exist, you will not be able to enjoy making a meal in your kitchen for yourself or for others. The endless dread of dinner duties will live on. Don’t get me wrong, we all don’t need to have to aspire to be the next top chef winner. But if answering the simple question “what’s for dinner?”, gives you hives, then it might be time to deploy one or two or even three of my 9 practical tips. Let go of the failed desserts you once made in your life, dust off a kitchen gadget or two, clean your counters, turn on some music, and don’t look back.
All the best,
Tara 👩🏻🍳💚
A Few Other Tips You Might Enjoy
10 Things To Do On Weekends To Make Weeknight Cooking Easier
How To Find Happiness In The Kitchen
Cooking Tips for New Vegetarians
10 Things On My Grocery List Every Week
Most Common Air Fryer Mistakes
Guide To Cooking Recipe-Free Meatless Meals
⭐️ Did you love learning 9 practical tips to enjoy cooking at home? Leave a comment below! We love comments ⭐️
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