The things I hear people say about cooking:
- “Buying all the ingredients for one recipe is more expensive than a restaurant meal. “
- “I work and juggle a lot of things and just don’t have that kind of time. “
- “I love cooking for a dinner party, but cooking every single day is just a chore.”
- “The prospect of washing up puts me off the whole thing.”
- “I need more ideas.”
- “I hate wasting all the ingredients I haven’t used”.
I fully understand how it feels. The fact is that when you cook for yourself you can cook the food you actually need to eat without the hidden ingredients that come in many convenience foods and restaurant meals. We tend to think that going to gym for an hour is an hour well spent that day. Why not 20 minutes in the kitchen? Cooking is a basic self-care skill that has the power to transform your health.
Some thoughts to make some of the routine meal prep feel worthwhile:
Buying different ingredients for every recipe IS expensive, but it’s not so bad if you keep some staple ingredients that you can use to create flavours that you enjoy with a variety of foods. Keep a small stock of herbs, spices, onion, ginger etc. Try to make substitutes in recipes and use what you have instead of buying new things.
It’s ok to do whatever you can to reduce time in the kitchen. I tend to lean on a simple meal formula so there’s always a vague structure to plan around, which also helps me to write a shopping list:
PROTEIN: Something like chicken pieces or fish that can be roasted on a tray in the oven with vegetables or maybe a quick omelette, some tofu, or a can of chickpeas or tuna. Leftover pieces of chicken or steak can be cut up and added to stir fry, pasta dishes or curry.
HIGH QUALITY CARBS: Baked potatoes, roasted veg, whole wheat cous cous or pasta, maybe a pot of brown rice or quinoa, or even just a slice of whole grain bread – something reasonably high in fibre, with a prep time that suits the rest of the meal.
GOOD FATS: Olive oil, avo, nuts, seeds. Things like ready-made pesto, tapenade and hummus are also sources of good quality fats if you check ingredients.
VEGETABLES: Whatever works with the meal. It doesn’t really take that long to open a packet of rocket, wash a few tomatoes and slice an avo. Time yourself chopping 3 or 4 vegetables for a stir fry. Maybe 10 minutes if you’re very slow? Listen to a podcast while you’re at it if that helps. Get your children involved. Teach them the value of spending time on food prep and encourage them to smell and taste different ingredients.
A little bit of effort goes a long way. Like going to gym, brushing your teeth, doing your tax, making your bed…sometimes it is a bit of a chore, but you’ll never regret cooking yourself a healthy meal.
