Are you guilty of opening up a food delivery app or grabbing a microwaveable lasagne from the supermarket simply because you couldn’t be bothered cooking that evening? You’re not alone – in fact, most of us can sympathize with the feeling of wanting a quick, easy meal after an exhausting day of work, school, parenting or whatever else we spent our daytime energy on.
If you’re trying to adjust your diet to achieve health and/or fitness goal, like getting lean, then motivating yourself to get back into home cooking is going to be essential for your success. While there are plenty of microwaveable or pre-cooked products marketed at healthy eating, nothing is going to be as healthy as a meal you cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at 5 methods you can employ to get yourself back into home cooking and enjoying all the benefits that come with it.
Clean and organise your kitchen
Let’s face it, if you walk into a kitchen that’s disorganised and unclean then you’re going to be far less likely to want to cook a fresh meal there. Not only is it less hygienic to handle and prepare food in a dirty kitchen, it could also pose a health hazard in the form of bacteria collecting in and around surfaces, cooking appliances and utensils.
Doing a big clean of your kitchen and then being vigilant against the build-up of mess is a great way to ensure you don’t lose motivation for home cooking. As a bonus, you’ll notice far fewer insects crawling around your home when you have a spotless kitchen.
Identify simple, filling meals
Another problem people face with home cooking is identifying recipes they can throw together without much hassle but that is also going to satisfy them fully for the evening. Often times the recipes we already know by heart (like scrambled eggs) aren’t interesting or flavorsome enough to satisfy us as our final meal for the day and we end up ordering takeaway.
It’s a good idea to research meals you know you will enjoy and can prepare without much fuss when you’re tired after work. For example, you can experiment with different types of pasta and find a delicious Italian sauce to stir in, whip up some spicy hot wings, or perhaps mix things up with an Eastern-style dish like an inspired Thai beef salad that’ll fill you up and satisfy your tastebuds.
Don’t do it alone
As with anything else in life, cooking is generally easier with a second pair of hands assisting you. Not only does a helper speed up by doing things like chopping vegetables and mixing ingredients, but they also help keep you motivated as well as entertained.
In this way, home cooking can act as a great bonding experience between you and whomever you get to assist you. Enjoying a delicious meal that you both worked together to make is great way to connect, or perhaps reconnect, with someone in your life.
Get into some food and lifestyle television
There’s no shortage of daytime TV out there that is actually of decent quality if you’re genuinely watching for the cooking and housekeeping tips. Getting into ‘foodie culture’ by watching food and cooking related media, or even by reading blog articles like this one, can give you a greater appreciation for the culinary arts and in turn motivate you to participate.
Invest in new appliances, or perhaps a whole new kitchen!
Of course, the quality of the kitchen you have to work with is also going to impact how much motivation you have to cook. Even if the kitchen is spotless and organised, it’s not going to be very enjoyable to cook in if you have an old stove that takes a long time to heat up or if there are not enough pots and pans to make the meal you want to make.
The tools you use to cook with are just as important to the end result as the techniques you employ, so make sure you invest in adequate cooking utensils. Dull knife? Buy a whetstone or a new knife set. Hate chopping vegetables? Invest in a dedicated veggie chopping device (there’s plenty).
If you have the time and money to renovate, buying an entirely new kitchen filled with modern appliances and a sleek design is going to be a reliable way to motivate you to cook. It would be a shame to spend so much money on a new kitchen if you don’t have any motivation to use it.
Hopefully you’ll be able to use some or all of the above tips to get yourself back into the kitchen and start cooking the healthy meals you love.
