I am a nutritionist, healthy mamma, and foodie. While I love to eat AND love to cook, you may not have that same desire to spend a Sunday afternoon experimenting in your kitchen.
You’re definitely not alone. In this past year, over 500,000 people tweeted #hatetocook. Wow! This week’s tips are for YOU.
The holiday season is particularly busy. Consistent meal preparation often gets relegated to the back burner. Restaurant takeout and delivery businesses thrive. Even those of us who love to cook may find ourselves less inclined.
Building healthier eating habits begins in the kitchen. The good news is that there are simple, manageable solutions to turn up the heat that won’t leave you moaning, groaning and protesting.
Whether you prescribe to a raw food diet, a takeout diet, a fully cooked diet, or a combination of any of these, here are my best tips for cooking in less time, with less mess, and fewer than 15 pots (I promise!):
Start With 1 Recipe
If learning to cook feels overwhelming, start with one recipe. Choose a simple recipe with only 1-5 ingredients, and continue to cook this until it becomes a staple. When it’s easy to cook, it doesn’t taste like burnt toast, and you can throw away the recipe, you’re ready for something new.
Batch Cook
Choose a couple of hours over the weekend to batch cook food for the next week. Soups can be cooked in bulk and eaten for lunch for the next four days. Grains last up to four days also, so you can choose a grain of the week and pair that with different entrees for dinner.
Cook Once Eat Twice
Prepare double portions and eat dinner for lunch the next day.
Keep It Simple
If cooking feels like an energy drain or a total waste of time, spend less time doing it. A chicken salad is simpler than a poached salmon with millet and roasted green beans with almonds. You don’t need to prepare a four course meal. There are entire cookbooks devoted to one-pot meals. Try these instead.
Cook What You Love
Make a list of the dishes you’d love to cook, and find a recipe for each. Bridge the gap between your dislike for cooking and your health with dishes that excite you.
Using these tips will help you to learn how to cook more of what you love in less time, supporting you in improving your health with home-cooked meals while freeing up your time for other things that matter.
Your Simple Action Plan:
Get into the kitchen this week and take action on your favorite tip. Set aside time to cook on Sundays or start with a favorite dish that you’ve been craving. Choose what resonates with you and do it!
