5 tips to rediscover the joy of cooking

There are a few things in life that we simply cannot avoid, to stay alive – sleeping, drinking water and eating.

Sleeping requires its own article another time, and water is a tap twist away, but food is far more complex.

We generally need to eat every few hours, all day long.

This should not be a challenge in our country, as we live in a land of plenty. Most of us will not go hungry.* There are so many choices; cook your own food, order in, go out, meal kit services. What to do?

Our choices often become influenced by cooking fatigue. After making thousands of meals in a lifetime, even those who enjoy it can get in a rut and choose an easier option than to create yet another “balanced” meal.

However, it is important to note that any food you don’t cook yourself is likely loaded with salt and fat to make it taste good so you will order it again. Same thing with going out.

Also, it is far more expensive to eat pre-prepared meals than buying the ingredients and doing it yourself.

With “What’s for dinner?” ringing in your ears, how can you redevelop or develop for the first time, what my very first cookbook told me was “The Joy of Cooking”?

‘Get’ your why

Why cook, instead of ordering in or going prepackaged? Because… you are what you eat. The number of adults in North America with high blood pressure is staggering – one out of two people! And one-third of adults have high cholesterol.

There’s a great chance that either you or a loved one is afflicted by these conditions that require medication and can shorten or interfere with your life. And it likely has much to do with what you are putting on your plate.

The daily requirement of sodium is 2,300 mg, and for a woman, approximately 30 gms of saturated fat. A popular frozen pizza brand per small serving is 31 gms of fat and 900 mgs of sodium! And you will likely be eating something with that slice of pizza, so in one meal you have blown your requirements out of the water.

Get inspired

Go online. There are so many recipe websites that can inspire you. Or Pinterest or Tik Tok… Or flip through your old recipe books. Pick the ones that have healthy options.

Pick six recipes you would like to try or haven’t made in a while. Don’t do anything too complicated or that has a staple ingredient you’ll never use again. Or start with writing a list of your favourite ingredients, and google recipes for them.

Make sure your kitchen is inviting. Freshen it up if necessary. You want to have a good workspace with the proper tools for the job.

Get it done

Narrow it down to three meals the first week. No stress. Make a shopping list based on your choices plus the sides.

Make double what you need – if you know you will use the leftovers. For example, you have baked chicken breast on Monday with rice and broccoli. On Wednesday, you can make it into a chicken fried rice with sauteed onions, celery and carrots and a small amount of low sodium soya sauce, Italian seasoning and hot sauce. And have some Bok Choy on the side.

Get the fun

My son and his girlfriend had a month they called “recipe cook-off.” They were each responsible for three meals, and they rated the results. Day seven was going out or ordering takeout. They had colossal failures and new favourites, which they now work into their routine.

And finally… get going!

Eating should be enjoyable. Don’t take the fun out of it by forcing yourself to eat “healthy foods” you don’t like. I refuse to eat whole wheat pasta! And easy on anything high in sodium and fat!

And finally, bon appetite!

*Still, in Canada, there are those less fortunate. Please donate to your local food bank.