Cooking at Home

Cooking at Home

I know for someone who isn’t use to cooking for themselves cooking at home on a regular basis can seem daunting. When I was younger, I was a horrible cook! Since I had no clue what I was doing I bought a lot of pre-made, box dinners where I just had to add meat. Whenever I tried a recipe things didn’t turn out half bad though. I started thinking maybe I could become a better cook someday. I use to hate cooking, but as the years have gone by I have not only found it to be much easier, but it actually has become something I really enjoy. I think you could enjoy it too.

Here are some of my best tips.-

1. Buy quality ingredients. I know, I know. “You can’t afford to buy expensive organic food.” But, I challenge you to look at how much you’re spending now on food and sugary drinks. You may be surprised. Quality ingredients do cost more initially, but the investment is worth it when you realize how much your saving from not going out to eat and how much better you start to feel from eating clean ingredients in your food.

2. Make the decision. You have to make the decision that you’re going to make the time to cook for yourself. Sounds almost ridiculous, right? But the truth is, if you don’t make the decision to take the time to nourish your body through healthful, delicious food that you’re cooking for yourself than it isn’t going to happen.

3. Meal planning. This is one of my biggest suggestions for you. Planning your meals will make cooking at home so much easier. Grab this calendar template here to write down all your meals for the week or even month

4. Cook once, eat twice. You should always aim to cook more than you need for one meal. Since you’re already cooking, make extra so you can cook once, but eat twice. This will save you time and also prevent you from driving through somewhere to catch dinner on one of those nights where you just feel too tired or rushed to cook. I use these meal containers to freeze my extra meals.

5. Invest in some good cooking utensils and cookware. Having the proper equipment in your kitchen really can make all the difference when it comes to prepping your meals. I suggest investing in a good set of knives and some stainless steel cookware.

I hope this helps you to get started on your own cooking journey. I’ve gathered some of my favorite easy recipes here to help you get you started.

CRISPY SLOW COOKER CARNITAS-Recipe found at gimmesomeoven.com

Farmer's Market Stir Fry- Recipe found at 100daysofrealfood.com

Sausage, Peppers and Onions over Rice- Recipe found at AnAccidentalHippie.com

Italian Chicken Sheet Pan Supper- Recipe found at foodnetwork.com

Classic Chili- Recipe found at thewholesomedish.com