Tag: cooking

“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.

Laurie Colwin

The weekend after my high school graduation, I took my first apartment. At 18 years old, I wasn’t much of a cook and hadn’t had much appreciation for the meals my grandmother, or mother, had made. Fast food and cake were my main selections for meals. 

Newly married at 21, I had a small repertoire of recipes I could cook. It wasn’t extensive, but I could whip up some meat and potatoes and a bag of frozen vegetables. Pizza and baked ziti were my main selections for meals.

As a new mother at 25, I wanted to feed my infant son fresh foods, not foods in jars, as I was afraid of what might also be in them. I purchased my first crockpot and many fresh vegetables from the supermarket. I pureed these cooked vegetables and fruits and made homemade food for my son. Too tired to cook; pizza, baked ziti and tuna casserole were my main selections for meals.

Following the death of my beloved grandmother at 28, I took over hosting of all family holidays. I began developing the art of cooking the holiday meal from scratch. This was my gift of love to my family and helped keep family traditions alive. I really enjoyed doing it, however, too tired from raising three children and working full time, calling out for dinner was my main selection for meals.

When my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I began cooking to keep my mind off watching her slowing leave us. Chopping up vegetables and onions became a form of therapy for me. Eating the delicious foods borne from following recipes and cooking shows, coupled with a nice bottle of wine became my main selection for meals.

Cooking is an art form and labor of love, but it is also one of the best things you can do for your health and well being. Cooking gives you control over what you are putting into your body, as you select and control the ingredients used. It is far healthier than eating fast food, or restaurant food regularly. The amount of fat and sodium consumed when eating out regularly cannot be denied. Cooking can be time consuming, especially at first, but I realized through my journey that it is truly worth the effort. 

Cooking has been so therapeutic for me and I cannot understate the joy it has provided as well. When journeying through the difficult walk of Alzheimer’s disease, it provided me great comfort, like a warm blanket. The cutting board, the chopping, the art of preparing a wholesome meal all brought calmness to my mind. Preparing family recipes kept me connected to family traditions and memories. It felt as if my grandmothers, mother and aunts were by my side guiding me along. Of course, there also was no denying the positive impact cooking had on my nutrition and health. Blood tests showed the improvement, as did my waist size and fitness level.

Cooking is love of self and family and likely the best gift you can give to yourself and them. It can be hard to do, especially when working full time, believe me I have been there. This is not a call to be tied to your stove, rather it is a call to see the value found in the art of cooking. With that in mind, here are some of the simple actions I took when starting out that helped me stick to it.

• Plan Realistically – It’s easy to get overwhelmed, so plan out what you will cook and don’t take on too much at first. List meals you will prepare for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I use a calendar template to list the meals I will have for each day and include where to find the recipe. If you do this on your computer, you can make a live link to the recipe. You can also, reuse weekly plans as you go and create a rotation.
• Plan for Shopping – As I pick meals, I list the ingredients I will need to shop for. I list items by the aisle they are found in, ex., Produce, Frozen, etc. This makes shopping quicker. I only buy what I need to reduce costs and waste, ex. if I need one sweet potato that’s what I buy, not the whole bag.
• Plan for Leftovers – As I pick meals, I think about using leftovers for lunch and/or dinners. Example, a vegetable lasagna tray can be used for at least two dinners, or lunch and an additional dinner. So planning out the week, I take that into account. This cuts down on over buying and waste of food. It also removes cooking from several nights.
• Recipe Selection – Choose recipes that don’t have a ton of ingredients. Less is often more when cooking. Focus on clean, healthy ingredients and flavors you love. There are so many offerings online and on Instagram. Find a cook you love and peruse their offerings.
• Meal Prep – I don’t like spending a whole day cooking on my weekends, never did. There is value in prepping though to save time throughout the week. Breakfast is the easiest meal to prep for the week. If you have having overnight oatmeal, it’s very easy to make several containers at once and put them in the refrigerator, eliminating any need to cook in the morning. This week, I baked a quick oatmeal, buckwheat, hemp and quinoa recipe that was cut into eight slices for eight breakfast grabs. Other items I like to prep for are granola options for over acaci bowls, or cashew yogurt. Finally, salad dressing options are made to last a few days. 
• Vegetables – I prefer fresh, but have started using frozen organic options for some recipes. This cuts down on the chopping time needed to prepare for recipes. Frozen vegetables and fruits have great nutritional value and can lessen the time needed to get a recipe on the stove.
• Whole Food Plant Based – these recipes take less time to prepare than most meat recipes and are great options for a work night. I made a delicious red lentil, walnut and mushroom bolognese sauce last night that was cooked and on the table in just under 60 minutes. These meals are also easier to digest in the evening when you may head to bed earlier.
• Prepare Before Starting – I pull out and line up all ingredients I will need prior to beginning a cooking session. It takes a few extra minutes up front, but is well worth the time. I even measure out the spices and have them ready to just put into the pan. All of this makes following a recipe and cooking so much easier! I promise.
• Clean Up as You Go – I clean and put things away as I go, making it so much easier when we are done eating to clean up. Leaving everything in the sink and out, as my husband would do, makes it feel overwhelming and messy. Once something is on the stove simmering, or in the oven, it is the perfect time to clean up and put things away. This often leaves me with only dinner dishes to rinse and put in the dishwasher when we are finished eating.
• Start Small – If you are new cooking, or haven’t cooked in awhile, start small. Commit to cooking one meal a day for the first week. This will keep you from feeling overwhelmed. You can add other meals as you go, when you feel ready.

I hope you found something helpful in these suggestions. Go easy and give yourself grace to find what works for you. The most important thing, is that I hope you cook. 

We talked about doing something new to spark motivation in last week’s post. Perhaps cooking can be that something new. I truly hope it is. If you are already in love with cooking, please share some ideas with me through email at laurakump@reclaiminghealth.blog , Instagram @reclaiminghealthblog or in the comment section below.