Do you want to learn to cook so you can make more meals at home? Let’s face it, eating out all the time is expensive. I always encourage people to learn how to prepare their meals at home even if they don’t enjoy cooking. If that’s you, over time you might grow to like being in the kitchen more. Especially when you start to make meals that other people find delicious.
Learning how to cook can be a positive and a negative experience. Let’s break down some of the popular ones.
THE GOOD
- There are so many ways to learn online or in-person classes
With many options to choose from, I’m confident you’ll find a learning platform that will work for you. - It’s a social thing
There are other people out there who also want to learn. Cooking groups are a great way to meet others in a similar situation to share kitchen mishaps. Maybe a few laughs. - You save money for yourself and your family
No doubt even with inflation, buying ingredients for a recipe and preparing it yourself is still the best way to keep more of your money.
THE BAD
- It takes time to build the skill: Cooking is certainly something that takes practice. The more you do it, the more confident you’ll be. After a while, you’ll make creations from what you have in your kitchen without a recipe. You might start creating recipes after enough people ask, “How did you make that?”
- You need to set aside extra time: Sure, there’s planning, shopping, and preparing. But I’ll bet it will take less time to make a simple recipe verse ordering food and waiting for delivery. How long does it take to sit in a drive-through behind a line of cars ahead of you during the dinner rush?
- You don’t have all the necessary equipment: As long as you have access to a stove or a microwave, there are recipes to accommodate, and plenty of recipes for no-cook meals too. A crockpot or instapots are great tools for toss-in-and-go meals.
Sometimes thinking about something is worse than when you’re doing it. I’ll bet over time the bad experiences I listed here won’t be so bad at all.
What you won’t see here
- Calorie counts: Weight loss won’t be encouraged here.
- Diet foods: When an ingredient is taken out of food like fat or gluten, usually more sugar or more salt is added to restore flavor. We know the original food tastes so much better. Am I right?
- Foods that are hard to find: All ingredients are available at any grocery store or online. Any brand of food is your choice.
What you will see here
- Compilation of simple recipes that are part of a balanced meal: The ingredient list is kept to a minimum with items that can be found in any grocery store. There are useful dietitian tips at the end on how to serve and what foods to pair the recipe with.
- Versatile recipes that can be changed any way you like: Use your favorite brands or completely change an ingredient. Use them as a basic builder for a more complicated meal.
- If you are following a special diet for a health condition like diabetes or cardiovascular disease, adding salt or sugar to a recipe is always optional. As my list of recipes gets larger, I’ll include more information on special diets to manage health conditions without the goal of weight loss.
Green Apple Dietitian 