Happy Monday everyone! Today I wanted to talk a little bit about the emotional side of cooking in the kitchen and share some tips that I have found that help my overall experience. Like I’ve mentioned before, the entire process of grocery shopping, food preparation, budgeting, and finally the actual cooking can be very mentally taxing. Thus, I would love to provide some hope and tips to make cooking more enjoyable to anyone who is bogged down with the stress of it all!
Budgeting
As a college student, the first thing that keeps me from wanting to cook more at home has been the cost of groceries. Living off campus without a meal plan and needing to plan all three of my meals each day, it can be quite intimidating financially. Something that has been a huge help to my money saving journey within the world of groceries is using the platform Mint! This is a budgeting resource that you can access both using the app or the website on any device. While it has hundreds of useful features to help you save more money, the area I primarily use the monthly budget feature. You can create unlimited budgets that align with your income and savings— I currently only reference my grocery budget and my restaurant & dining budget. Even just the simple practice of referring back to a budget has helped me be more aware and careful with my spending each month!
Grocery Shopping & Meal Planning
Another obstacle I run into that can prevent me from cooking is being under prepared. In the middle of a busy week, I am not going to be motivated to cook if that requires me going to the grocery store, planning my meals, preparing my meals, and finally the actual execution. Thus, it has helped me tremendously to plan out my meals in advance! I wouldn’t say I go to the extreme of planning every single meal for the exact time and day, but I at least have meal options that I know I can choose from throughout the week. In order to do this successfully, I like to get grocery ingredients that I can use in various recipes. This provides me the freedom to make something based on my preference for that day, but also not going into the cooking process without any idea of what I’ll make.
When I am at the grocery store, I often will pick up 2-3 proteins (chicken, salmon, ground meat, etc.) that I know I can use for multiple meals within the week as well as freeze for later. Then, I choose 2-3 vegetables (broccoli, brussel sprouts, asparagus, etc) and 2-3 other sides that I can pair with the meals (rice, sweet potato, salad). I am a big believer in leftovers, so you can never make too much of one meal! Then, to account for breakfasts and snacks, I like to stock up on fruits, eggs, crackers and cheese, frozen fruit (for smoothies), English muffins, granola, oats, etc. to be used in multiple recipes as well. Purchasing more universal foods on the front end makes me feel much more prepared throughout the week and ultimately eases the chaos of my schedule.
Collaborate!
This is one of my favorite practices and one of the most cost and time-effective as well! Especially in a season like college or post-grad, inviting roommates or friends to join for meals can change the entire cooking experience as a whole. Not only do you have sweet company as you are going through the process, but you also have less responsibilities to carry. You can balance out the tasks of meal prepping, shopping, and cooking as well as split the cost of the meal which can save a lot of money! So, I encourage you to make an event out of cooking and invite your people to join you— it can provide so much more joy and excitement for the process that you didn’t even know you had! Play some fun music, catch up on life, and eat good food that you prepared together. Community is everything!
If you have more tips that have helped you make cooking more enjoyable, add them here!