27 January 2025

I love cooking! It must be something primordial; after all, ancient man didn't have DeCicco & Sons to provide a steady supply of gorgeous ready-to-eat foods. But I've come to recognize that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for time in the kitchen.

I also know that those who eat out less frequently invariably consume a healthier diet (lower in salt, sugar, saturated fat and calories), reducing risk of cancer and diabetes. And, with ready-to-eat groceries and dining out growing more expensive every day, it definitely makes economic sense to cook most of your own food.

I found some answers in a recent NPR podcast, Hate cooking? 3 mindsets to make it less of a chore. I'd like to build on that, so if you hate cooking - or just don't consider it a priority in your life (no judgement!) - read on.

Take shortcuts. Let the supermarkets and food manufacturers do some of the work for you. As SamWISE Gamgee would say, “share the load.” If that means buying frozen chopped onions (no more crying!), canned beans or freshly chopped butternut squash, so be it. If it means assembling a salad of pre-washed leafy greens, topped with store-cooked roasted veggies and a few chickpeas, that still counts!

Expand your ideas about meals. There's nothing wrong with breakfast for dinner or leftover dinner for breakfast (in fact, I prefer it). Consider what works for your schedule. And a meal does not have to be a three-course affair; it could be as casual and simple as a platter of dips, veggies and whole grain crackers.  Even a hearty soup can be a meal; beans are extremely filling!

Start with a recipe and add your flair. In this case, “flair” might mean using up the olde[er] veggies in your fridge or that stray bag of quinoa in the pantry. With savory meals, it's generally ok to miss or swap an ingredient. One easy technique is sheet pan meals: putting a bunch of ingredients on a sheet pan and baking it in the oven requires little hands-on and is difficult to mess up (as long as use a timer!).

Bulk cooking and meal prep are your friends. You know the saying: “cook once, eat twice”. Most foods can be frozen and reheated in the microwave. Cooking your pasta and grains ahead, and storing them in the fridge, actually makes them healthier (increasing resistant starch). It takes less than 5 minutes (plus baking time) to make a whole bunch of baked potatoes. If you already have the cutting board out (see previous tip), why not make a bigger tray of roasted vegetables?

Start where you are. There's no need to dive in to cordon bleu cooking seven days a week. You could start with one simple recipe that takes 10-15 minutes. But rather than focusing on how much you dislike the task, think about how grateful you are for the food available to you. Consider the way your body will feel when you make good choices. Use cooking as a mindfulness meditation - that's feeding two birds with one scone!