Six months ago, I barely used my kitchen. I basically used my microwave and stove to heat up frozen dinners. My cupboards were filled with chips, cookies, and other snacks. A few months ago I decided to learn the lost art of cooking from scratch. Cooking on a regular basis has its challenges. I work two jobs and I volunteer. However, the rewards for eating healthier are priceless. Below are a few steps I've taken fit cooking into my lifestyle.
1. Start Small, One Dish at a Time
My first dish I created from scratch was M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made them on Thanksgiving. I figured I could try them out on my family. If they didn't turn out right, we still had sweet potato pie. After my cookies were a hit (and were requested for Christmas), I felt more confident in the kitchen.
2. Buy Real Ingredients
The next thing I had to learn was how to buy real groceries. My grocery basket use to consist of mostly frozen dinners and packaged snacks. The healthiest items (such as produce) are located at the outer ends of the grocery store. The middle aisles are full of overly processed packaged foods. The more I started cooking healthy meals from scratch, the more I had to learn how to shop on the outer aisles of the grocery store.
3. Make Cooking a Habit
There is a saying, "Once you do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit." I'm not sure where this quote came from, or why the author chose exactly 21 days. However, I do agree with the sentiment. In order to make something a habit, you have to repeat it over and over. I've only been cooking for a few months. However, Sunday after church, I automatically start planning my meals for the week.
4. Learn from the Gurus
After reading a few health blogs, I came across Kimberly Snyder's website. I checked out her book "The Beauty Detox" Solution. Her holistic approach has shaped my view on food. Unlike many nutritionist who focus on caloric intake, she focuses on combining the right nutrients together for optimal health. There are plenty of websites and resources to help guide people to healthier eating.
5. Not a Fad Diet, But a Lifestyle
In the beginning, my desire to learn how to cook actually had nothing to with food. I was looking for ways to cut down on my budget by decreasing my fast food purchases. After diving into the culinary world, I began to see cooking as a lifestyle change. There are so many fad diets on the market. No matter what diet you choose, the only way to have a healthy lifestyle is make healthy choices on a regular basis. This means the focus can't be on loosing weight, but on creating a new lifestyle.
This is my personal journey so far to a more healthy lifestyle. I still have a lot more to learn. Hopefully we can all learn together! I plan on sharing healthy eating tips and recipes that I learn along the way.
