Let’s face it, life, she’s a little crazy right now; between work, school, family, your daily schedule is down to a science. It’s no wonder that even though you have a Pinterest board with hundreds of recipes and your Instagram feed is full of beautifully prepared meals, when you come home you just don’t feel like cooking. We totally get it, and we’re here to help.
First of all, keep in mind that there are several benefits of preparing and enjoying a meal at home such as:
- Saves you some money. It’s no secret that a grocery run for ingredients is cheaper than most food you can get at a restaurant.
- The healthier option. Cooking at home means you get to control what you put into your body; this is especially great if you or someone in your family suffers from any kind of food allergy.
- Portion control. How many times have we felt obligated to eat our entire meal at a restaurant simply because it’s right in front of us and we don’t want to bother with taking it home?
- Family time. Eating at home allows your entire family to come together whether that is ten of you or two of you. We say to really make it quality time by putting the cell phones down, turning on some light music, and talking about the day.
Okay, it sounds appealing, sure. But what about those days where you just don’t want to? We have a few motivating tips that will help get you in the kitchen and even enjoy cooking. Let’s get started!
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- Keep it simple. Sure, we all think that beef wellington recipe looks delicious, but most people don’t have the time to put together something so advanced, and the fact of the matter is, if it’s too involved, you won’t make it. Find simple recipes that don’t take long, but still come out delicious. These are what we refer to as ‘weeknight meals’, then get as wild as you want on the weekends or your days off.
- Make yourself a little snack to enjoy while you cook. You would more than likely have an appetizer at a restaurant, so why not have one at home? We’re big fans of creating a small charcuterie board to nibble while you cook.
- Meal plan. Nobody wants to come up with a different meal idea each day on the fly; meal planning is a great way to come together as a family and discuss what sounds good for the upcoming week.
- Wine about it. Seriously, pour your favorite glass of wine to enjoy while you cook and snack on charcuterie.
- Consider freezer meals. Thanks to Pinterest and the internet in general, there are a ton of recipes out there that can be made ahead and frozen for future use, and seriously, some people are plain geniuses when it comes to making freezer meals. These are great to throw together for planned meals or emergency meals when life gets in the way.
- Keep the kitchen clean. There is no bigger deter to cooking a meal than having to start with cleaning the kitchen. Keep the kitchen clean(ish) and it will always be ready for you. We say, if you’re cooking, someone else can be cleaning.
- Turn on the tunes or a podcast. Music, podcasts, e-books, they make everything better! If you’re planning on being in the kitchen for a bit to prepare a delicious meal, you should enjoy your time the best way you know how!
