15.6 Myth: Cooking Is Only For Foodies and Chefs

Food preparation might feel intimidating or overwhelming, particularly for those who haven’t had much opportunity to learn or practice. Thankfully, preparing food can be accomplished with varying levels of skill, and the skills needed can be learned and developed over time. Also, keep in mind that food preparation doesn’t necessarily need to involve an oven, stove, or even heat. Adding granola and fruit to yogurt or adding a protein or vegetables to rice or noodles is preparing food.

Food preparation is just putting ingredients together, even if it is as simple as mixing a few things together in a bowl or using up leftovers.

If food preparation feels overwhelming, start slow. For example, you might decide to make just one recipe this week. Consider starting with recipes that have five or fewer ingredients and don’t require a lot of preparation or tools; following a recipe step-by-step can help the process of food preparation feel less elusive. If that feels too restrictive, creating something without a prescribed recipe may feel more inviting. The key is to find what feels more accessible to you and give it a try. Websites and apps make it easy to discover simple recipes; many provide videos as guides or allow you to type in the ingredients you have to find a recipe that works with what you’ve got.

Student Perspectives: What tips do you have for those first learning how to make their own food?

Video Transcript

Planning Strategies

Blocking off a bit of time to plan your food preparation for the week and prepare a grocery list according to that plan can actually save time in the long run. Creating a list helps make shopping more efficient and prevents making subsequent trips to the store for necessary items that were forgotten. Additionally, having a plan can help prevent daily stress of wondering what you’re going to eat.

Keep in mind that planning opportunities to eat doesn’t need to be elaborate; it could be as simple as identifying one or two meals to make for the week. Planning also differs based on the number of people being fed, amount of time available, budget, and access to space and tools for food preparation, among other things. Some find it helpful to create an overall customizable schedule with different recipes each week, for example meatless Mondays, breakfast-for-dinner Wednesdays, fish Fridays, and so forth. Cooking every day isn’t necessary; making a couple large dishes one day may provide enough food to eat throughout the week. Also, leftovers could be used in new ways; for example, leftover chicken could be used for a chicken curry, in a stir-fry, or over a salad. Preparing multiple things or a favorite recipe that is doubled or tripled and then freezing individual servings can be helpful for particularly busy weeks; soups, stews, and sauces, in particular, tend to freeze well.

Stocking up on some basic ingredients to create a simple meal can be helpful for weeks that are difficult to make it to the store or food shelf. For example, rice, noodles, and pasta, canned beans and tomatoes, frozen vegetables, dry grains, and some spices are great staples to keep on hand, if possible.

Basic Equipment for Preparing Food

Intimidated by the tools needed for preparing food? It really doesn’t take much to get started. It’s not necessary to own a lot of fancy and expensive kitchen gadgets to make wonderful food. Sticking to the basics, such as a good knife, cutting board, and skillet, buying things gently used, and mentioning kitchen equipment to friends or family members asking for gift ideas are great places to start. Crockpots or other types of slow cookers can also reduce active cooking time and have the added benefit of food being ready when returning from class, work, or other activities.