Maybe you’ve heard the saying “done is better than perfect” or some other variation of that before, basically telling us just do something, just take a step, and don’t worry about it being perfect. The only way we move forward with anything in life is to take steps. This is true for cooking, too. Ladies tell me all the time “I can’t cook”. I call BS on that! We’re not born with or without the ability to cook. Cooking is a skill that we learn through practice. It’s not a “maybe she’s born with it” kind of situation. If your mindset says you can’t, well then, that’s what you’re going to believe. Cooking doesn’t need to mean putting together an elegant 3 course meal; cooking is turning food into something it wasn’t before. With that definition, cooking doesn’t even need to require heat! Slicing an apple, chopping up veggies for a salad, slathering some PB&J onto two slices of bread – that all counts, so give yourself some credit, lady! There are small steps you can take every day to start to gain more confidence in the kitchen. With confidence comes more creativity and FUN – I promise. So, here are 5 ways for you to kick it into gear and get that booty in the kitchen because YOU CAN DO IT.
1. Use your hands!
Cooking doesn’t even need to require a knife. Seriously. You can start manipulating food with just your hands. Instead of buying a bag of pre-chopped salad, reach for the whole head of lettuce (I love a good red leaf lettuce), bring that baby home and start tearing! You can tear up the whole head of lettuce with your hands, rinse in a colander or salad spinner, dry and voila, you have greens for salad. Toss some nuts or seeds in there, some crumbled feta or shredded cheese, grape tomatoes (that you don’t have to cut!) and add your favorite dressing or make your own if you’re feelin’ it. I promise that putting the salad together yourself rather than dumping it out from a bag will have you feeling more empowered and proud of what you created.
2. Start with simple chopping tasks.
There are so many tools & gadgets for the kitchen that we end up not even using our knives a lot of the time. But, I promise you that with a few essential knife skills, you’ll be done with “as seen on tv” products for good! Try slicing an apple with a knife instead of an apple coring gadget. Or, buy whole carrots and peel and chop them instead of always reaching for the baby carrots. Using your knife for smaller and more simple tasks will give you practice in getting comfortable with the knife and make you more confident to take on larger or more difficult tasks.
3. Start using the stove & oven instead of the microwave.
Now, don’t get me wrong here, I use my microwave all the time! It’s often a time saver and can produce a super quick convenient meal when needed. But, a microwave isn’t really something that helps to sharpen your cooking skills and we can rely on it too much. Try something small, like reheating your soup in a saucepan on the stove, instead of in a bowl in the microwave. Or, cook up your oatmeal on the stove instead of in the microwave (I promise, you’ll get a lot less mess this way, too! Goodbye overflowing oatmeal!). Using the stove for even small tasks like this helps you become more comfortable in understanding the different levels of heat of your burners from low to medium to high – what makes the liquid boil (heavy bubbles) vs. keep it at a simmer (light bubbles), how long does it take for your pan to get hot, etc. Try reheating leftover meals in the oven at 350 instead of the microwave – sure, it may take a little longer, but again, this helps familiarize you with your oven, get to know the temperatures of your oven, how long does it take to preheat, what happens if I have foil over the top vs. no cover over the food; you’ll also notice a difference in texture in your reheated food from the oven (crispier, retain original texture) vs. microwave (mushier, softer texture). It is important to familiarize yourself with the tools & equipment you have in the kitchen and just relying a bit less on the beloved microwave will help.
4. Challenge yourself to buy the un-prepped version of foods.
Next time you’re in the grocery aisles reaching for the pre-cut veggies or the bags of shredded cheese, challenge yourself to buy the “whole” food. I talked a bit already about trying to chop up veggies to get more comfortable using your knife. I challenge you now to buy a block of cheddar cheese instead of shredded cheese and use that grater you never use to freshly grate your cheese! Again, a small step, and I promise, one that really doesn’t take much time or effort, but gives you practice using the grater and transforming food. Bonus, you’re gonna get more flavor out of that freshly shredded cheese than from the bagged stuff (also, this is not to say that I never buy the bagged stuff for convenience sake).
5. Explore different cooking methods.
If you are a creature of habit (which most of us are), you may only be cooking everything the one way you feel comfortable, but that is going to get boooooring! Different cooking methods lead to different textures and flavors of food, which may be just the thing you need to get out of a “food rut” where nothing sounds good to you – sound familiar? So, the next time you go to put that steam-in-the-bag broccoli into the microwave, try roasting it – coat the broccoli in olive oil, salt, and pepper, spread on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven at 425 for 15-20 minutes. Or, put that bag in the microwave for a little less time than it calls for, and then add that broccoli to a pan with olive oil, salt and pepper, and give it some flavaaaa! Now you’ve done a quick sauté and gotten some practice with the stove.
When it comes to cooking, done really is better than perfect. Small steps add up to BIG confidence and ultimately give you the power to support your health in the kitchen.
Feel like you need more support in the kitchen?? I’m here for ya, girl. Let’s chat!