How to enjoy cooking is something that stumped me for years. Sure, I did it, but cooking felt like the sound of nails on a chalkboard to me.
Then I lost my health, landed in the doctor’s office with an incurable autoimmune disease, and turned to nutrition and lifestyle in an effort to get my life back.
Realizing I needed to get comfortable in the kitchen in order to eat properly prepared, clean, nutrient dense foods every day, left me frustrated and overwhelmed.
In time, I learned not only how to cook clean, but also how to enjoy cooking!
Here are my top tips for how to enjoy cooking!
How to Enjoy Cooking: Crank Up Your Favorite Jams and Shake Your Booty!
My all-time favorite way to enjoy cooking is to turn on my favorite music and get lost in the songs!
In fact, my 14 year old daughter and I LOVE our kitchen dance parties as we cook. Not only are we making healthy food, moving our bodies, and connecting, but we also inevitably end up belly laughing too!
How to Enjoy Cooking: Grab Your Man for a Slow Dance
Speaking of getting down with some music in the kitchen, grab your man for a slow dance!
There is something so incredibly intimate and romantic about slow dancing barefoot in the kitchen while dinner is simmering on the stove!
How to Enjoy Cooking: Turn on Your Favorite Podcast!
Looking for the time to fly by while you are cooking? Turn on your favorite podcast, or find a new favorite!
I dish about my favorite podcasts in the video above!
How to Enjoy Cooking: Get Lost in an Audio Book
Do you feel like you never had time to read or curl up and get lost in a book?
Cooking is the perfect time to turn that book you’ve been meaning to read for like forever, and get lost in it as you prep food!
How to Enjoy Cooking: Allow Yourself Time and Take Breaks!
In a fast paced world with endless to-do lists, it can be so tempting to constantly rush around in the kitchen trying to make meals as quickly as we can!
I learned that in order to love cooking, I needed to allow myself plenty of time, and to take breaks as needed.
Taking breaks felt especially important at my rock bottom, when I learned to cook even as I struggled to do the bare minimum each day. Instead of powering through in the kitchen, I allowed myself the grace to sit, rest, and take breaks as my body needed to.
How to Enjoy Cooking: Get Your Whole Family Involved!
The kitchen is SUCH an awesome gathering place! There is something so therapeutic about enjoying times with the ones we love in the kitchen.
Make your kitchen inviting, encourage your family to come chat with you, and enlist taste testers!
How to Enjoy Cooking: Enlist the Help of Your Kids!
Teaching your kids how to cook will not only help them in their lives as adults, it will also make your life easier today!
Investing a little bit of time to teach your children how to wash produce, peel and chop veggies, cook simple meals, and bake easy recipes will pay off like you cannot imagine!
Also, you can make cooking and clean up a game! For a period of time, our family split into teams. We assigned one team to cook one day, and the other team in charge of clean up. Then, the next day we switched. This little exercise helped encourage teamwork and strengthen family bonds!
Bonus tip: Make family dinner at the table a priority! Go around and ask everyone what their favorite part of the day was!
How to Enjoy Cooking: Know Who You Are and Embrace It!
Do you like to follow recipes?
Or do you like to keep things simple?
Do you love to batch huge once a week?
Or do you like to take it one day at a time?
There’s no right or wrong answer! Just know who you are, embrace it, and do not worry about what anyone else is doing, or compare yourself to others.
This is your journey, and you get to find what works best for you!
How to Enjoy Cooking: Celebrate Your Victories!
Did you get in the kitchen and cook dinner two nights this week instead of just one? Celebrate it!
Did you try a new recipe even if it did not come out? Give yourself props for having the courage to try something new!
Did you eat mushrooms for the first time? You GO girl!!!
Did you teach your little girl why eating vegetables is important? WAY to go mama!!!
Did you learn to cook fish? YES! Own it!
Be your biggest cheerleader!
You are amazing! Own every single bit of your awesomeness!
How to Enjoy Cooking: Focus on What You CAN Do, Not on What You Cannot Do
Everyone starts somewhere.
If you are starting at the beginning, I feel you.
Focus on what you CAN do, what you do KNOW, and build on that one little step at a time.
Do not worry about what you do not know, or cannot do. Do not give it another thought.
Think of this amazing opportunity in front of you to learn and grow in incredible ways!
Cheering You On!
I am SO excited for you to learn to enjoy cooking!
I believe in you!
Give it time.
Stick with it.
If it feels hard at first, you are doing it right!
BIG hugs!
Other Blog Posts You May Enjoy:
Quick Tips for Improving Digestion
Self-Care for Autoimmune Flares
