I was reminiscing the other day, thinking about how it was when I first got married and was trying to learn how to cook and take more responsibility when it came to the kitchen. I remember feeling a little overwhelmed, a little out of place, unprepared and nervous about how I would keep up the way my mom and so many other women in my family did.
Looking back now it is amazing to see how far along I have come in the kitchen. I am way more confident and quicker and have really grown to LOVE cooking for my family. But this took many years of practice. Becoming confident in the kitchen is not something that happens overnight.
In this post I wanted to share 5 PRACTICAL tips that I have for anyone just starting out on their cooking journey. Everyone has to start somewhere but I hope these tips can give you a little head start and some encouragement so let’s get straight into it!
Start Off Following Recipes and Create Your Own Written Recipes
I know for me personally, when I was first learning how to cook, having a written-out recipe was so important. It’s easy to in the moment think “Oh yeah, these steps are easy. I will remember it.” When you go to actually make the dish on your own, it’s hard to remember all the steps and the amounts. So, when I was learning I would watch whoever it was I was learning from, write down step by step what they were doing as well as created measurements for all the ingredients. Then as I made the recipes on my own, I just kept fixing my recipe and over the years I ended up with the PERFECT recipe, one that is accurate and tastes great! I feel like the younger generation likes measurements and written out recipes. With the older generation, they just add ingredients as they feel because they have SO many years of experience and cooking may just come more naturally to them. There is nothing wrong with following recipes if that is what it takes to get a meal on your table!
Make Use of New Technology
We have access to so many new gadgets these days, from air fryers to the Instant Pot! We also have access to TONS AND TONS of videos online sharing amazing recipes from all sorts of cuisines. So why not make use of them? These gadgets are designed for people with less time but still want yummy, delicious meals. If I were to recommend ONE gadget it would have to be the Instant Pot. This is the Instant Pot I have and I LOVE IT. I use it at least a few times a week. It takes hardly any time to make a meal, doesn’t stink up the whole home and you can even set it up so that your meal starts cooking for you while you are out of the home!
Less is More
I know I am not alone when I say my parents have WAY more stuff in their kitchen then I do haha. They like to keep a decent stock of all ingredients and like to keep a good variety of kitchen cookware and dishes. I am simpler, and I feel the newer generation is simpler as well. We like to keep our kitchen minimal and keep only what we need and use and that is perfectly okay. Don’t think you need to have a million things in your kitchen to whip up an amazing meal. Yes, you of course need a stock of the basics and things you use regularly, but you don’t need to be OVERstocked either.
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Meal Preparation and Planning
A lot of women now work outside of the home and so preparing ahead of time is extremely important. Even as a stay-at-home mom, I find it extremely helpful to plan out what I am going to make for the week and prepare some of the ingredients the night before. This not only inspires me to keep making homemade meals, but it takes the guess work away of trying to figure out what to cook every single day, which let’s be honest, can be the hardest part!
Simplify Your Meals
I feel like the older generation likes to eat more fuller meals-at least once a day. The younger generation likes to keep it simple. My advice here is to not feel pressured by what you might have grown up eating. It is not expected in these times to come up with a 5-course meal every single night – unless of course you or husband prefer to eat that way. Just cook what your family needs and likes and don’t feel like you have to keep up with what everyone else is doing. This will take a HUGE load off your plate…get it?…load off your plate??? 😉
Bhavna and I created a video on this topic for you as well, sharing both of our views on cooking that you will love and find very informative.
Below is the link to that video so make sure you check it out. We share some of the differences between the newer and older generation when it comes to cooking but also how the newer generation can really learn a lot from the older generation in combination with the tips I shared above. Enjoy!