I don’t have time to prepare my own meals!! This is told to me all the time when I tell my clients that the best way to ensure healthy eating is to make your own meals. I get it. Life is busy and a lot of us would rather be doing other things more exciting, right?
I use to relate to this until I changed my perspective about preparing my own meals. I now see it as a way to create and experiment like when I was a kid in elementary school messing around with play-dough.
When I changed my mindset from perfection instead to enjoyment and fun, I now look forward to being in the kitchen. As a bonus I learned that sharing what I make with others has been one of the most rewarding things for me. And I did find that the expense and time eating out is actually more compared to preparing my own meals.
Understanding some kitchen basics can be helpful when getting started preparing meals and an organized kitchen with the proper equipment can make it efficient and fun. I already shared “Getting started with good knives” in a previous blog so I will pick up from there. In addition to the knives and cutting board it’s important to have an organized kitchen that’s uncluttered and clean.
Large items like bread makers or toaster ovens on counter tops take up a lot of valuable space and if they aren’t being used then donate or sell them on Craigslist. Go through kitchen drawers and cabinets and get rid of things that are not being used and replace worn out items. Make sure there is adequate space for placing washed food, a cutting board to prep vegetables and other items you may need when cooking.
Assuming there is a stove and refrigerator in the kitchen this list of Kitchen-Essentials will be a good start to making prepping meals fun in the kitchen.
In addition to getting your kitchen organized and purchasing some kitchen essentials, following the Ten-Steps-to-a-Safe-Kitchen will put you on your way to having fun and enjoying the kitchen.
So now it’s time to go for it and get in the kitchen. Get cooking! Enjoy and have fun!