Simple home cooking. Is that your daily routine or does it sound like a pipe dream to you?
When I was growing up, we rarely ate out. My grandmother and mother cooked three meals a day – every day. And while I recall being served biscuits and green beans – we called them string beans – at every meal except breakfast, remembering the whole family gathering around the table brings back warm and comforting memories.
Fried chicken was about as fresh as you could get it. Grandmama raised chickens, so we never had to go to the grocery store for that! And fresh eggs daily were as close as the chicken coop.
Cooking at home is one of the healthiest things you can do for your family. It’s much easier to make healthier choices at home. Eating more vegetables and far less sugar and salt than takeout means better overall nutrition for the people you love.
Home cooking brings us together as a family. It’s a chance to create new memories, find out what’s going on in the lives of our family members, and share things that strengthen family bonds.
I want to cook more meals at home. I know I can save money and eat much healthier. Does that resonate with you?
But it’s hard to do. It requires planning, planning, planning. And preparation time. So, at the end of another busy day, it’s so much easier to order a pizza or pick up a family meal at your favorite fast food restaurant.
Let’s start with a few general meal planning tips.
- If you’re not sure where to start with planning your meals, you can make it easy by taking stock of what is in your kitchen. Take note of everything in your pantry and refrigerator, write it down, and see what meals you can make from those ingredients.
- Start small by preparing home-cooked meals only a few times a week. You’ll start to get the hang of it and want to cook more often once you realize what a time saver it really is.
- Make extras. Plan for leftovers and how you’ll use them in another meal. And instead of making one casserole, or enough soup for one meal, make enough for two or even three and then freeze the extras.
- Enlist the help of family members. When I had my knee replacement surgeries, my husband was forced to learn to cook. And to my surprise and delight, he really got interested in preparing new dishes and looking for recipes to try.
- Be open to new ideas and new ways to prepare meals. And document what you do along the way. Instead of sharing pics of your meal at a local restaurant, take pictures of the meals you prepare and share them with me. I want to include you in my posts and emails!
For the next four months, HER Life Hacks will be focused on FOOD. Look for new blog posts every Tuesday and Thursday. Topics will be alternated among the three category areas that you, my readers, helped me plan: Meal Planning; Meal Prep; and Healthy Food Choices.
For your reference, here is the agenda scheduled for March – June 2022. This post is Week 2B. If you’d like a copy to download, you may download it HERE.
Share this post with your friends and invite them to join us as we journey through this FOODS agenda!