Cooking is an amazing and important life skill that can improve your quality of life.
I started learning how to cook when I was eight or nine years old, I believe
I remember what I started with, but I don’t really remember a time when I wasn’t cooking
However, I wasn’t cooking from scratch other than basic chicken or fish dishes for a long time
When I did start learning to cook from scratch, it was very overwhelming because of all of the options
The best things to start with when learning to cook are foods that you enjoy and foods that are simple. In general, pasta, salad, one-pot meals, or bread are good foods to learn first. Avoid foods like croissants that take hours to make and are not flexible with mistakes.
When you are learning to cook, there are a few suggestions to build skills and confidence
Once you have those, don’t be afraid to stray from these suggestions
Choose simple recipes and stick to them
I laugh with my husband often because I rarely follow a recipe completely
There are ingredients that I swap or take out, or I pick and choose parts of recipes that I want to use
I do not suggest doing this as a beginner
When you are starting to cook from scratch, choose simple recipes and follow them
You are learning a new skill
That means you need to learn how to do things and gain confidence before trying to go off on your own
Recipes that you start with should have a smaller list of ingredients and preferably take less than 30 minutes to make
Any time you are adding something new and potentially difficult to your life, it is important to reduce resistance as much as possible
You do this by choosing food that doesn’t take a long time and that you are excited to make
The excitement is most important here and there
But for regular cooking, simple is important
Pasta was my favorite dish to start with
I would cook the dried noodles you get at the store and then add to them
Spaghetti is easy for this
You cook the noodles according to the instructions, add spaghetti sauce, and add any additional seasoning
I also brown ground beef and add that to the sauce for a fast and simple dinner
Of course, it can be more complex, but get comfortable with the simplest version of a dish first, then you can start making more parts from scratch
Now I like to make the noodles, use tomato sauce that I made and canned, and then make sauce with my own spices
And I am learning to make my own ground beef
But that didn’t happen overnight
It was several months (since we don’t have spaghetti often) of expanding my skills one at a time
Prep when you can
Cooking can be difficult to do when you are tired
And dinner happens at the end of the day
To avoid running into problems, I recommend prepping whenever you can
For example, I make hamburger buns, shape the patties, and cut the other toppings in the early afternoon when I make hamburgers for my family
That way I have very little to do when it is time to make dinner
I use little pockets of time when my kids are being independent to do that prep
This has saved me more times than I can count from being too tired to cook
In addition, I also make more than I need when I can to prep for a different day
I make enough hamburger patties for two or three dinners and then I freeze the extra
Another way I prep is by making freezer foods
I will make a lot of mini corn dogs so I can freeze them
When we need a quick lunch or dinner, I air fry those frozen corn dogs for a “convenience meal” without skipping cooking from scratch
Pay attention to the meals you like to buy for something quick
This can be done for many different types of meals
So pay attention to what you buy and slowly learn how to cook and freeze those foods
Get into a routine
Humans are creatures that love routine (most of the time)
So creating a routine that works for you is important
Start small and simple
My current routine looks nothing like the first routine that I followed
Baby steps are key when learning to cook from scratch
If you are starting by learning breakfast meals, decide when you will make breakfast every day
Or decide when you will make freezer breakfasts for the week
There was a time when I was working three part-time jobs and going to school
There was no way I would be making dinner every day.
I started work at 3 am every day and finished at 6 pm
On weekends I only worked from 3 am until 5 am, so I used Sundays to make all my meals for the week
Then all I had to do was reheat meals after work every day
That was the best routine for me so I could cook from scratch
Now I cook every day, but three days a week I make food in bulk so I can freeze them
Then I have easy meals so I don’t become tempted to go buy food
There is no one-size-fits-all routine
You have to look at your schedule and test things until something works for you
Meal plan
Other than when I was meal prepping, I can’t believe it took so long for me to start meal planning
It is a game-changer
How many times have you struggled to decide what to eat?
When cooking from scratch, you struggle to decide AND have to find something that you have the ingredients for
I live 30 minutes from the grocery store so running to the store for something isn’t an option
Meal plans allow me to already have decisions made for what I am making and I know that I have the ingredients because I go shopping right after making the meal plan
I make meal plans two weeks at a time now
So we have two big shopping trips a month, and two smaller ones for staples like milk
When I do not have a meal plan, cooking from scratch is way more stressful
Keep pantry staples on hand
One of the main ways to learn how to cook from scratch is by being ready when inspiration hits
I learned how to make croissants because I just wanted some
Since I have all the basic ingredients in my pantry at all times, I can act on that inspiration instantly
Some of the basic staples include flour, sugar, milk, eggs, yeast (I have instant and my sourdough starter), oil, and a variety of seasonings
If you make a lot of Chinese food, soy sauce may be one of your pantry staples
The key is to have the ingredients that are used over and over in the dishes that you like in your pantry at all times
If you want to know more about pantry staples, check out my post all about them here
