I personally love to cook, but even I can fall victim to the
overwhelm of being responsible for providing meals to the family every day. I
think it’s that never-ending feeling that leads some of us to resort to more
takeout and convenience meals than we’d like or can afford, because cooking
nightly can bog us down, especially for folks who don’t enjoy cooking and find
the whole process kind of stress-inducing.
But it really doesn’t have to be that way. Whether you cook
even if it stresses you out, or you avoid it altogether because of that very
reason, there are lots of way to make the process more relaxing, efficient, and
enjoyable. Here are some habits that can help:
- Meal
Plan in Advance: Don’t get stressed out about the concept – I promise
that once you see it as an investment and not a chore, planning meals in
advance will save you so much time and sanity. It’s literally just having
a plan in place so that the rest of the week, you can operate on
auto-pilot and have everything you need at home to execute getting dinner
on the table. - Embrace
Mise en Place: This French term means “everything in its place” and
professional kitchens rely on this practice in order to expedite lots of
meals quickly. It’s the same at home – the more prepped your work space is
in advance, the quicker, and less stressful your actual cooking process
is. It also feels empowering to be organized. Gather your equipment,
ingredients, set up your work station, and get the table set in advance
and then you’ll be whipping up a meal in no time. - Pair
with Pleasure: Pour a drink, light a candle, and slip in those earbuds
to listen to some music or your favorite podcast. It’s amazing how much
faster cooking (and the clean up) goes when I’m zoned out listening to
something. If having young kids complicates this, it’s okay to coordinate
their device or movie-watching time of the day to your cook time. It’s a
win for everyone. - Time
Management is Key: I’ve found that my “sweet spot” for cooking most
meals is around 45 minutes. Once you figure out your own average, use this
to do backwards math to figure out when you should start in the
kitchen. For instance, if you have to drive your teen to practice a
7pm, you’ll want to spend at least 30 minutes eating together as a family,
so maybe start cooking by 5:30 to allow plenty of time for
both.
Finally, get to know what works for you. “Clean as you go”
isn’t my go-to advice because personally, I actually prefer cleaning up
one big mess afterwards. Some people like help, some want to be alone. The more
you commit to cooking, the more you’ll discover your own preferences for how to
keep things relaxed. Good luck!
