Eating for Energy: How To Get Confident In The Kitchen As A Modern Parent
Cooking healthy, homemade meals in the kitchen is not something everyone learns from their parents. Most of us go into adulthood knowing how to cook a few basic recipes that got us through college and the early years of being out on our own, but once you become a parent and have the responsibility of feeding a family multiple times a day, you really have to step up your cooking game when it come to both nutrition and recipe variety. Plus, as a parent, you can use all the help you can get in the energy department, which is why it’s key to add energy boosting foods to your weekly meal plan. Luckily, cooking as a modern parent and amateur chef CAN be a lot of fun if you let it be. All you need is the right setup and some easy, healthy, recipes to get started. Read on to learn how to get confident in the kitchen as a modern parent so you can feed your family well and start eating for energy. Don’t worry, it’s easier than you think, so grab your apron and let’s dive in!
Tips to Help You Gain Confidence In The Kitchen
I know that cooking homemade meals and snacks in the kitchen can be intimidating to some, but you don’t have to be a Food Network star to whip up delicious, healthy meals using energy boosting foods from scratch. All you need are a few simple tips to help you gain confidence in the kitchen.
Tip #1: Set Up Your Workspace
When you start cooking more meals at home, the best place to start is by setting up your workspace. Cooking takes a reasonable amount of space, especially when you're just getting started. You don’t want to be running around the kitchen looking for ingredients, utensils, or what you need to make a recipe. You want everything you need readily available and easy to access so you can focus on the recipe at hand.
Make sure the stove and counters are clean and clear before you start laying out pots, pans, and mixing bowls. Preheat the oven if you'll be baking or toasting anything. Put the pans you'll be cooking with on the stove and get out your ingredients. Line them up in the order you’ll use them so you don’t miss a step (or an ingredient). Leave space for your cutting board and for bowls of chopped ingredients. It can also be helpful to designate a “garbage bowl” so you can toss food scraps and trash in the bowl instead of making several trips to the trash can while cooking. Clear the sink so you can move bowls and utensils out of your way when you’re finished with them. This helps you keep a tidy workspace as you make your recipe.
Tip #2: Mount a Recipe Device or Use a Cookbook Stand
I don’t know about you, but it can be so frustrating when you’re trying to read a recipe and your cookbook is constantly in the way, getting splattered with food, and closing shut on you. To make life easier, mount a recipe device for your phone or tablet in a safe place where you can see it from your stove and counter. A charging cradle on top of the stove or microwave might do the trick, or you might try a magnet mount attached to the wall instead. You can also use a cookbook stand to hold your cookbook in place so you can read your recipe with ease.
Tip #3: Experiment With Core Ingredients and Energy Boosting Foods
One of the best ways to gain confidence in the kitchen and experiment with cooking inside of your budget is to pick a handful of core ingredients and energy boosting foods and learn everything you can make with them. There are dozens of different combinations you can try with ingredients such as chicken, tofu, broccoli, quinoa, sweet potatoes, and other grocery-shopping staples.
Challenge yourself to experiment and try different combinations to build your repertoire of recipes that you can easily cook with the groceries you always have on hand. A collection of spices combined with basic healthy ingredients and high energy foods can turn your normal pantry into a wonderland of possibilities.
Tip #4: Get Inspiration From Your Favorite Restaurants
If you find yourself in a cooking rut (it happens to the best of us!) and you’re not sure what to cook, get inspired by your favorite restaurants! Flip through takeout menus to get ideas for recipes you can create or emulate in your own kitchen. Menus are a great inspiration for cooking ideas because they remind you of delicious foods you might never think to cook at home. Plus, you can likely make them much healthier by using high energy foods and your own healthy ingredients. If you check out the website or call the restaurant, they might even share their recipe with you to make it yourself. And if not, you can always start experimenting with similar recipes you look up on the internet. Pinterest is your best friend when it comes to finding recipe ideas!
Tip #5: Follow Your Own Chef Instincts
Learn to follow your own chef instincts when cooking in the kitchen. Experiment with ingredients and high energy foods that you have and combine flavors and textures that sound good to you. Try adding spices and altering recipes based on your preferences and those of your family. You can learn to cook with your intuition as easily as anyone else. Once you get the basics of cooking down, you can try a lot of different combinations.
Look for new ways to cook healthier versions of dishes your kids love. For instance, french fries are much healthier when you cook them in an air fryer because they’ll be crispy without all the excess oil.
Tip #6: Get Your Family Involved
Lastly, if you want to make cooking homemade meals fun and enjoyable, include your kids and the whole family in the kitchen. Let them help choose recipes and ingredients at the grocery store. Involve them in age-appropriate kitchen tasks while cooking. They will have a blast inventing new recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert. This even helps kids become more willing to try new foods, which is a win for you as a parent!
Cooking at home with your family is a wonderful way to save money, eat for energy, and bond together. Plus, it's a lot easier than you think. Once you gain confidence in the kitchen and get into cooking, it can be a fun, simple, and creative experience. As your kids get older, they'll be increasingly able to help you in the kitchen and even come up with their own recipe inventions. Plus, you’re planting a seed now so they can take the cooking knowledge you share with them into adulthood.
If you’re looking for recipe inspiration to help you feed your family well and eat for energy, check out our recipe book collection for tons of ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks, and smoothies!
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