How Start Cooking Healthy Meals if You Hate to Cook

You want to eat a healthy diet, but you hate to cook. Or maybe you like the idea of cooking, but you’re intimidated in the kitchen. No matter what is holding you back, these simple steps can help you learn how to start cooking healthy meals, even if you hate cooking.

Make your Favorites

Some of the popular motivators for cooking at home are saving money and eating a healthier diet. It’s not a surprise that cooking at home will save you money, but it’s the healthier diet piece that can turn cooking into something you hate if you don’t enjoy your food.

What foods do you love to eat when you’re not cooking?

Just because you’re eating at home doesn’t mean you also need to make foods you don’t enjoy eating. Let’s say you love nachos - make them! It’s really ok to enjoy your food, at home or in a restaurant. And when you feel ready to add a healthier twist, don’t be afraid to get creative. Add a few vegetables, sub some beans in place of meat, add flavor with spicy peppers, crispy, raw onions, or leftover roasted vegetables. Remember, learning how to cook healthy meals isn’t nearly as miserable if you actually enjoy the food!

Start Small

Starting small for you may look different than starting small for someone else, so you have to evaluate where you stand. Do you catch toast on fire (hopefully not) or don’t know how to boil water? If yes, your first steps look much different than those who are comfortable with the basics in the kitchen. A small step for someone who is comfortable with the basics might be to graduate from scrambling eggs to making an omelet or from microwaving a vegetable to learning how to roast the same vegetable. But even if you’re still learning the basics then even a simple, but small step to do something new can help to build knowledge and confidence.

Buy a New Ingredient

One way to get inspired to cook is to buy a new ingredient. If your favorite takeout is pad thai then why not buy an ingredient like pad thai noodles to try to recreate that meal at home? This won’t work for all meals since some require a level of skill that only a professional chef may have, but you can often find easy versions of your favorite recipes by doing a simple google search. This can make a complicated recipe more approachable.

Experiment with Flavors

Trying new spices and layers of flavor can make a simple meal taste delicious with a few minor tweaks. Let’s say you learn how to make roasted chicken - various flavor combinations can change a roasted chicken significantly. It might turn a plain piece of meat into an exciting addition to an italian dish or a flavorful option for a greek-inspired meal. Check out these resources from CookSmarts for more on how to use herb and spice combinations.

Get Some Help

Not help from your friends, but help from the companies who know what they’re doing. Starter meal kits, prepared sauces, pre-made pizza dough or take and bake breads, frozen sides - all of these can do some of the work for you so you can focus on learning a new recipe or skill without starting from scratch.

Do you have a success story? Share in the comments below.