Tweak: Cook at Home

February 4, 2009 · Posted in Cook at Home, Tweaks

If you are not already cooking at home most of the time, good news! You have an opportunity to make a single lifestyle change that will have a huge impact on both your health and your financial wellbeing.

It’s counterintuitive, but the fact is that many (if not most) people who suffer from obesity are also malnourished. I firmly believe that the first step on the road to a healthy weight is to add essential nutrients back into our bodies, rather than restricting or dieting. We need to nurture our bodies, and we can do this by cooking easy, healthy foods at home.

So not only can you save a great deal of money cooking at home, but cooking at home is the path to eating healthier foods and feeling better in your body. When you build a habit of cooking regularly at home, you learn to experience food with the joy and respect that it deserves.

Cooking at home does not have to be a lot of work. Even though I am a trained chef (I apprenticed in fine restaurants for three years in my early adulthood), I usually cook from a very simple repertoire at home. I cook using fresh vegetables, meats and grains — real food. Most of the time I don’t bother with fussy recipes. I just stick with the basics that my family enjoys — poultry, soups, pastas, roast vegetables, bean dishes, stews, salads and couscous.

Here are some pointers for building your new cook at home habit:

Cook the food you like. This might sound obvious, but you should think about the types of food you like to eat and start cooking that sort of food at home. You don’t have to cook what your mom cooked — if you like Mexican food, for example, take a look at some Mexican recipes. If you love soups, find some good soup recipes to try.
Buy real “convenience” foods. Real “convenience” food is food that usually comes without an ingredients label. Always keep some real convenience foods on hand because they are easy to cook with and require minimal preparation. Think of foods like: frozen veggies, frozen berries, chopped cabbage and bagged baby carrots, eggs, cheese, canned tuna and salmon, pasta and couscous.
Stock your pantry. Some of us tend to hoard food, so be careful not to go overboard with food storage. But it’s good to have a few basics on hand in the pantry — canned or dried beans, pasta, rice, canned tomatoes, nuts, olive or sunflower oil, powdered or canned chicken stock, spices. Only buy what you know you will use. Consider keeping your grains, flours and nuts in the freezer if you have room — they will keep much longer that way.
Keep it simple. Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. What about a broiled chicken breast, salad, and microwaved sweet potato? Or scrambled eggs with green onions and red peppers served along with a slice or two of wholegrain toast? Take a look at this list of five-ingredient recipes to see how easy it can be to get a meal on the table.
Do you like leftovers? There are two kinds of people, those who like leftovers and those who hate them. If — and only if — you like eating leftovers, try cooking enough for two or three meals at a time. Then you can warm up extras fast to save on cooking time for subsequent meals. For us, this works with soups and with couscous. I always make enough for two meals, and the kids swear that it tastes better the second day.
Think color. Try to cook meals that contain at least one or two vegetables, the more varied and deep in color the better. I like to make vegetable soups with chicken stock, squash, carrots, chopped chard or kale, green peppers and white beans or chick peas.

Once you start cooking at home, before you know it you will have a short list of favorite meals that you can throw together quickly. You’ll save money and nurture your body with real food!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/manueb/

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