Letâs be real- cooking can feel like a colossal chore. Often, it takes a ton of time that you donât have and rarely turns out quite like you expect it.
For me, no matter how much I tell myself Iâm going to get my shopping done and get my meal prep on lock so cooking doesnât come with stress and negativity, I still find myself rushing to get my meal prep done Sunday or Monday night, and I donât even do most of the cooking in my household!
However, I know from the time I lived alone and the moments I take to just cook and let it flow that cooking (and baking for avid bakers like myself) can be therapeutic and yield some delicious results.
So, this weekâs Wellness Weekly is a homage to the art of cooking.
From a young age, I was flipping pancakes standing on a chair and always hanging out with my dad in the kitchen as he cooked. This left very warm feelings (pun intended) of cooking with me throughout my time living at home.
However, when I went to college and was left to fend for myself, that feeling towards cooking quickly soured. I always felt too busy to cook anything elaborate and as hard as I tried, I was never as good as my parents.
Fortunately, I found my way back to my love of being in the kitchen through baking about a year later. It all started with a craving for cookiesâŚ
I bought a break and bake set of Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies and brushed them with a little extra vanilla extract (my secret recipe for next-level cookies without having to bake them- you can thank me later đ). Since I lived alone, there was no way I was going to be able to eat all of those cookies, so I brought them down to the office that I worked in the next day.
My coworkers LOVED them and begged for more! I couldnât say no to an enthusiastic crowd that loved my cooking, so I decided to step it up a notch and try making cookies from scratch. Yâall, when I tell you I was the fan-favorite in the office that day by far, Iâm not playing! Iâve never seen a plate of cookies disappear so fast!
From there, I found my love for baking for my loved ones and the rest was history!
I grew this love especially over COVID quarantine, where I was cooking/baking every day as a comfort. It was something familiar and that I could control in a time where it felt like I could control nothing. Plus, I had a customer that kept making all my bakes disappear (looking at you DAD! đ).
Nowadays, Iâm super busy, so itâs tough to get into the kitchen and truly enjoy the cooking/baking process like I used to. However, I make sure fresh cookies are provided to my #1 Fan every birthday and Christmas and have been known to make some sick meals when the keys to the kitchen are handed over for the night.
If you found any similarities in yourself from my stories, itâs likely you have a love for cooking and/or baking, even if itâs buried deep deep down. Therefore, itâs time to let that love shine!
Here are a few tips to make your time in the kitchen as stress-free and enjoyable as possible
Plan for it- Get all your groceries ahead of time so youâre not stressing out at cooking/baking time about ingredients
Play music- Itâs a must! My go-to for baking is the entire âWaitressâ album
Clean as you go- I know, the cleaning is one of the worst parts, but if you clean as you go and leave the kitchen cleaner than when you got in there, youâre less likely to attribute the stress of cleaning to cooking.
Now itâs time to get your apron on, wash your hands, and create something truly delicious! đ