Ramblings About Healthy Cooking

While thinking about what to cook for dinner tonight a thought came into my head.  Why are so many people afraid of cooking.  Is it fear that your special creation won't turn out right?  Is it that you just don't like cooking?  Are you afraid to really mess up the recipe you're following?  What is it that makes so many people reach for pre-made foods or packaged dinners?

Since I've been an adult cooking for myself I find that the more I cook, the more I know about food and the more I enjoy it.  The discovery of new food combinations is very exciting to me.  There is also something very therapeutic about chopping fruits and vegetables and baking bread or other goodies.

Consider mastering these 3 basic skills to make cooking easier, faster and more fun:

1. Learn some knife skills.  To eat healthy foods you need to know how to prepare them safely and efficiently.  Buy good knives too because a sharp knife is much safer than a dull knife.  Nothing worse than trying to hack through a butternut squash with a dull knife. Learn some knife skills at Knife Skills 101.
2. Familiarize yourself with some basic cooking methods.  If you know 3 different ways to cook or prepare broccoli then you probably won't get bored of eating it.  You'll feel more comfortable in the kitchen knowing these basic cooking methods and you'll have more confidence tackling new recipes too.
3. Discover your favorite flavors using herbs and spices.  Herbs and spices add a ton of flavor to a recipe without increasing the things you might be trying to limit like saturated fat, salt and sugar.  Believe it or not, many herbs and spices provide health benefits such as having antiseptic properties, antioxidant power or anti-inflammatory.  This article will help you learn how to use some common herbs and spices: Seasoning Basics.

After mastering these 3 basic skills I hope you will find some joy in cooking.  I can assure you that your homemade pasta dish will taste better than a package of lipton noodles and your fruit salad will taste better than any canned fruit cocktail.

Happy Cooking!  What are your hurdles to cooking a good, healthy meal from scratch?