Not all of us are master chef whizzkids, we didn’t all grow up with an innate talent for whipping up culinary works of art but the good news is, cooking is a skill that can be learned through practice and experimentation. That’s why day 21 of our 30 day Healthy Habits Challenge is to “Try a new healthy recipe” Much like anything else – if you put your mind to it, you can achieve it.
How is that going to help your relationships? It’s simple – turn the chore of cooking into a shared experience. Invite a friend over, involve your partner – get the kids to help with mixing and measuring. It’s a fun way to spend time together and bond, not to mention getting to enjoy a shared meal at the end of it.
Use the time spent in the kitchen to catch up, have a conversation and relish each other’s company. It’s something that’s so easy to neglect in the busy lives we live yet it is so vital to build healthy relationships with our friends and family. This is just one way that you can ensure that not only are you eating healthy food, but you’re cultivating healthy communication channels with your loved ones.
Experimenting in the kitchen also leads to a deeper appreciation of real, homemade food made with fresh ingredients. You learn to savour tastes and you know exactly what’s gone into your meal which is hugely beneficial to your health! Say no to processed ready made meals.
All too often we get stuck in a rut, preparing meals that we could make with our eyes closed – and that leads to serious food boredom (chicken and broccoli again??) which in turn makes it so much easier to fantasize about a cheat meal.
Here’s the thing, healthy food doesn’t have to be boring or tasteless. And it just takes a little bit of research and time to create meals that are delicious and good for you at the same time.
So what are you waiting for? Time to get creative!
Learn to cook a vegetable you’ve never prepared before
Aubergine. Squash. Swiss Chard. Turnip. Anything that you’ve never made before – there are so many to choose from! Find out how to cook it and discover a possible new favourite.
Involve your kids
Most kids LOVE being able to do “grown up” stuff and cooking is certainly one of them. Depending on their age, get them to help you measure, chop, mix, stir. They will have fun, and you’ll be teaching them to appreciate real food from an early age.
Figure out how to make your favourite meal in the healthiest way possible
That’s what we did with these banana muffins, and they’re a total hit: Reboot Banana Muffins
We’ve even made it easier for you to do this with our Sleekgeek Kitchen Premixes. Check them out here: [SG KITCHEN] Guilt free pizza anyone?
Buy a recipe book
Try a recipe out of your new recipe book once every few days – even once a week. It will stimulate you to be creative and you’ll get more bang for your buck (no wasted money on recipe books that stay tucked away in a cupboard somewhere)
Some suggestions:
Low Carb is Lekker – Ina Reynierse
Real Meal Revolution – Jonno Proudfoot, Sally-Ann Creed, Tim Noakes
Family Food – Pete Evans
(Bonus: 8 Week Challengers get a R150 discount coupon on purchases using the Takealot app, you could buy your recipe books there and save)
Research and Plan
Spend a little time browsing the web, there are so many amazing sites with brilliant ideas – someone’s done most of the hard work for you, you only have to put it together!
Here are some of our top recipe resources:
Living Spot Blog
Naturally Nutritious Living
Nom Nom Paleo
Jamie Oliver’s Cheap and Cheerful
Take Action:
Create a meal with your family or friends this week. We want to see your food pics on the group – show us what you created, send us a selfie with you and your co-chefs, share a recipe you found – we want to see it all! We also have a Recipe Share group which you can find here: [Recipe Share] for added inspiration.
Happy cooking!
