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Easy Meal Plans for Busy Families

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3 Tips To Make Cooking At Home Easier

by Stephanie

3 Tips To Make Cooking At Home Easier

If you find it difficult to cook at home, you’re not alone.

More than ever, families are packing their hours with work and extracurricular activities for their kids (and themselves) and it’s tough to find time to be at home to make a decent meal.

But I truly believe that health and wellness start in the kitchen.

Now you may not like cooking, or you’ve lost interest in it or you find it’s too much pressure to cook a picture-perfect meal like the ones you see on Instagram, so I wanted to offer a few tips on how to make it easier to cook at home more regularly.

1. Have the Right Tools.

Sharp Knives
I mentioned this in my post about cutting butternut squash: we need to have the right kind of knife to cut it! If you have dull knives at home, it’s not going to be fun to cook. I can attest this every time I go to an Airbnb where the knives are dull—I don’t want to cook either!

So get a couple of good knives. You don’t have to spend a lot. My favourite knife is from Loblaws for $18. I do recommend having a couple of different kinds of knives, however:

  • A Utility Knife
  • A Chef’s Knife
  • A thinner utility knife or slicer
  • A couple paring knives
  • Also a knife honer or steel so you can keep them relatively sharp!

Various Cutting Boards.
Personally I like bamboo cutting boards and it’s nice to have a few of them. I have a bigger board that I use to chop a lot of veggies at once, as well as a couple of medium-sized boards for cutting fruit and meat. Some people will tell you not to use wood for meat, but I don’t want to use plastic so I always use the same one for meat and then give it a good scrub.

Measuring Cups and Spoons.
A set of stainless steel measuring cups is a great thing to have in the kitchen and it tends to last the longest (compared to plastic). Also, I personally find it helpful to have a few sets of measuring spoons, but one will suffice. Winners and HomeSense always have them on sale in the cooking section.

Blender and Food Processor.
I use my blender daily so this is an important tool for me, but even still I think it’s a great thing to have in the kitchen. It’s not necessary to get a Vitamix or a Blendtec (although fun if you can afford it). I bought a Cuisinart blender for the cottage and it works really well (I even used it to grind coffee once!).

Again a food processor isn’t affordable to everyone, but even a smaller handheld blending system like this one will work really well in the kitchen.

Decent Pots and Pans.
I steer clear of Teflon these days and opt for cast iron pans and stainless steel pots. It’s nice to have a few different sizes: I have five sizes of pots—although this many isn’t necessary (maybe if I had fewer pots I’d have fewer dishes to do??) and two sizes of cast iron pans (10 inch and 12 inch).

I also regularly use a big cast iron enamel pot for my soups and stews. HomeSense always has affordable cast iron and enamel pots and pans in fun colours.

I also love having two double size aluminum baking pans so I can roast a lot of veggies (and bake a lot of cookies!) at once. Just be sure to use parchment paper as you don’t want to cook directly on aluminum.

2. Make a Meal Plan.

Yes, I’ve said it a million times, but making a meal plan is one of the easiest ways you can get on track for regular cooking at home.

Making a full meal plan might overwhelm some people, so you can start small to begin with. I like the idea of making a big batch of cookies or bars to eat for the week or make a big batch of baked oatmeal to eat all week for breakfast. Starting small and working yourself up to making a full plan will help you get used to cooking regularly at home.

3. Keep it Simple.

I’ve also said this before: keep your meals simple. Pick meals that take fewer than 20 minutes or less to cook so you’re not scrambling during the week to make dinner and keep the elaborate meals for the weekend.

Another idea is to choose a couple of veggies to roast on Sunday that you can use for various meals during the week. Roasted sweet potatoes are great with chicken thighs, but also taste fantastic in a frittata or taco. Cook once, eat twice (or three times).

I hope that gives you a few tips on how to start cooking regularly at home.


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***EDIT: These are RAMPS! Oops. But you can still ***EDIT: These are RAMPS! Oops. But you can still read about all the benefits of garlic and green garlic below. Also, you can use ramps in the recipe I gave you!***

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This week I got my first batch of green garlic in the veggie box!⁠
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Green garlic, or spring garlic, is a younger version of the garlic we know well and use in our cooking. It’s milder and can be used in many recipes. You can eat the white and green parts.⁠
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It has a white base like a green onion although it’s a bit bigger and its green stems are more flat than rounded. ⁠
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The younger version of this garlic has the same amazing health benefits as its older version making it an excellent addition to your recipes.⁠
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Not to mention it’s local and can basically be grown anywhere which is fantastic news for our environment.⁠
⁠
Health Benefits of Garlic:⁠
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⚡️Helps to reduce cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure⁠
Garlic’s sulfur-containing compounds can be beneficial to the upper digestive tract.⁠
⚡️We need to eat garlic in our meals at least 2-3 times a week in order to see these health benefits.⁠
⚡️Use it raw and cooked. Raw garlic retains its health benefits more so than when it is cooked.⁠
⚡️Dried garlic doesn’t have the same effect as raw or cooked. Tastes good though!⁠
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⚡️A Quick Recipe: Quinoa (or rice or millet) with Green Garlic⚡️⁠
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Slice the ends off of the green garlic and thinly slice the entire vegetable including the green parts.⁠
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Put a tablespoon of olive oil into a pan and sauté the green garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add quinoa (about 1-2 cups) and stir. Add a bit of salt and pepper and voila! You have a flavourful side dish. ⁠
⁠
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#recipe #springrecipes #simplerecipes
My brother-in-law Steve spent a large portion of o My brother-in-law Steve spent a large portion of our Christmas dinner sharpening my knives. I was so grateful, but also hesitant that I would cut myself.⁠
⁠
When I started cooking with my newly-sharpened knives, I was in awe.⁠
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Sharp knives make all the difference when it comes to enjoying cooking. It's also safer if you can believe it.⁠
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With a sharp knife, you're less likely to push down harder on the knife trying to get it through an onion, for example.⁠
⁠
It just slices through with little pressure. ⁠
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Dull knives leave room for error and slicing fingers (listen, I've cut a few fingers over the years...).⁠
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If you're having trouble enjoying cooking at home, I encourage you to either get a new knife (it doesn't have to be expensive), or get someone to sharpen your knives for you (call a Steve in your area!).⁠
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Take care of them with a little holder and treat them kindly. Having a sharp knife will bring you one step closer to love cooking at home.⁠
⁠
xo⁠
Steph⁠
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#kitchenskills #cookingtips #easycooking #enjoycooking #inthekitchen
Keep Meals Simple Friends! I’ve said this befor Keep Meals Simple Friends!

I’ve said this before: keep your meals simple. 

Pick meals that take fewer than 20 minutes or less to cook so you’re not scrambling during the week to make dinner and keep the elaborate meals for the weekend.

Another idea is to choose a couple of veggies to roast on Sunday that you can use for various meals during the week. 

Roasted sweet potatoes are great with chicken thighs, but also taste fantastic in a frittata or taco. 

Cook once, eat twice (or three times).

Meal planning doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep it simple and nourishing and it get easier over time.

I’m accepting new clients at @onehealthservices! DM me if you’re looking for meal planning and prep help. 

#mealprephelp #mealplanhelp #springrefresh #
Mondays are our busy nights. I have tennis (so fun Mondays are our busy nights. I have tennis (so fun!) and my son has soccer. ⁠
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That's why I make sure to make Mondays an easier night for dinner. ⁠
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Enter salads and bowls!⁠
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Last Monday, I made a salad bowl with arugula, leftover rice, olives, tomatoes, chicken, and feta, and wowee it was yummers!⁠
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By prepping ingredients, the kids can take what they want and leave what they don't want (eh-hem, tomatoes) and we have a meal full of elements that will keep us satisfied and nourished.⁠
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Need meal prep and meal plan help?⁠
⁠
I'm currently accepting new clients @onehealthservices! DM me or visit the link in my profile here @lealoucooks to chat about custom meal plans.⁠
⁠
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#mealprep #mealplanning #health #naturopath #virtualappointments #realfood #wholefood #foodmatters #holistichealth #culinarynutrition

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About Stephanie

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Hey! I'm Stephanie. I'm a Writer, Culinary Nutrition Expert and Cooking Instructor helping families cook nourishing meals. Read more about me {here}.

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