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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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Follow me on Instagram • @lealoulemonade

Don't forget to pick up my new Salads + Bowls reci Don't forget to pick up my new Salads + Bowls recipe book!⁠
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It has 10 super yummy and simple recipes to get you through the summer when you just don't feel like cooking.⁠
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Recipes include:⁠
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💛Balsamic Lentil Salad⁠
💛Three Bean Salad⁠
💛Tropical Chicken Salad⁠
💛Chicken & Apricot Salad⁠
💛Deconstructed Falafel⁠
💛Fennel & Arugula Salad with Chicken⁠
💛BLT Salad Bowls⁠
💛Soba Noodle Bowl⁠
💛Tempeh Taco Bowl⁠
💛Salmon & Rice Bowl⁠
💛Quinoa Radish Bowl⁠
💛Cucumber & Tomato Quinoa Bowl⁠
💛Warm Lentil & Sweet Potato Salad⁠
💛Summer Buddha Bowl⁠
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Pick it up here: https://bit.ly/saladsbowls⁠
or in my profile link here: @lealoucooks⁠
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My neighbour went on a road trip and before she le My neighbour went on a road trip and before she left she gave me some veggies she had in her fridge. ⁠
⁠
I decided to make a simple soup with them along with a few other bits of food I had in the fridge. ⁠
⁠
Here's what I made:⁠
⁠
⭐Nice Neighbour Fridge Soup⭐⁠
⁠
💚3 small ribs of celery⁠
💚1 cup of cabbage, chopped⁠
💚1 cup of kale, chopped⁠
💚1 can of chickpeas⁠
💚1-2 'cakes' of ramen noodles⁠
💚6 cups of water or broth⁠
💚2-3 tbsp tamari⁠
💚3 cloves of garlic⁠
💚1/4 cup cilantro⁠
💚1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil⁠
💚1 tbsp chicken bone broth powder from Organika (optional)⁠
⁠
👉🏻In a heated pan, add the olive oil⁠
👉🏻Saute the celery and cabbage until translucent⁠
👉🏻Add the chickpeas and garlic and cook for 3 minutes being mindful not to burn the garlic.⁠
👉🏻Add the water/broth, tamari and bone broth; cook for 5 more minutes⁠
👉🏻Add the kale and cook until slightly wilted⁠
⁠
While that simmers on low...⁠
👉🏻Boil a pot of water for the ramen noodles and cook according to the package instructions.⁠
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👉🏻Once the noodles are done, add some to a soup bowl and top with soup, add cilantro & eat!⁠
⁠
P.S. This would be SO good with leftover shredded chicken!⁠
⁠
Get more recipes like this one at lealoucooks.com under the recipe tab.
One of the best ways to save time is prepping your One of the best ways to save time is prepping your meal ingredients in advance.⁠
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When the weather gets nicer, I personally want to spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the sun. ⁠
⁠
Does that sound like you too?⁠
⁠
When you're planning your meals, choosing salad and bowl recipes lets you prep a bunch of ingredients in advance and quickly put them together when it's time to eat.⁠
⁠
Grab your bowl and head outside for dinner!⁠
⁠
Sounds good to me.⁠
⁠
This month, I have a new recipe book called Salad + Bowls. It includes 10 fresh and simple recipes to ease into summer.⁠
⁠
Get it here: @lealoucooks or directly here>> https://bit.ly/saladsbowls⁠
⁠
#easyrecipesathome #cookingathome #quickmeals #quickdinners #summermeals #summersuppers #eatrealfood #foodheals #foodie #torontofoodie #mealplanner #healthyrecipebook #recipebook #instafood #saladsandbowls
New in the shop!⁠
⁠
🌟 Salads + Bowls 🌟⁠
⁠
I love making salads and bowls for meals because most of the ingredients can be prepped in advance and thrown together for quick meals.⁠
⁠
That means you can spend more time outside enjoying the sun and less time inside planning your meals.⁠
⁠
These meals are quick, full of flavour, and as fresh as they can get. They’re also made with nutrient-dense ingredients that will keep you full longer.⁠
⁠
Salads + Bowls Recipe Book comes with 10 delightful recipes to enjoy all summer long.⁠
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Link in profile @lealoucooks or get it directly here>> https://bit.ly/saladsbowls⁠
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--⁠
#easymeals #summermeals #salads #bowls #summersalads #easydinners #eatrealfood #nourishingfood #nutrientdense #familymeals #glutenfree #glutenfreemeals #GTAmealplanner #GTA #mimico #etobicoke #ancaster #hamilton #oakville #Burlington

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About Stephanie

Photo of a white woman with brown hair

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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