It can feel overwhelming to decide what to cook these days. That’s why I asked my friend, former food scientist and certified cooking coach, Jules Clancy to help us.
There’s so much conflicting information, especially if you spend any time on the internet.
Food myths and random advice about ingredients (like these) is confusing and dangerous:
- Industrial seed oils are damaging your health.
- Gluten is destroying your gut.
- Sugar is more addictive than cocaine.
- Meat gives you cancer.
- Lentils cause autoimmune responses.
It’s no wonder dinner time can feel so overwhelming!
The good news is, I’m not going to add more fear to the fire. Instead today let’s look at 3 ingredients that you can safely remove from your repertoire.
Please Stop Cooking with These 3 Ingredients
Of course these ingredients aren’t actual food items you buy from the grocery store. They are mindsets that have a huge impact on how we feel about cooking. Which in turn determines how often we actually cook. I believe they also impact how good the food tastes and how much it nourishes us.
Without these three ingredients your efforts in the kitchen will be so much more gentle. More simple. More tasty. And more conducive to health.
1. Stop cooking with the ‘Should’ Eats
We put so much pressure on ourselves to eat a certain way.
If you’ve been telling yourself you ‘should’ eat more vegetables. Only to buy them and have them go bad in the fridge. And then have the guilt of throwing them out. You know how demoralizing that can feel.
I have a strong belief that if I force myself to eat something because I ‘should’ that I’m not going to get the most health benefits from it. Even if it’s some ‘super food’ that has the best nutrition credentials in the world.
So instead of thinking about what I ‘should’ be eating. I make decisions from what I want to eat. From what feels good to me. From this place of self trust.
And the more I cook with the ingredients I actually want to eat. The more I enjoy the fruits of my labour. Which means I’m more likely to want to cook dinner again tomorrow night.
You have my permission to adopt this policy for yourself.
If you notice yourself thinking, “I should eat more kale,” pause and ask yourself do you actually WANT to first. If you don’t then skip the kale and choose something that does sound good to you instead.
2. Stop cooking with Resentment
Tell me I’m not the only one who has felt that seething feeling of resentment creep in when I’m pulling together dinner for the family on a Tuesday night.
Even though I love cooking and happily read cookbooks like novels, there have been times where, if I’m honest, I’m not happy about ‘having’ to cook.
Two things have helped with soothing my resentment monster.
First is asking for help. So rather than me doing all the cooking my Irishman does breakfasts for the boys and does dinner on Saturdays and Sundays. I do weekday dinners and the fun desserts.
During the week my boys (11 and 9) have one night each where we cook dinner together. They make their school lunch for the next day from the leftovers.
And we all have clearly defined responsibilities for the cleaning up part.
The second thing that soothes my resentment monster is being OK with having to ask or remind multiple times.
If something isn’t done I just gently remind them (as many times as it takes) without letting the sneaky thought ‘I shouldn’t have to ask’ run rampant in my head.
I’ve realized it’s better for me to remind them than for me to do it myself and let the resentment build up. I’ve also realized we all want the same thing. They want to contribute it’s just not as visible on their radar as mine. And that’s OK.
But what if your situation means you can’t enlist help?
To minimize resentment when you’re the only one cooking I recommend a mindset shift. So instead of thinking, “It’s not fair. I don’t want to cook.” Gently remind yourself, “I am worth it. I want to take good care of myself.”
Changing your perspective will calm the resentment.
3. Stop cooking with Perfectionism
While I love a delicious piece of food photography possibly more than the average person, I know the pressure for a meal to ‘look like the photo’ can be a huge barrier to cooking.
Your meals don’t have to be perfectly plated and Instagram-worthy to still be nourishing and tasty.
In fact I argue that some of the best things I’ve ever eaten have been the least perfect looking.
When we let go of the need for cooking to be perfect we also let go of the pressure and the fear of failure. Which means we are way more likely to find the energy to make something satisfying even when we’ve had a hard day.
So what’s the easiest way to let go of perfectionism?
Approaching cooking from a new perspective by learning to cook WITHOUT recipes (and expectations) all together.
When you become someone who can walk into the kitchen and quickly pull together something nourishing without looking at a computer or a piece of paper, everything changes.
Cooking stops being this annoying chore. It becomes an opportunity to rest and be gentle with yourself.
How do you actually cook without recipes?
It’s a skill anyone can learn. And I’d love to show you how.
Join my free workshop to discover the 3-Unexpected Secrets to Cooking without Recipes.
You’ll discover the most simple, enjoyable way to become a healthier cook.
With love,
Jules x
Jules Clancy is a former Food Scientist turned Cookbook Author and Certified Cooking Coach. She helps food lovers make healthy meals WITHOUT recipes. So you enjoy more tasty meals with less effort than it takes to pick up takeout and you feel good taking care of you.
