Cooking is an extremely useful skill to have. It can help you keep healthy, encourage you to try new things and it can also be a lot of fun. Whether you’re a whack-it-in-the-pan-and-see-what-happens kind of cook or the one who’ll happily spend hours in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon, being able to create delicious dishes is bound to bring you joy.
If your new year’s resolution is to work on your cooking, there are plenty of things you can do to achieve your goal. From experimenting with new recipes to giving veganism a try, we’ve rounded up some of the best resolutions to help you with your cooking in 2022.
Cooking more from home
It’s common knowledge that homecooked food is much better for you than ready meals and takeaways. Pre-packaged meals and fast food typically contain excessive amounts of fat, salt and sugar, which can cause a number of serious health issues when consumed frequently. Cooking from scratch allows you to have more control over what ingredients are used and makes you more aware of what you’re eating.
Experimenting with vegan food
Whether you’ve committed to Veganuary or you just fancy trying something a bit different, you’re sure to reap thebenefits of eating a more plant based diet. Choosing to cookvegan meals could go a long way to improve your health andwill make it easy to incorporate more nutritious foods such as wholegrains, fresh fruit and vegetables into your diet.
Upgrading your cooking equipment
If you’re cooking regularly at home, you’ll want to ensure you have the best equipment to hand. Using old, worn out or damaged cookware can prevent you from achieving optimal results, which can be both disappointing and demotivating. Invest in a good quality pan set that will last more than a year and check your oven and hob are in good working order too.
Trying new recipes
If you’ve been cooking at home for a while, you may have fallen into a rut of making the same things over and over. It’s natural to stick to what you know, but not getting out of your comfort zone can prevent you from improving and learning new skills, so consider making a change. Try to experiment with a new recipe every week to prevent boredom and help you become an even better cook.
Cooking healthier meals
While cooking from home does make it easier to avoid excessive amounts of unhealthy ingredients, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re eating healthy by default. Set yourself the goal of learning to cook several healthy meals. Aim to choose meals which have a good quantity of vegetables, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates. For example, Spaghetti Bolognese with reduced-fat beef mince or turkey mince.
