TIPS of THE TRADE: Overwhelmed by Cooking? S.O.S!
by Hillary Koster

Making a change in the way we eat doesn’t have to be daunting.

Just focus on making small, incremental changes every week and soon you’ll be feeling more confident and comfortable in the kitchen.

		Start off small (S.O.S!) Do you eat out several times a week? Are all your meals frozen dinners? Do you live on burritos? To make a change, start with one meal per week - perhaps a weeknight when you don’t have much to do, or a weekend day when you’re feeling relaxed and less rushed. Think about something delicious you want to make for yourself and head to the store! Before you know it, you’ll be cooking 2, 3, 4 nights a week.
		Cheat a Little Think of a typical meal as a set of three; Starch, Protein and Vegetable. Let’s say that you decide to cook chicken, while you’re buying the fresh ingredients for the chicken dish, it’s ok to cheat a little or “get help” with other parts of the meal. Go ahead and buy a pre-made salad and frozen rice dish to go with that chicken. You are more likely to feel like you’ve had a success in the kitchen if you can focus on just one dish for starters. Convenience foods may cost a little more, but they also encourage you to try new foods and “eat your veggies.”
		Keep things simple When you first start cooking, it’s tempting to want to make elaborate dishes, like the ones you may eat at restaurants – especially if you’ve invited someone over for dinner. However, to be certain of having a success, I would suggest that you choose recipes with five ingredients or less. Make sure that you’re familiar with most of the ingredients in the recipe and check on the prep time to make sure that it won’t take too long or be too complicated.
		Keep an eye on the prize Always remember why you’re trying cook. Is it to be healthier? Spend less money? Or enjoy more family time at home? Your goals will keep you focused. It’s pretty safe to say that a home cooked meal is almost always going to be cheaper and healthier for you than something that you eat out. That’s because when you’re doing the cooking, food is less expensive and you can control the amount of fat, salt and additives too. If you’re trying to watch your weight, you have a much better chance of doing so because you’ll be conscious of your ingredients and home cooked meals also save you a lot of calories if you chose your recipes with a little care.
		Be confident One last benefit of learning how to cook is that it will boost your confidence in the kitchen while you learn to cook what you like! Keep at it. Take baby steps and voila! You’ll be cooking before you know it.

Cooking can be very stressful if you don't have a foundation. Along my journey to get comfortable in the kitchen, there have been many frustrating nights of burning meals and not knowing what to cook. This month, we're getting help from Hilary Koster, a marriage and family therapist, on how to conquer your kitchen without all the stress!

Hillary Koster is a licensed therapist working in San Francisco. She has over 20 years experience in helping people make positive changes in their life to improve their physical and emotional wellbeing. She believes that healthy eating habits are one tool that can help achieve that goal.