I hate cooking - what now?
I’ve worked with a lot of clients who really don’t enjoy cooking, or simply don’t know how to cook. They often feel like this is a massive roadblock that’s holding them back from really diving into their fitness and nutrition goals.
Cooking, even the smallest amount, can offer you a greater sense of control and management when navigating calories, and you don’t need to be a Michelin star chef. Let’s come up with ways to tolerate the kitchen, create some simple meals to help you get started, and brainstorm strategies that don’t require any cooking at all.
If you hate cooking, you likely view it as a chore. This week, I challenge you to see it as an activity instead. Here are a couple ways to do that:
Turn on your favorite playlist or podcast. This is a technique called temptation bundling where you pair something you have to do (even if you don’t want to) with something you enjoy. It helps make the less exciting task more tolerable. You could also turn on a movie, television show, audiobook - any form of entertainment.
Get your family involved. Using cooking as a bonding experience can turn it into a social space. It’s also beneficial for kids to be involved in the kitchen, especially as a way to increase vegetable intake (PMID: 24709485).
Start documenting your cooking journey. That might look like starting a written recipe book and filling it with not only the meals you make but the experience or recording your own at home cooking show to share with social media.
If it’s not so much a chore, just something you don’t enjoy, we can strategize for that too. The beauty of cooking is that it doesn’t need to be intense to still be delicious. We can make very simple recipes and still have a nutrient-dense and tasty meal, here’s how:
Create a low-cook menu. Turkey sandwiches, chicken wraps, taco bowls can be simple meals to put together without a sink full of dishes.
Lean into convenience products where possible. Things like steamer bag veggies, store-bought rotisserie chicken, and salad kits can alleviate some of the cooking workload.
Invest in appliances that do a lot of the work for you - a rice cooker, Instant pot, and air fryer are great options.
Create a meal equation that works well for you. Something like 1 cup of veggies, 1 serving of grains, and a protein source. An equation my family does often is 1 serving rice, 4-6 oz of salmon or steak, a hefty amount of veggies, and a dash of a soy-sauce based condiment. This style of meal planning can really simplify things and offer variety without needing to reinvent the wheel.
Meal plan and prep for the week to minimize how much cooking you need to do. If you can manage making “bulk” meals that can carry over for multiple meals, you’ll have less cooking to do each week.
If you flat out don’t plan on cooking, or if you know the majority of your meals won’t be made at home, let’s come up with some ways to still feel in control of our nutrition while at restaurants.
When out to eat, prioritize protein and fiber portions.
Lean meats will get you the most “bang for your buck” in terms of both protein and satiety for the calories - think fish, chicken, turkey, or tofu.
Skip liquid calories like non-diet soda, alcohol, and juices.
Don’t feel the need to “clean your plate”, even if you feel like you need to get your money’s worth - this is called the sunk cost fallacy. You can still follow your hunger and satiety cues when eating out, plus leftovers can help avoid cooking the next day.
There’s a lot of pressure to cook every meal at home in order to achieve a fitness goal, but that’s a reductive perspective. You can be in a calorie deficit while relying on a mix of low-cook meals and eating out, just like you can be in a calorie surplus while cooking everything at home. Dietary patterns are more complex than the place a meal was cooked - have you seen people who follow the carnivore diet and eat entire sticks of butter? Home-cooked doesn’t inherently mean healthy and eating-out doesn’t inherently derail you from your goals.
Want some low-cook meal inspiration sent to your inbox? Click here to get my Quick Bites recipe pack!
