Clueless Cook
The smell of smoke filled the kitchen. I tried to ignore it as I desperately tried to salvage what was supposed to be scrambled eggs on the searing hot pan. Turning off the stove, I looked at the smoking pan of charred eggs. My little brother turned around the corner to grab milk from the fridge. He glanced over my shoulder.
“You suck at cooking.”
My first attempt at healthy cooking went straight to the trash.
I eat out for almost every meal. Fast food restaurants like In-N-Out became my sanctuary. I can get a cheeseburger with fries and an unsweetened iced tea for only $5.65! The best part is avoiding the dreaded kitchen. When challenged to eat healthy for 72 hours I felt a sense of dread. I haven’t cooked in years unless you count instant noodles!
The next morning as I dressed I wracked my brain about this assignment. I dreaded the idea of subjecting myself to eating a bland salad instead of a delicious cheeseburger. As I buttoned my favorite jeans I felt a pop. Uh-oh.
The burger life has been good to my conscience, but not to my body. According to Deana and Mary, college students gain about three to seven pounds their first year of school. As a senior I can say I probably gained five pounds each year. Maybe home cooked meals are more essential than I thought. After all, I have to be aware of the type of ingredients go into a home cooked meal, forcing me to choose healthier options. My goal is to make nine easy to make nutritious meals without burning the house down or poisoning myself.
Changing my eating habits seemed a bit daunting. But the real challenge was cooking each of my meals for the next 72 hours. According to the Huffington Post, almost a third of Americans don’t know how to cook. Hopefully, after this assignment I can join the other 72% of Americans who can cook.
On social media I found some recipes from health gurus. With the link to the recipes in their bios I found a stir fry with brown rice dish. It seemed simple enough. But the result was a tasteless burned vegetable dish on top of crunchy undercooked brown rice. This healthy cooking thing sucks.
Gross. I could barely get halfway through my meal before I tossed that wretched stir fry brown rice away straight into the trash.
In “6 Ways To Eat Healthy If You Hate Cooking (Or Don’t Have The Time),” Carina wrote, “When we think about healthy eating, we often picture vegetable-filled salads and fancy chicken dinners. Although it’s true that cooking your own meals is the healthiest way to go, just because you hate being in the kitchen doesn’t mean you’re doomed to be unhealthy.”
This article gave me the hope I needed. It made me realize that I didn’t have to make a five star fancy meal for it to be home cooked. For a second chance I decided to take it slow and research recipes meant for beginners.
On day two I made sure not to incorporate a stove to avoid burning my food. I made a simple fruit smoothie for breakfast. Carina wrote that the human body needs about two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables a day. You could even add in nuts or seeds for added nutrients. The best part was that a smoothie takes minutes to make by just adding in some frozen berries, a splash of orange juice, a scoop of greek yogurt, and a handful of ice. Although this wasn’t a full course meal it was much better than my usual breakfast that consisted of either nothing or an unheated pop tart. And I made this myself!
The one-pan salmon meal at dinner was a game changer. It not only looked impressive, but it was super easy to make. Cooking both the salmon and the broccoli together on one pan saved me from running around worrying about whether the salmon was burning or if the water for the broccoli was ready or not. I let Maximus try it to see how far I’ve come.
“That was bomb,” he said. “Did Dad make this?”
“I made it.” I replied.
“Stop lying, you’re trash at cooking.”
It’s weird to think I had a bit of a fear of cooking even though it’s not as hard as I thought it would be. I really enjoyed it when my brother complimented the food. With a bit of time and a lot of effort I found my diet changing in such a short amount of time. Of course my cravings for fast food are still evident, but it’s a lot easier than the first day to enjoy eating healthy.
By the third day, I felt like a pro. I researched some keto diet recipes to make a food I love the most. Cheeseburger. This keto style cheeseburger doesn’t have a bun. The patty is wrapped in lettuce. As I am getting more familiar with the kitchen I know what I can and cannot do. Grilling food is not my forte. My boyfriend does while I prep the toppings. Maybe one day I shall conquer the stove, but I’d rather not risk burning and wasting food. The best part of the keto style burger was that I could add bacon to my burger!
With all those recipes online you are bound to find something agreeable. Heck, I found a healthy pancake recipe that requires only three ingredients! Although I still get cravings often, there are a lot of solutions to these cravings. Finding alternatives, like switching my hamburger buns for lettuce, lets you indulge in a healthier way.
I learned a lot about the benefits of eating healthy home cooked meals. One benefit was cooking at home instead of eating out. Another benefit is that I can actually cook without burning it to a crisp. It’s immensely satisfying to enjoy eating something that I made from scratch. I’m now encouraged to step out of my comfort zone and to try cooking more often at my own pace.
Now that the 72 hours are over I hopped in my car and went out to In-N-Out. This time I didn’t order my usual cheeseburger. I opted for the protein style lettuce wrap. But I still couldn’t resist getting the freshly made fries as a reward.
References:
Cluskey, M., Gorbe, D. (2009). College weight gain and behavior transitions: male and female differences. Scholarly Journal.
Photos:
The first photo is of the leftover brown rice
The middle photo is the one-pan salmon dinner
The last photo is the protein style burger
Photos: