To ask for tips from people who enjoy cooking!

[Greenville]

I absolutely hate cooking. I avoid it alot and unfortunately because of this we end up eating lots of crap takeaways and ready meals.

I've tried getting into it but can't. I have bought cookery books but try one recipe and then its left collecting dust. I've tried doing a meal plan but only realise I only know how to cook around 10 meals, half of which are just meh and I don't enjoy.

I want to stop wasting money on takeaways and eating crap and to cook everyday.

When I wake up and think about cooking the first thing I struggle is what to cook. I don't know what to cook! Then it's I don't have the ingredients in the house and it's too much hassle/ no time to go shopping so then it's just easy to get a takeaway!

Help me break this cycle please!

How do you enjoy cooking? Why? How do you think about cooking? To me it's a chore.
Where am I going wrong with food planning?
I want to fall in love with food and cooking!

Meal plan then you will have everything you need in.

Start simple so for me a super quick and easy meal is chicken korma the lazy way! I Chuck diced chicken and a jar korma sauce in the slow cooker for 6 hours then boil some rice when we're ready to eat it.

If you like jacket potatoes they can be done in the slow cooker too so no slaving around in the kitchen.

Definitely recommend the pinch of nom books too, straight forward recipes that are easy to follow. You'll find you will need to buy some spices but you'll end up using them regular

I haven't read the full thread (it was making me hungry) but as someone who loves food but is meh about cooking...

1. Master the stir fry: get a decent wok and you can throw in a packet of pre chopped meat, a stir fry pack of veg (all the supermarkets have them) and some noodles and you're done.

1. We also eat salad a LOT in summer. Pack the fridge with pots of things you like from the deli counter and a large bag of pre washed salad, throw it all on the table.

1. Itsu frozen gyoza. They are mega yummy, fairly healthy and cook in 4 minutes. Serve with a vegetable you like (broccoli, soy, spinach).

1. Fajitas. Get an Old El Paso pack or similar, stir fry some chicken and pepper, people fill their own tortillas with grated cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc (you could definitely do an Indian version of this).

1. Eggs are good: omelette (add chopped ham/veg/cheese) or scramble them with smoked salmon trimmings. We often have "breakfast for tea".

We didn't get on with Hello Fresh. Far too many ingredients, far too faffy, loads of unrecyclable packaging. Nice food but it was going to end in divorce.

I don't hate it but I am lukewarm at best. I find it tiresome since I had kids.
I've made it my business to only do meals that take 30 mins max during the week with a smallish list of ingredients. Many of these are off BBC good food. Ones that are quick and go down well:
Mini toad in the hole
Paneer and spinach korma
A couple of different risottos that bake in the oven rather than you sitting around stirring
A couple of vegetarian gnocchi dishes
Spag Bol
Salmon baked with pesto alongside a jacket potato and some veg
Salmon & pesto pasta

My life is infinitely easier since I discovered frozen chopped onion too - recommended.

www.recipetineats.com/
This is a fantastic site for simple, quick Asian meals. (Lots of other cultures/nationalities too.) I am Australian and the ingredients are super easy to get in the supermarket here, which takes a lot of the stress out of cooking.
I used to hate cooking, too. I’ve built up a repertoire of dishes that are easy (bung in oven/ or cook in 20 mins in pan) and keep herbs and sauces in the cupboard. Once you start making food you enjoy that wasn’t difficult or stressful, you start to like cooking.

The true game changer for me was realising that chopping a shallot (the long kind) is much easier than chopping an onion It took a lot of the frustration and boredom out of cooking.. I’d say, experiment a bit with different dishes and make a collection of ones you like and find easy to cook. Curries, pasta sauces and risottos are very easy and once you learn the technique, you have endless options of flavours and ingredients. Pesto pasta is a perfectly acceptable dinner dish But for something more imaginative, Waitrose magazine is great and Guardian’s ‘How to cook the perfect..’ column is easy to follow and explains cooking techniques really well. Also I find that if I start by pouring myself a glass of wine, cooking is not a chore but well-deserved me-time Two years ago I wouldn’t have cooked an egg so cooking (and the enjoyment of cooking) can definitely be learned!

Guardian’s ‘How to cook the perfect..’ column is easy to follow and explains cooking techniques really well.

I really like that column too. It helped me to realise that there’s not just one right way to cook things. It’s more about what you like and what works with what you’ve got in the cupboards.

Thanks everyone! This thread has given me the inspiration and motivation to start making a change. I got a few things done yesterday.

• signed up for a gousto box - ridiculously excited about this!
• I've made a list of lots of things I like to eat and will use this as a starting point for my own recipe Bible.
• planned an evening with my mother for her to share some recipes from my childhood which I loved. She hates explaining recipes, no idea why! So I've booked her in with her hairdresser for a colour and cut as a thank you and because she's had a rough 8 months or so and deserves something nice.
• I'm a bit of a stationery geek and have ordered a recipe folder. Ridiculously excited about this too!

I'm going to take things slowly and try new recipes a couple of times a week. I would actually love to start using my instant pot but think will leave that for later.

A PP mentioned not to cook later in the day / when you're hungry and that is so spot on. I always always leave it till later and when I'm tired and hungry and it's so much more easier to order a takeaway. Will definitely be more mindful of this.

I'm actually feeling excited and can't wait to start. I'd love to come back in a year and tell you all I'm now a ninja in the kitchen whizzing up scrumptious meals in no time!

Another vote for the roasting tin series of books - you just shove everything in the oven and 9 times out of 10, the result is better than a sum of its parts 👏

God I could really do with inspiration too. I’m so bored of cooking

Your plan sounds great.

Small silly things can help -
I have a comfy rug so my feet are warm.
My kitchen lighting is good.
I listen to music or audiobooks when cooking often.
I absolutely know that any time estimate in a recipe will be for those who cook more than I do and have all of the right tools etc. I allow time.
I never cook something new or challenging when if it were to go wrong it will matter.
I try to note changes I make to recipes - also changes to oven temps etc. So next time it works more to my liking.
Start simple - I’ve enjoyed tweaking favourite/regular dishes so I’m really confident I’ll enjoy.
Clear as you go. I cook with a small rubbish bowl by me so I’m not constantly traipsing to the bin or spilling stuff on the way to it or working in mess.
I do a mis en place when it’s sensible. Weigh/prep everything and in small bowls and surface cleaned before starting. Etc

I love cooking I’m also a feeder, I’m Pakistani, so different cuisine to you but similar concepts.

Lots of Asian food can be made quickly without loads of ingredients, if you think about it the majority of Asian food originated as street food or poor food, it had to be both fairly quick and cheap.

Remember its okay to be lazy, we’ve been a our little holiday home a lot recently, its being done up so I’m cooking in our camper, so I’ve been cheating and using shemins pastes, they’re actually really good.

Or make a big base that can be made into different things, if I want a sauce base rather than making a whole paste each time I use this. When done I freeze it in ikea freezer bags.

8 big onions peeled and roughly choped
8-10 garlic cloves peeled
1tbsp ginger (can always use frozen or lazy ginger)
1 large carrot chopped
1.5 tbsp cumin
1.5 tbsp corriander
1.5 tbsp tumeric
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp salt
1.5 tap pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp fat (I use vegetable oil)
1 tin toms

Cook your spices then add everything else, cover with enough water to just cover everything and simmer for about an hour/until everything is soft enough to be liquidised. If you want you can add a bit of sugar. What is nice is roasted the onions in the oven and then adding them, it gives a bit of extra flavour, but does take longer.

The above makes a great gravy base, you can either jazz it up by adding it to a bought paste or your own, or just have it as it is.

If I’m feeling lazy I go for bhindi and cauliflower, defrost a bit of gravy, fry some onions, add to the gravy then add in frozen bhindi and cauliflower and cook for about ten minutes. We have it with home made roti, self raising flour, salt, water, knead into a dough, roll out and pop on a hot pan for 2 minutes each side, I don’t bother leaving the dough to rise. You can make them and freeze them, just wrap them in foil to reheat in the oven.

The Guardian How To Cook The Perfect has been released as a book now, if it helps anyone?

I love cooking but had to reconcile that with "decently feeding" myself through the week, which took more practice to get right.

The first thing to do always is start your washing up bowl. Makes a huge difference! Also once you've cooked something a few times, you'll get your rhythm and timing so you'll get time back.

It did help to meal plan and cook stuff that feeds a bigger amount of people. We're a 2 person household. We can freeze stuff or have lunch on leftovers and if you know you'll half used amounts of something, you can plan another meal that uses it up. Works for spices etc, too if you like flavours/ingredients you'll pick recipes that use them again.

I revisit cookbooks because my tastes and confidence levels change. The more you cook the better you'll get, even if you never love it. I hate driving but forcing myself to do it more has helped me improve. Try a book aimed at beginners- I started with 1001 beginners recipes. Mary Berry's cookery course is great too, lots of step by step explanations.

Pre chopped veg etc that will freeze. Saves time if you're not up for the prep. I'm also a fan of the prep, pop in a roasting tin & let the oven work magic technique.

Another vote for the "how to cook the perfect..." column.

Cuts through SO much confusion when two recipes for the same thing are annoyingly different. Tells you why she makes the choices she does so you can diverge if you want - but her choices are usually failsafe.

Like your plan too OP.
I am not a good cook and find it stressful. What helps me is planning. Knowing what I’ve got in the house and what I’m going to do and in what order.

Also meal planning.
I try this but my DH doesn’t like planning ahead as he likes to cook what he feels like on the day. I should say he is an excellent cook and cooks far more than I do, but it makes me feel a bit useless.

I also have 5-6 recipes I have mastered and can knock up without thinking too much. Since having DC really.

I really recommend the Waitrose recipe cards, they are excellent and some of them have ended up being my go to meals.

I think Gousto / hello fresh would suit you, I have tried this but found it too much faff and as others have said far too much daft packaging. It did teach me a bit though for example quantities of veg and spice which I really struggle with.

I really like Indian food, I found Nisha Katona's recipes really tasty and easy to follow. She is often on this morning sharing them.

I do enjoying cooking and love trying new recipes but find it difficult with a 1 year old so I either make extra portions and freeze for another time or cook 3 meals just so I can re heat over the next few days