It’s lunch time and you are hungry but short on time. What do you cook? You’ve had a long day and need some food. What do you prepare? The key to cooking almost every day is to have go-to recipes. These are recipes which are easy for you. Follow three guidelines to create your personal list you can go to every day.
1. Learn a recipe
When you try new dishes and you find one that you like, take the time to learn it. I don’t mean memorize the ingredients list. In fact, I would strongly suggest that you don’t do that. See the next point for why.
What I mean is cook the recipe a few times within a short period of time. Three times in one week, for example. Everything we repeat, especially if we repeat it within 72 hours, is learned faster. Our brains and bodies automatically get better at.
Follow this rule and you will remember the ingredients for your new recipe easily the next time you go shopping. Your brain optimizes the workflow and finds the fastest way for you to cook the dish. So when you have found a recipe you like, deliberately decide to learn it.
2. Choose wisely
Only pick dishes you really like to eat. Learn at least three dishes. Pick recipes that are easy to vary. My go-to lunch is an omelette, for example. There are so many possible variations.
Other recipes, like Noodles with Mushroom Sauce, change depending on the veggies and cheeses you use. For example, on days you have more time you can use more vegetables. If you are in a hurry, use garlic and onion powder instead of the fresh versions and so on.
Add at least one go-to baked good to your repertoire so you can have a sweet treat any time you want. The same rules apply: choose something you like, that has a variable recipe. My go-to baked goods are muffins. I can practically bake them in my sleep and the variations are endless!
Also consider having a cold dish on your list. This can be a veggie platter, or you could become really good at making wraps and sandwiches. Having a savoury baked dish on your list is another good idea. Choose something that is easy to prepare, like a Lazy Lasagne. Most of the work is done by your oven while you relax.
3. Improve
Just like it takes a bit of deliberate effort to learn a recipe, you also want to actively improve on it. By this I mean pay attention to what it tastes like, especially the first few times you cook the recipe.
For example, is it salty or spicy enough? If yes, remind yourself how much you added of what. When you take a few seconds to deliberately remind yourself of the recipe, you will prepare it faster the next time.
Improve on your go-to meals until you have found the perfect and most delicious recipe for you. Just having easy food is not enough. Delicious food is a much better motivator. When you love your food you want to cook it.
Repetition is key
The more often you prepare the same food, the faster you become at doing so. If you are in the habit of eating a sandwich every day, you’re probably really fast at makingone now. You may think it’s because of the recipe but that’s not the real reason. Everything you do repeatedly gets easier for you.
If you have ever followed a recipe that promised you fast results and it took you much longer to cook it, that’s normal. Fast recipes only become so after you practised them, no matter what the recipe is. By now, I can cook the Noodles with Mushroom Sauce in half an hour or even less if I’m really in a hurry. Even the version with lots of vegetables.
That’s why I do not offer you “fast” recipes. There is no such thing. Speed comes with practice and any recipe can be prepared fast once you have taken the time to learn it. So have fun creating your own go-to-recipes list!
The Dodo Munches cannot and does not contain medical/health advice. The information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please read the full disclaimer here.