The Secret To Creating A Love For Cooking

From a stay at home mom who HATED being in the kitchen!

So, you are a stay at home mom or maybe a mom who works, but takes on the majority of the cooking role in your family… Do you hate it?? Because let me tell you, I sure did! I hated the grocery shopping, meal planning, doing the dishes afterwards, and the actual cooking part? Loathed it! BUT, I have gained a new love for cooking and all things meal related! So, I would love to share with you how my perspective shifted and my secret to creating a love for cooking!

A Little Backstory

I grew up with wonderful parents, both of which took turns in the kitchen or at the grill making meals for our family. They were great meals that nourished us well and tasted yummy! However, I grew up hearing women talk about cooking in a negative way.

My mom didn’t love cooking, but she did it to feed us and did a great job at it! My dad didn’t mind cooking, but since he worked long hours, the “chef” role fell on my mom more often than not. So, I grew up thinking that cooking was a chore and was never really taught how to cook. I knew how to do plenty of things to get by, but anything beyond throwing it in the oven or dumping it in the crock pot was beyond my scope.

Now, I want to be clear that loving cooking is NOT a requirement. You are NOT a bad mom if you don’t like to cook. You are also NOT a bad mom if all you use is the crock pot and microwave. You are a wonderful mom who is feeding her kids well and putting her energy into other things that bring you greater joy! And that is absolutely amazing!

I am writing this more for the mom who wishes she loved to cook, but just doesn’t. Or for the mom that wants to know how to cook from scratch, but has never been taught. If that describes you, then keep reading!!

Changing Your Perspective

I think the first step on your journey to loving being in the kitchen is changing your perspective. Cooking does not have to be a chore. I will say it again, cooking. Does. Not. Have. To. Be. A. Chore. Yes, it’s true! Cooking can be something that fills you with joy!

It all starts with how you look at it. When I started to reorient my thinking about cooking, I began to realize that actually it is a time of day that I look forward to! I began to realize that even cooking a meal for my family can be a form of worship.

In cooking, I am serving my family, and therefore serving my Heavenly Father. By taking on this task with joy instead of frustration or annoyance, the Lord began to change my heart and mind. Through asking Him to help me serve my family well, He has redeemed this dislike for the kitchen in my heart to a new found love! Praise the Lord!

Where To Start

Once you have a shift in perspective, you can begin to make changes in the way you cook. This could be different for everyone! Maybe you want to be better at meal planning and grocery shopping, so work on that! Maybe you want to have a better understanding of seasonings and how the science behind cooking actually works, so focus on that!

For me, I started with bread. I decided that I wanted to learn how to bake fresh bread from scratch. So I did! I found easy recipes on Tik Tok of all places, bought the ingredients, and went for it! You can find the first bread recipe I ever tried here!

Do you know what I realized? It’s not that hard. My whole life I heard people talk about others who could make things from scratch and I thought man, they must have been cooking all day long- I could NEVER.

But, actually, I CAN!

Baby steps

Once you have decided what you want to try, do it several times and get good at it! Build up confidence, add a new flavor or get good at finding coupons, or whatever! Just practice! And keep in mind all the while that it is okay to fail. It’s ok if it doesn’t turn out right the first few times. It’s ok if you still have to make extra trips to the grocery store because you forgot something the first time. It’s. o.k.

Once you have found a new skill that you have practiced and feel confident in, try something else! Add a new spin on it or try something else in the same family. I different kind of bread, a new couponing app, a new variation of seasonings, just switch it up a little!

I think you will again find that it’s actually not that hard!

My secret

So what’s the secret to creating a love for cooking? Well, I have already told you! It’s the change from the inside out that only the Lord can provide. Then working at it in baby steps to foster that love in your heart!

BUUUUT, my other secret is to “set the mood.” For me, this sounds like “Alexa, play Spotify!” I created a playlist on Spotify that is filled with praise music that relaxes me. I instruct my kids that it is time for me to cook. I set them up with an activity or allow them to play whatever they want, and I get my praise on!

Lastly, giving yourself grace is huge!! Every meal is not going to be perfect. You will have “throw it in the crock pot” days, or even McDonald’s days! The picture below is a homemade pizza. I made the crust and tomato sauce from scratch and used vegetables from our garden to top it! I paired the pizza with homemade bread sticks and it was all very delicious. BUT for lunch that day my kids shared a chicken nugget happy meal. It’s all about balance and allowing yourself the grace to mix it up!

The Lord has so graciously turned my most hated part of the day into a time that I look forward to most!

And friend, if you ask Him, I bet He will do the same for you!!

Here are some of my favorite recipes! Check back often, I have so many that I am looking forward to adding soon!!