New to being a cooking adult

RealWorldStrengthLLC
RealWorldStrengthLLC Posts: 552 Member
edited 5:29PM in Food and Nutrition
When I made the decision to cut weight, I knew what to do, how to eat a deficit, what quality food was, etc. That was easy, I was pretty fit up until a couple years ago. The problem is - the whole time I was fit I was in the military and ate in the chow hall most of the time other than my post workout steak and eggs. In my 7 years served, I barely even had a stovetop for maybe 3 total (a lot of barracks are sub par but that's a different topic). Before I joined, I lived with family and mostly ate what they ate. After I got out I became a fat POS and ate more fast food in a year than most should eat in their lives. I've been eating right and mostly at home now, but there is one problem:

I can barely cook anything. I'm pretty good at hitting my macro goals (I get within the single digits daily)...but a lot of what I eat is still pre-packaged and ready to go - jerky, a lot of protien shakes, almonds, peanut butter, microwaveable rice, fruit, yogurts, bagged salad, carrots, other veggies, sweet potato fries (the kind you just bake)...I even buy ready to eat pre-smoked salmon because I can't cook for *kitten*. About the only things I can cook are grilled chicken, steak in any form, eggs and other breakfast foods, and ground beef.

I'd like to change this and keep telling myself I will, I just have no idea where to start. Was anyone else like this at some point? I find it pretty sad that I'm a 29 year old man who can cook like 5 dishes tops.

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    I'd say to pick a couple meals you really love and look up the way to prepare them or ask someone to help you the first time.

    It doesn't have to be complicated nor time consuming every time. There are a ton of recipes, try allrecipes.com, you can input foods and it will spit out recipes. Like, "I have a squash and an egg and some butter and an onion. What can I make?" Or you can look up specific things like meatloaf.

    It's not hard.

    And yeah, we all started where you are. You'll love it, you can make things to taste exactly the way YOU like it. It's a beautiful thing. :)
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    Adult schools have some great cooking classes. It is so fun and you meet some really fun people.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    What would you like to learn to cook? What are your obstacles?
    You know how to cook some things. You can build off of what you know.
    You don't have to re-invent the wheel. Go get a cookbook and learn to follow a recipe. Read through the recipe before you start to make sure you understand. When I was a student in high school home ec classes we had to copy our recipe by hand to make sure we knew it before starting cooking.
    Better Homes and Gardens is a good basic cookbook. I have had an older edition for years and still use it.
    How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
    Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer

    There are cooking videos on you tube. Lots of cooking blogs and recipe sites. You could take a cooking class. Cook with a friend or family member who can show you how to make things. Sign up for a meal service like Blue Apron or Hello Fresh and try some new things.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I have a son that after moving out on his own wanted the good food in restaurants but couldn't afford the tab. My wife is also a great cook and he missed that too. He started watching the food channel and gradually started cooking more elaborate meals. He is now an incredible cook and can put together very complicated meals with ease.
  • 23rochelle23
    23rochelle23 Posts: 269 Member
    Why don’t you choose one new meal each week to make - buy the ingredients and give it a go - no need to buy a cookbook as there are millions of recipes online.

    You can also start easy (for instance making curry with pre bought curry paste) and then the more you enjoy cooking you might want to start making your own pastes/spice blends etc

    Things I enjoy making that aren’t too arduous
    - stir fry (pad Thai, chicken and cashews, pork and ginger, satay beef - sooooo many options and all using the same basic methods)
    - pasta: Spaghetti bollognaise, carbonara, pasta bake,
    - Curries (Thai, Indian, Japanese, Malaysian
    - Mexican - nachoes, tacos, enchiladas
    - Home made pizza
    - Stuffed chicken breast (cream cheese and broccoli, mushrooms, wrapped in bacon)

  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    YouTube! Tons of cooking tutorials for all levels. I can waste an entire afternoon surfing videos there.
  • foeverblue
    foeverblue Posts: 3 Member
    YouTube+1 and salt fat acid heat.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    When you go to a restaurant and order something you like take a good look at it and what you think is in it. When you get home google it and then buy the ingredients and try to make it. That's what I do and I've been cooking for years. Once you get started you won't stop.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,323 Member
    Some of my friends have learned to cook new things by subscribing to a meal service for a while, using it once a week or so. There are a huge variety available, including healthy options, and you usually can choose among various meals.

    They're more expensive than regular home cooking, but comparable to a restaurant, and you don't need to do a lot of research or buy large amounts of one-use ingredients. You get the ingredients you need, often with some prep done, and detailed instructions.

    After you've tried something, you know how to do a (possibly simpler) version from scratch.

    Even my Kroger store has a refrigerator case of meal kits these days.

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