As a busy woman, finding the time let alone the motivation to cook healthy meals for the week, can seem almost impossible. Even those of us who are passionate foodies often burst through the door after a long day feeling completely drained. Committing to an elaborate food preparation task is the last thing on our minds.
Making something that’s equally delicious and nutritious, like this honey mustard chicken recipe, might not take a lot of time if you prepare properly – but getting that first burst of motivation to begin can be tough. There are lots of ways you make cooking at home more convenient for you, but if you lack the willpower to begin cooking at all, then you need to fix your motivation issue first.
If you suffer from a lack of motivation to cook nutritious home dinners and rely more and more on convenient takeaway or delivery options – you’re not alone. When getting a hot dinner in front of you is as easy as opening up an app on your phone, it’s understandable that we choose this over preparing our own meals from scratch.
While takeaway, courier-delivered and even microwaveable meals are convenient, they lack when it comes to nutrition and value for money. It’s no secret that cooking fresh meals at home is far more superior when it comes to maintaining a balanced diet, reducing your food expenditure and minimising waste.
With all that said, let’s take a look at three ways you can keep yourself motivated in the kitchen.
3 Ways to motivate yourself to cook healthy meals for the week
Think about the money
There are few things as good a motivator as money. When you put your eating habits into perspective, you might be surprised by how much cooking at home can save you. Prepare a weekly budget and list all the takeaway you buy (including work lunches). By doing this, you’ll discover areas you can save just by substituting some of these meals for home-cooked ones.
While a grocery shopping list can also be expensive, there are lots of clever ways to minimise your supermarket costs. Look for specials, buy in bulk and cook large meals for leftovers are excellent ways to shave off some of your weekly grocery expenditure.
Explore new recipes
Sometimes finding the motivation to cook is all about having a new experience to look forward to. Luckily, cooking is all about exploring new culinary experiences and experimenting with your flavour palate.
Instead of relying on the same old pasta dishes that you’ve perfected through repetition, plan to try something new at the end of the week. Don’t just choose something that sounds interesting or complicated to cook – choose something you’ll look forward to eating.
Smelling the aroma of a delicious new meal as you cook is a great motivator to keep going and plate up your food. There’s no shortage of new meals you can find online; we’ve got plenty on our website’s recipe section for you to check-out!
Don’t go it alone
Having a helping hand in the kitchen can be a significant factor in keeping you motivated to cook. Knowing that you have someone else to help with prep work and supervising the cooking process, makes it a lot easier to commit to cooking after a long day of work.
Whether it’s your partner, relative, a friend or even your kids – there’s room for anyone to help you and speed up the process of cooking healthy meals for the week. Also, cooking together is a fun bonding experience that can bring you closer together.
Use the tips above to keep yourself motivated in the kitchen so you can enjoy all the benefits of healthy home-cooking.
Pin for later
