Dear G,

I hope you don’t find my question too trivial. I recently started living on my own and I am tired of thinking about what to cook. I don’t know how my mom did it and all she tells me is it just came with practice. Any practical advice?

Sick of Thinking What to Cook

Dear Sick of Thinking What to Cook,

No question is too trivial. I know how you feel. I went through that stage, too. When my kids went off to school, I felt like I was thinking about what to cook all day. Your mom is right. After you’ve been cooking for some time, you have recipes in your head that you can recall easily.

What worked for me was to have a rotating weekly meal plan. I chose to cook pork, chicken, beef, and seafood (in that order). I did my research online using my favorite websites (AllRecipes, Just One Cookbook, and Yummy). It helped me with budgeting, too. I portioned what I cooked and froze the rest in my trusty Tupperware containers, ready to heat when needed. This made life a lot easier.

Here’s a modern solution: ask SIRI or Alexa to recommend a recipe. AI technology can be really useful. Make it work for you.

Check out the recipes of Hearth and Home Buddy, Chef K, for more inspiration.

Happy cooking!

G

Dear Sick of Thinking What to Cook,

This is a wonderful opportunity to prepare the dishes you have always wanted to eat! List them down in order of preference.

If you happen to love fish, make two fish dishes that you can feast on from Sunday to Saturday. Why Sunday? It’s cooking and prep day on Sundays after a trip to the grocery or market. What is next on your list then? Pork? Prepare two dishes then the next Sunday. Beef after Pork? Then vegetables? Then chicken? You are the ruler of your kitchen. Rule with gusto!

Remember to munch on vegetables every meal time though.

I assume that you would be out on a Saturday night so that is a good time to ignore what you cooked the whole week.

Nomnomnom!

Hungy G