You Can Create Quick and Easy Meals Without Going Beyond Your Comfort Zone
There are three reasons why people nowadays would often order food from restaurants or fast food chains rather than cooking at home.
- First, most of them don’t know how to cook.
- Second, they are simply too tired when they come back from work or school.
- Third, they find ordering more convenient and time-saving because they just have to sit down and wait until the food is served.
However, the food that you order could affect your health and that of your family, because most often, they contain a lot of trans fats, artificial flavors, and processed ingredients. And for that reason, it's best if you let go of these unhealthy foods right away and start cooking healthy.
You have to remember that cooking food doesn't have to be time-consuming or difficult to make. You just have to find the right kitchen tools and recipes that fit your time and lifestyle. But if you are still figuring out what meals you want to cook, that’s okay! Wendy Kuchnicki, an independent consultant with a company called Pampered Chef, can help you with that. She has great knowledge of nutritious meals, quick recipes, and kitchen tools that you can use without exerting too much energy and effort.
Meal-time Challenges
Meal-time preparations can be really stressful for all. You might face some challenges where there might be some days that you have no idea what to cook and some days that your child doesn't want to eat the food that you prepare for them.
In this feature, Wendy also asked some members of the Relax teams about their experiences and how difficult it was to get a meal on their table at the end of the day.
Here are some of the responses:
- Sue mentioned that she couldn’t get a meal on her table because she doesn't want to cook and nobody in her family doesn’t want to cook either. “I have no idea what to make and it's like the same things repeatedly”, she added.
- Shirley, otherwise, loves to cook. She has a personal trainer so she knows all about nutrition and the things that she should be eating. But at the end of the day, she always ends up eating chicken and salad.
- Desirae shared that sometimes she can’t cook food as there is always one missing ingredient.
- Denel said that everyone at home is a picky eater and doesn't like the same thing.
- Drew shared that he has a very tight schedule so he can’t really make food at home.
Wendy agreed to all of the reasons as they are the same challenges that she also faced before. Just like them, she was also busy and she didn’t know what meal to make. However, that didn’t stop her because she had three active sons to feed. After quite some time, she finally was able to find ways how she could do it without all the stress and headache.
Here are five meal-time tips that you can do to make cooking enjoyable and fun!
The 5 Mealtime Tips
Wendy said that everyone should know how to cook with simple recipes. But if you need help, you can get in touch with her and she will gladly give you some food inspirations that are very easy to do at home.
“If you need some help with that, let me know. If you need some dinner time inspiration, you can always shoot me a message and I'm happy to help you with that”
There are plenty of benefits when you teach your own children how to cook. She said that children are expected to eat more healthily and that they will be more fit as adults once they know how to cook on their own.
“Those picky eaters that we talked about before, they are more likely to eat what they cook”
Now the question is, how can you get them involved? One thing you can do is to make mealtime fun. To do that, you have to choose a day where you give them a chance to choose what they want for their meal. And where you let them do what they want to do because they will be able to figure out what they like to eat.
“Pick a night where the kids choose what you're having for dinner instead of you always choosing what you're having for dinner”
Wendy mentioned that statistics showed that when families gather at the dinner table at night, it is five times more likely that children will be more successful in school. Not only that, but it will also allow them to reconnect with the family and discuss all the challenges that they are facing in life. Therefore, it is highly suggested to come together at the end of the day.
“Give them a safe place to talk about what's bothering them in school, what they need help with, and where you can celebrate their successes.”
One way to get around the “picky eater challenge” is to ask them about their top 10 favorite foods every few months. Once you know their favorite foods, you can try to include them in your recipes, mix them up, and do all sorts of different things to expose them to a new meal.
You should make your mealtime fun by having a “DIY night”. It can be a Taco Tuesday, Pizza Friday, or a Salad Sunday! It's a great way for you and your family to make good food together as a family. It will make your mealtime really fun and delicious, and it can also create a great connection for the family.
Easy-to-Use Kitchen Tools
Wendy highly suggests using a Pampered Chef Pressure Cooker because it is the most convenient tool to use, especially for people who are very busy and do not have time to prepare ingredients. It is a type of machine that has a controlled temperature and a water bath where you can cook the food in a water-type bag for a few hours. And the advantage of this is that even if you cook with vegetables for a long period of time, they don't lose all their nutrients and their texture.
This tool is great for people who are into gluten-free and low-carb meals. You can specialize vegetables like zucchini into spaghetti noodles in an instant. It’s a great way to make pasta in the most healthy and quick way because you don't even have to cook it anymore.
Pro Tip: The zucchini noodles, if you put hot sauce on them and let it sit for a minute or two, they cook themselves.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Food is very powerful. That is why it is important to make mealtime more enjoyable and fun. Every meal at your table is an opportunity to create memories with your family. This is a moment where you can bond and figure out what’s going on in everybody’s life. It is, therefore, better to find the time to get together as a family and make the most of it.
ABOUT WENDY KUCHNICKI
Wendy Kuchnicki is your go-to kitchen guru to help you quickly get a healthy meal on the table! Pampered Chef products and recipes save you time cooking and cleaning up so you can have more time with your family creating memories around the table.
So if you are ready to cook quick and easy meals for your family without spending too much in the kitchen, you can reach out to Wendy to find out more!
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