How to motivate yourself to cook.

There's one day, someone asking me this,

"How to motivate yourself to cook?"

Hmm. Hard Qs it is. Because I have no answer for it. It comes naturally and maybe yeah, because I live far from my mom. And no one can cook me delicious nyums like her. NO ONE.

I remembered during that day when I was very young and single, instant noodles and I, we are BFFs. Because it is so easy to cook. The best luxury Maggie Mee I've ever cooked was with prawns, squids, chili padis and a couple of eggs. Ahahahaha.

And or, I just go to any good restaurants, stalls, mamak to tapau. If you're unlucky, they will give you bad stomach ache or headache because of the price, like seketul ayam goreng, & nasi without sayur for RM7? Demm mahal.

And wait, how bout cravings? If you really want to eat yummy soto ayam  like ur mom's and you can't find one. So sad.

So, I think those are my reasons to start cooking.

I should mention that I have no technical training in cooking and have never cooked properly at home before. Fyi, my version of nasi gorengpreviously was nasi+kicap+telur only. No bawang, no tumis whatsoeva. Ahahaahhaha.Yes, I sucked at that.

-_-"

I think, My biggest accomplishment in the kitchen is that I enjoy being there—it's my favorite room in the house..and my workspace..sometimes. Mihmihmih.

Okay, Im here to convince you that cooking is way easier than you think, and fun too! Trust me.

And what you have to do is get started. So let's do that!

First, subscribe or follow any cooking group in your social media, be it on Facebook, websites or my blog. Ehems. There are many delicious and tempting recipe there, and simple too. 

Get your list of your fave recipe? Then, it's time to draft your menu plan. You can print out your list of menu by weekly or monthly, put in the kitchen. Or just use the apps on your phone. Find something you love to eat or get your parents/husband/children/family/friends/loved ones involved by asking them what foods they like. Less stress & less drama mind you. Hahahaha.

Done planning! Now, make a shopping list. My husband and I, we shop for groceries on a monthly and weekly basis. For our monthly shopping, we just buy dry supplies like rice, cooking oil etc and for the weekly ones, we shop for wet and fresh groceries.

 “Doesn’t all that planning take a lot of time?” Frankly, it doesn’t take that much time at all, it saves us from making multiple grocery store visits in a week and saves our money too.Oh ya, you can also try for the groceries delivery! Save your time esp when you're a mom with 2,3 young kids. Savings on time, petrol and impulse buys are worth it, and it's so convenient. As far as I know, Tesco provides the delivery service. Check this out.

Buy yourself a new toy. New kitchen gadgets are exciting and fun, and usually pretty inexpensive. I love to browse the kitchen aisle at Daiso and Mr Diy- so many cute things! Lots of colorful can opener, knife, potato peeler etc. It delights me, every time. Being happy in the kitchen is important, you want it to be your happy place so that you enjoy being there. 

(Those images are from GOOGLE)

Don't overestimate yourself. You need to be realistic with yourself. If you're busy working mom/wife/woman or man too, i dont judge, plan to cook nasi briyani gam & kari kepala kambing during weekdays is not REALISTIC la oi. Unless you have maid. Yes. Or superpower which i guess u dont. Stick to something quick & easy to do with during the weekdays.Save your menu of Kari Kepala Kambing or Rusa Panggang for the weekend or when you have plenty of time to work on it. Ahahahah.

Think of all the benefits of cooking. By this I mean both nutritionally, and financially. Your home cooked is prepared with love, nutritious and tasty. No MSG. Not oily. Save your money. No need to spend over RM10 each day just for lunch. Happy tummy, happy pocket too. :)

Oh ya, during my working days, I have no time and no energy to cook for tomorrow's lunch box. So, on weekend I prepared my ready-made chili paste. I just blend the dried chili, onion, garlic and prawn paste (belacan) mix with some oil. Then I keep it in the fridge. It could lasts for up to 2 weeks. It helps a lot though. 

Ok, now your pantry and fridge is stocked with everything you need. This is when cooking gets fun; this is when you get to jam. You now are prepared to cook anything on any given night, in under an mere hour. I highly encourage you to do this, then do it again, and again. You'll get better every time, and more efficient. Practice makes perfect

You are the master of your own culinary destiny now. Go forth and cook.