How to Enjoy Food More : Heart-shaped dough
“The health-related references in this article are not meant to be medical advise, please consult your doctor regarding your health.”
Baking is one of the many fun things the kids enjoyed back when they were younger. We still bake once in a while, but because we’re trying to lower our carbohydrate intake, there’s a limit to what we can make. Still, there’s cooking to enjoy – especially during lockdowns when we have to not only be creative but also make use of food to keep ourselves healthy. Yes, there’s truth to the quote “Let food be thy medicine,” and because health starts with your gut.
While food should not be used as a replacement for medicine, the quote means to eat nutritionally, so that you lower the risk of getting sick. In a sense, eating well is also preventing what you would need medicine for.
My older son has always enjoyed his foray in the kitchen and thanks to his secondary school’s cooking classes, he developed interest even more. At one point, I had to DIY an apron that he can use for those classes and he used that one well. He would often remake what they did in school, and they were yummy. Later on, he considered getting into culinary school because as he said, he really loved and enjoyed cooking.
Now, thanks to bright-minded people, good food wasn’t scarce during the two years when there’s restriction to move about. There are businesses that really made it convenient to eat! A little planning and we were still able to enjoy good food in the confines of our home – even those that we crave for when travelling. Here’s how:
How to Enjoy Food More : DIY Apron
Table of Contents
Plan Meals
Meal plans make cooking and buying groceries easy. Had you ever find it hard to think of what to cook for dinner? I surely did. A meal plan of over 2 weeks list of dishes made it easier for me. I noted down food and dishes everyone at home likes and then spread it over without having to repeat within that span of 2 weeks. Sunday is special and often spent eating out.
Go to the Farmers Market
Groceries are fine, but the Farmers market is an all different experience. Go with the whole family and pick fresh produce. Introduce them to your favorite store owner and give them pointers on how to pick the best products.
If you get the chance, go fishing with the family (license and all considered) and try to catch some that you can cook later on.
How to Enjoy Food More : Is it done yet?
Make Cooking A Family Bonding Activity
There are many benefits of cooking at home and one that I like most is the memories created, sure there could be mishaps but there will also be something laughable. And if the dish comes out bland, that’s something to laugh over again come dinner time.
Kids will also learn life skills when they spend time in the kitchen. From peeling potatoes to measuring a cup and a tablespoon, all these participation in kitchen activities will come in handy one day.
Food Deliveries
With the advent of home delivery services, being able to access food at anytime is both convenient and life-saving!
Cooked Food of Different Cuisines
Cooked food delivery services have been around for years. Even individual restaurants offer such service with a promise of bringing food on time or you get a refund.
Businesses such as Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Seamless made it easier to get food delivered, no matter which cuisine. We were able to get our fill of Vietnamese soups, Japanese ramens, and all our favorite Italian fare.
How to Enjoy Food More : baking cupcakes
Measured Portions/Meal Kits
Meal kit companies like HelloFresh started as early as 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The company started to deliver meal kits to paying customers in early 2012. The service expanded to the Netherlands, UK, US, and Australia the same year.
If you subscribe, you can easily plan your meals from their selection of recipes. The idea is to prepare the ingredients needed for a meal that a customer chose from an extensive list. The box gets delivered to customers who cooks the meal using recipe cards sent along with the box. One can opt for the size of a meal or for how many persons and how many days. There are also meal options like more vegetables, no meat, more fish, among others.
Groceries
Conveniently, grocery delivery has also become a convenience that we are grateful for, especially ones that have same-day delivery options. There’s a wide range of options one can choose from, from a piece of mango to a full pack of toilet paper, make sure that you do your inventory first before placing your order, this not only saves your delivery person time, it saves you money too. Organize your pantry and refrigerator too, to avoid wasting food and enjoying it more.
Cooking Inspiration
Games
Back in the days, I enjoy restaurant and food games online, most where on Facebook so I don’t need to carry a gadget around. It was also fun to play with friends who share the same interests.
How to Enjoy Food More : Restaurant City interior design
Restaurant City
I fondly remember Restaurant city and I’ve kept the screenshots like the one above. You get to design your own restaurant and run it as a chef. You can also hire help and go around the neighborhood to exchange ingredients with your friends. The dishes featured in the game also piqued my curiosity that I tried to cook some of them.
One of those is this Herbed Halibut with broccoli and potatoes on the side. Restaurant city introduced me to many herbs, spices, and meat, I was sad when the game ceased.
How to Enjoy Food More : Herbed Halibut inspired by Restaurant City
Cooking Mama
Cooking Mama is a cookery simulation-styled minigame compilation of many other video games and adventures for Nintendo game gadgets. This is a game my daughter really likes.
Basically, the player follows the instructions of the titular “Mama” to cook a variety of meals. This can be finished by using the device’s controller, typically the touch screen, to perform different kitchen tasks like chopping vegetables, slicing meat, flipping food in pans, and plating.
Coffee Shop
This mini online game challenges you to correctly allot inventory for your coffee truck within the day. Factors like the weather, price per cup, and taste affects the way consumers behave. You have to stock your cups, sugar, coffee, and milk accordingly to not spoil any ingredients later on or to not lack should there be a lot of people buying.
Cooking Shows and Vlogs
Cooking shows have definitely played a big role in how we cook. And because a lot of vloggers share their recipes, it’s now so much easier to try dishes that we might have wanted but were not so confident to make. Travel vlogs that also feature food inspire others to not just travel but try food the place is known for.
Cook Books and Notes
Believe it or not, we still have cookbooks in our shelves, which I turn to whenever I want to cook some familiar dish. I also have clippings and notes of some of my favorite dishes I got from family and friends.
While Pinterest has a lot to offer when it comes to what food to serve, it is also convenient to just jot them down for a quick look.
Visit the Newest Restaurant in Town
Always try the newest restaurant in your area. And the different cuisines to learn more about how it’s supposed to taste. It’s best to try food that are served by the locals. Research on the region the food are supposedly from, there’s a big difference between the food prepared by those from the north of Vietnam than those from the south. Korean food also varies widely from city to city, as would food from archipelagoes like Japan and the Philippines.
We’ve always believed that food is the way to learn a city or country, and we’ve travelled through many of them even at home, through their food.
When out travelling, look for restaurants recommended by locals to get the best taste experience.
What other tips do you have to enjoy food more, in and out of the home? Let us know in the comments!
How to Enjoy Food More : Try new and different restaurants and dishes
