7 TIPS TO ENJOY YOUR COOKING EVERYDAY

Have you found yourself in the kitchen creating a beautiful dish? Your kids are waiting quietly in the dinning room. Your partner tells you how beautiful you look. Everything is going just how you imagine, with the only difference is that your are dreaming. AHHHHHH  you don't want to wake up....( don't wake up, don't wake up) ..too late.

What a beautiful dream you say. The reality is you don't like to cook, your kids are screaming cause they are hungry, you are rushing thru the process, and you think you will never pull it off. You turn around and you see yourself in a big kitchen mess, so you start to panic, you tell yourself that this is the last  time you cook, and to top it off you get stuck with the dirty dishes.

These feelings and scenarios are more likely to be an everyday thing. Cooking can give joy and relaxation, for some people, but for others it's not that much fun.

There are many reasons why people don't like to cook, but I'm not here to judge . I'm here to help you look at cooking as a fun and easy task. 

What we are going to do together is get organized, before, during and after you cook.The french term is called "Mis en Plas", or "everything in it's place."  I figured out that a lot of people get overwhelm the moment they step into the kitchen, and mostly it's because the don’t know what to cook and how to relax and enjoy the process.

***Keep this in mind the next time you walk in your kitchen YOU ARE NOT A CHEF, so don't be so hard on yourself.***

1^st. Don’t Rush:

 When you get home, get into comfortable clothes. 

Okay, okay you might think I'm crazy if you want to look like this everyday, but you also don't want to receive your love one in sweat pants everyday right?. Try this once in a while it would built your self steam and why not add some spice to your love life.   

2^nd Pick a tune: 

Chose your favorite I Tunes or , Pandora channel. Music will change your mood and put you in a happy place.

3rd. Clean your work station:

 Before you start cooking, your kitchen should be free of clutter and clear of anything else not being used for the meal. 

No clutter =  more space for an open mind and for so many activities!

4^th Chose the recipe of the day.  

Thanks to YouTube or Google you are able to find recipes you will love. I love ABC's  The Chew, they have fun an easy recipes for couples and families. If you don't have all the ingredients don't worry you can always replace some ingredients, have fun with it! 

Extra tip: it's always easier to have a weekly menu set up. Chose the week menu, and write them down in your weekly board.

5^th. Prep: Organize anything that needs to be cut first.

Cut all the vegetables needed and place them in small bowls, pick all the spices and other ingredients required. Place them in your working area, so you don’t have to go back and forward looking for things (think like if you were in a cooking show everything is ready for the show to go on)

6^th Clean as you go:  

This is the most IMPORTANT step you need to follow. Cleaning as you go will make this experience a lot more enjoyable. Wash everything you used so far and start putting away the things you don’t need anymore. If you want to continue enjoying your family meal times this is an absolute must. All time is lost when you are knee deep in the sink washing everything afterwards. 

7^th Pop the cork: 

After everything is cooking and under control, open a bottle of wine or have a nice cold beer; you deserve it. You can do this as your second step if you want. (just have one glass you don't want to be tipsy before everything is cooked. 

      SALUD!! CHEERS!!

Meanwhile, work on the perfection of this art, because  "Eating is a necessity, but cooking is an art". let  someone else take care of the dirty dishes.