A Cooking Transformation
After a year of dormitory food in my first year of college, not only was I sick of eating this food, but I also realized that it was not going to work for me in the long run. I was eating junk food like pizza, donuts, French fries, ice cream, and sugary drinks almost every day, and I did this without even thinking twice about what I was putting into my body. The following year I would be moving into an apartment a short distance from campus, so I would be forced to change my ways of relying on dormitory food to get me through the day. I would have to learn how to cook!
During the summer, I decided to take the time to learn how to cook some basic foods. I started with boiling eggs and cooking rice in a rice cooker. After watching several YouTube videos, getting help from my family, and several rounds of cooking practice, I started to feel more comfortable in the kitchen. I was able to make more sophisticated dishes such as soups and curries. I was especially proud of myself when I could say that something I cooked myself actually tasted good.
When I started the next year of classes and moved into my apartment, I started to implement the new skills I had learned. I had to set aside more time in my schedule to cook my meals, so it was definitely an adjustment. I also found myself taking time out of the day to go to the grocery store to buy the ingredients I needed for the following week. At times, I tried to cook my meals in advance earlier in the week, so that later on in the week I could just pull them out of the refrigerator and heat them up. It’s definitely better to eat the meal fresh, but when you’re short on time due to exams and assignments, you have to manage in other ways. I found myself becoming more accustomed to cooking meals as the weeks went by.
This experience has changed my life for the better. I’m glad I took advantage of college to develop a new skill. Cooking for oneself allows you to control what you put into your body, meaning that you can avoid processed and unhealthy junk food you find outside. I also learned how to manage my time better, since I had to set out time for cooking and getting work done. Additionally, learning how to cook led to me finding something I enjoy to do. So if cooking is something you’ve never decided to try, you should consider giving it a shot, since you may actually end up liking it. Even if I do not know how to cook several fancy, delicious dishes, I have confidence in my ability to cook simple, healthy dishes, not only for me, but for others as well.
--BitterSweet Coaching Guest Writer
P.S. This is a recipe I am excited to try out in the near future:
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