Cooking with fresh ingredients possible with planning

A3

Editor's note
Candice Mac Lean

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

The more I think about cooking from scratch, the more it seems I have to start viewing the art of making a fresh meal as a hobby instead of a tiresome task.

KV Style has featured a handful of food-related articles and columns this month, starting with a cover story on French cook Laura Calder. Last week our Green Living columnist Bridget Oland advised readers to avoid pre-packaged in favour of easy-to-make staples like salad dressing and cookies. A recent cover story on Joan Sutherland Carey, a Quispamsis woman who has launched a home-based cooking business, revisited the notion that quality ingredients make for healthier meals.

The amount of time and effort it takes to cook from scratch depends on the recipe, but the more I practice what these women preach I realize that meal preparation can be rewarding when you cook with the right attitude.

Walking through the door at 7 p.m. with an armful of groceries and an empty stomach can be defeating, especially when you know that by the time you finish chopping, seasoning, cooking and eating it might be 10 p.m. Then there’s that messy kitchen waiting for you.

As far as I can tell, there are ways to work healthy, homemade meals into any schedule, as inconvenient as it may seem. I am no expert at this yet, but making the effort is my first step.

So far, I’ve learned that having a plan is essential. This applies to everything from your grocery list to your evening commitments to how much time the meal needs to simmer, marinade or sit in the oven.

I still aim to become one of those planners who sit down on a Sunday with a pencil in hand and plan every meal for the week. I’m not there yet.

I also hope to someday be able to practice the cook-for-a-day, eat-for-a-month technique … but I’m far from this goal.

Right now, if I make a cohesive grocery list and check off every item I’m on the right track. My next goal is to plan full, healthy meals for at least five days and only go to the grocery store one out of those five days (except maybe swinging by a local market to pick up fresh produce).

We’ll see where the challenge takes me! If you have recipe suggestions, contact me at the email below.

Candice Mac Lean is the editor of KV Style. Reach her at maclean.candice@kvstyle.com.