Building self-trust and spontaneity in the kitchen
I’m going through what I do to make sure I’m not only eating well but eating adventurously in my own kitchen, even when I’m spoonless.
One thing I know for sure is that we are all creatures of habit — in some measure or another.
We unconsciously seek routine. The expected feels safe and comfortable. The unknown good can be attractive, sure.
But it’s the fear of the unknown that often outweighs that attraction, keeping us from trying new things.
And that’s coming from me, who has waxed lyrical about the benefits of experimenting with your habits, hobbies, and food choices.
If you find yourself reaching for the same easy foods time and again, you’re definitely not alone. We live busier lives with more to do, think about, and work on. It’s no wonder that so many of us cut corners to save some of that valuable energy for other things.
And I’m not advocating against that.
I’m here to show you, though, that there’s plenty of evidence that even the tiniest dose of culinary know-how can be good for your mind and help you inject some spontaneity into your life. Where?
The kitchen.
Culinary knowledge isn’t just good for your health.
Knowing how to whip up something delicious with whatever’s going limp in your veggie drawer takes time, but it’s well worth it. That’s because not knowing how to do that has been linked with inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, as well as poorer levels of good physical and mental health.
And look, no one wants to be miserable and constipated.
Cooking interventions studied in this meta-analysis were shown to influence participants’ social connections, self-esteem, and overall quality of life.
Another study showed that teaching adults and children how to cook healthy, delicious food was often associated with improved attitudes, independence, and nutrition.
And yet another study showed that the increase in mental health issues these days coincides with a significant shift away from cooking at home. That’s because your brain needs a varied, healthy diet to function optimally.
So, how do I start when I can’t be bothered to cook in the first place?
Great question!
And to be honest, I don’t have any surefire ways to make it happen. Mental health is a funny thing that way. You can know something is wrong. You can even completely understand what it is and that you need to do something about it.
But since we use the same organ to be mentally ill as we do to make ourselves feel better, it’s easy to be caught in some weird catch-22 with yourself.
Sometimes, I stand in the kitchen for 20 minutes only to give up and go back to my desk. I’m still hungry but lack the energy to even pop some bread in the toaster.
The thing that usually gets me motivated to make something healthy or try something new actually starts several days before I can’t be bothered to cook: preparation.
What works for me
You read that right. I bet you didn’t think you were reading an article about meal prep, did you?
Before you close this tab in disgust, hear me out: I’m not talking about filling ten plastic containers with plain rice and vegetables. However, if that’s how you keep yourself eating healthy meals, no matter how much energy you have, I salute you.
I just mean doing a couple of simple things when you have the energy:
- Make double batches of meals that keep well. Things like chili, stews, or curries are actually better the next day. If you do this, you’ll have hearty, healthy food you can heat up in minutes.
- Do some low-stakes ingredient prep. For me, this looks like washing and chopping veggies I’ll need to cook with during the week. But you could also just buy pre-cut and washed veggies. You could also prep some sauce, protein, pasta, or rice ahead of time, and then making a meal is really just about assembly.
- Add veggies to whatever you’re eating. I sometimes add some fried mushrooms or greens to my standard beans on toast. You could throw some frozen peas into your bowl of rice. Even popping some cherry tomatoes on top of a bit of hummus toast (iykyk) does the trick. And if you prepped some veggies back when you could be arsed, this one’s even easier.
When I invest the time and energy I do have into actually doing some of the things I mentioned here, that 20 minutes of paralysis in my kitchen shakes out much differently. I just throw a couple of scoops of chili in a bowl with a couple of scoops of rice and heat it up in the microwave.
Just like that, I’m eating in less time than it would normally take to decide I don’t have the energy to cook.
How can meal prep make me a more spontaneous eater?
I’m so glad you asked!
The number one reason I sometimes go months eating the same things week in and week out is that making them requires minimal effort. I could probably make spaghetti bolognese in my sleep, for example.
Trying a new recipe requires a much higher mental load.
You need new ingredients.
The knowledge to cook them well.
The time to painstakingly follow a recipe.
In the end, you have to eat it or risk contributing to the already global issue of food waste, whether it turns out how you expected or not, whether you do indeed like artichokes or not.
Who wants to gamble with what’s on their plate after spending hours cooking it?
But here’s where the prep work can be your best friend:
- Prepping ingredients saves you time because you’re not spending three hours all in one go on one recipe.
- It allows you to slow down and focus on learning new culinary skills in isolation, reducing your cognitive load. This makes it more likely that you’ll remember how to do it next time.
- It’s a whole lot easier to say, “F**k it! I’m trying sunchoke crostinis!” when you have the sunchoke topping ready to go.
- Many things taste better when they’ve had time to marinate, and a good marinade can be extremely redeeming when you’ve fudged another step.
How I know it works (for me)
Taking the time to prepare some healthy, exciting meals, or at least the ingredients to make them when you have the energy, is one of the most loving things you can do for your future depressed/ anxious/ generally miserable self.
And, at least for me, building self-trust is the single most important part of learning how to manage our mental health. Think about it:
If you can trust yourself to eat healthy food and be brave enough to try new things, you can trust you to take care of yourself in other ways, too.
Who knows?
Taking care of your nutritional needs might help you prepare for other aspects of your life that are difficult to do when you’re down.
Trying a new food may make your day brighter and more interesting. Imagine how accomplished you’d feel just by taking the smallest step outside your comfort zone during a tricky week!
Because at the core of meal-prepping is one important idea: the energy I use now ensures I can use less later. That idea can be applied to a wide range of situations.
And if it allows you to be more spontaneous with your food choices, what have you really got to lose?
What loving things do you like to do for your future self? What’s your go-to low-energy meal? This inquiring mind would like to know!
Can’t get enough of me writing about stuff I find exciting? I have a weekly newsletter on Substack where I dive deep into whatever has caught my attention each week. I can’t wait to see you there!
