I made a resolution to cook dinner more this year and order takeout less. It’s not going great so far, as we just ordered Mexican.
The thing is, there are various vectors on the cook-vs.-takeout scale. Cooking is cheaper — unless you’re making a very complicated recipe that requires lots of ingredients, in which case it might be more expensive. Cooking is healthier — except that for dinner tonight I’ve ordered a vegetarian burrito with brown rice and a side salad, a meal that will contain more vegetables than what I might have cooked. Cooking is more enjoyable — sometimes. I like cooking, but only when I’m actually doing it — caught up in the slicing and the doing. If I think about getting ready to cook, including going to buy the ingredients I don’t have, it’s a pain in the ass.
I guess I have to decide why I want to cook more: because it’s healthier (sometimes). Because it’s cheaper (sometimes). Because I like the process of cooking (sometimes). Because I want to know what goes in my food (always).
Ah well — at least I cooked on Saturday night. Resolutions can be gradual!
Veggie burrito with brown rice sounds good!
I’ve been trying to cook more, too, especially things that I can have for more than one meal. I used to do it a lot but I’ve gotten out of the habit, since there are 2 Whole Foods near me.
When I have time, though, cooking is fun and it satisfies my creative urges but in a different way than writing does. It’s more physical, tactile, almost like sculpting or building something.
If there were one thing I could snap my fingers and solve, it would be cooking. I live in rural Iowa, 10 miles away from a small town where the takeout/dining options are over 50% pizza. My husband and I both work from home so there is no stopping by the store on the way home from work. There are rumors that we’ll have a Whole Foods this year…an hour away. And we live in “America’s Breadbasket.”
I could do so much better, but it’s the planning that kills me.