Many moons ago, I loved to cook. It was fun to experiment in the kitchen—to have a vision for something exotic (baklava) or even ordinary, like minestrone, and make it happen. But somewhere along the way, after having a child, and launching my business, cooking and all the prep involved with it became an exhausting chore. My life, and mind, were so filled with other responsibilities, that I began to cook by the smell of burnt—scorching more pots and pans than a person has a right to—all in name of a few brussel sprouts.
So I drifted away from cooking, and became the queen of takeout. I got so out of practice, that making any meal took a massive amount of labor, generated a shameful mess in the kitchen, and usually ended with disappointing results (i.e. inedible, tasteless, or hard as a rock). The whole exhausting undertaking felt barely worth the effort.
Yet I still craved healthy, home cooked meals where I could see every ingredient I was eating. So in December, I took the plunge and finally signed up for the intro offer to try one of those home cooking meal kit services. The one I selected was SunBasket, because they had organic ingredients, and low-carb/Paleo options, which is my preferred way of eating.
A couple of weeks later a great big box arrived; it felt like opening a present. Inside I found 3 recipe cards and 3 paper bags to match, each filled with everything I needed for the fabulous meal. All the ingredients and seasonings were packaged in miniature containers, with cute labels telling you what’s inside; “smoked paprika” “shallots” and “sherry vinegar”. This kit was an organizer’s dream. All I had to do was take everything out of the bag, follow the straightforward directions on the recipe card, and my meal was on the table, hot and delicious in exactly how many minutes they said.
All of the work that goes into planning a great home cooked meal—researching and testing recipes; shopping; measuring ingredients, figuring out the timing from start to finish—is handled. The meals are incredibly easy to make, and truly delicious, opening me to a whole new set of tastes, with no food waste (you don’t have to buy an entire bunch of parsley they send you the exact number of sprigs you need). With someone else doing 80% of prep, it has freed me for the glory of just showing up, and implementing! Every week, the SunBasket is a little love I give myself—making doing something good for me, easier and a pure joy.
In honor of Valentine's Day, show yourself a little love! How can you outsource the prep and thinking to do something good for yourself? Want to enjoy more cultural events, but hate doing the research? Check out TimeOut.com. Want to exercise...but can’t decide on a good workout? Try the free Sworkit app.Want to mediate, but struggle with learning how? Try the Headspace app.
Share the ways YOU make self-care easier on yourself.