7 Keys To Improving Your Cooking Game In 2015

It is 2015 and you are looking to make some healthier food and lifestyle choices.
Perhaps, your skillsets in the kitchen are limited to opening up a frozen dinner and placing it into the microwave. Or you never learned to cook at all. This year you can change all of that by embracing the following 7 elements.

1.  Ingredients
Cooking begins with having the right ingredients. Vegetables, fruits, grains, and meats. Buy organic whenever possible and support your local farmer's/merchants.

2. Equipment
During the beginning of your cooking journey, you do not have to drop a lot of money on pots, pans, flatware,  and/or utensils.  Start off with a skillet, medium sauce pan, and a large stock pot for cooking pasta. If you live alone and are on a tight budget, check out stores such as Dollar Tree, Wal-mart, Dollar General, and Target for inexpensive flatware and cooking utensils.

3. Scheduling Time
Cooking every night ain't for everybody. Set aside a time once a week to prep and/or cook your meals.

4.Plan Your Menu Of 7
At the beginning of your cooking journey, focus on perfecting 7 meals. Perfecting the following menu items will give you flexibility in the kitchen: 1) Salads, 2) Soups, 3) Sandwich/Wraps, 4) Veggies, 5) Pasta, 6) Rice Dish/Casserole, and 7) a Meat/Chicken/Fish entree.

5. Work Space
Not all kitchens/cooking spaces are created equal. It is important to have a workspace to both cook and prepare your food. If counter space is non-existent in your kitchen, purchase a cutting board and use it on a flat surface such as a table or even a bar stool. Keep your workspace clean and organized.

6. Being Realistic
I love watching The Food Network, reading cooking blogs, and viewing food porn on Pinterest. However, it is important to remind myself to respect my own food journey. In other words, I am not competing with chefs, food bloggers, or anyone else in the kitchen. For a majority of us, cooking is not a competitive sport. It is simply a  way to nourish ourselves and our loved ones.

7. Resources
During your newbie cooking days, resources are everything. Spend some time searching for online cooking resources.  Recipes and cookbooks can be downloaded to your laptop or mobile device.  There are also cooking programs on television, Netflix, Hulu, podcasts, and even DVD.

These 7 keys will get you on the road to improving your cooking game in 2015 and beyond.

Listen to this episode of the Divatosity podcast here.