Seriously, you\u2019re how old now? If you can\u2019t cook for yourself, if you\u2019re relying on fast food and boxed meals, you\u2019re setting yourself up for a world of hurt. You need fresh ingredients, which these things distinctly lack. You need less processed stuff, which these things have in high, high degrees.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying become a chef. You don\u2019t need a culinary degree or specialized training. You have YouTube and Google. Use them. Find things.<\/p>\n
Find things you like already and make fresher versions of them.<\/p>\n
Learn to scramble an egg.<\/p>\n
I eat at home most nights, and prepare my lunches most days. Sometimes, I have pre-prepared things. Sometimes, cooking that night involves setting the oven to a temperature and popping something in. Wait for it. Wait. And boom: dinner!<\/p>\n
Some nights, I use all the burners on the stovetop, with vegetables in two or three, maybe some boiling water, some sort of protein. I experiment. I have made utterly disgustingly failed experiments and ended up eating out anyway. I have made things that were edible, or barely so, and was made to swear on the souls of everyone I\u2019ve ever loved that I would never, ever, under any circumstance, attempt that again. But I have also surprised myself.<\/p>\n
Generally, people like the way I cook. But I know I\u2019ve got a limited repertoire. I know there are basic things I don\u2019t know. (For instance, my knife handling skills need work, my new EDC budget knife<\/a> should help here; if you\u2019re still lacking an excuse to convince yourself to cook more, read that again: knife handling skills.) I don\u2019t know how to do French sauces.<\/p>\n But I can make several dishes with chicken breasts. I make a mean filet. I can do pork chops. I can handle mushrooms, onions, peppers, zucchini, broccoli, and several other assorted veggie stuffs. I can boil an egg. I can make my own Alfredo sauce from scratch.<\/p>\n I will cheat sometimes. I\u2019ll combine already-ready things with fresh stuff. There\u2019s no rule that says you can\u2019t. But I make an effort to eat less of the processed stuff. Fresh tastes better. It really does. If I have to count the number of carbohydrates I eat in a meal, in a day, and in a week, I want every one of those carbs to count, dammit. I\u2019m entitled. My mouth deserves to be made happy. (I suppose that can be mis-read.) I try to buy locally when I can, and in season things, but I haven\u2019t convinced myself I can\u2019t have grapes from somewhere in South America when I can\u2019t get them from here.<\/p>\n My prediction is this: once you start substituting one or two dinners every week with stuff you make yourself \u2014 fresh stuff you make yourself \u2014 you\u2019ll do more and more fresh because tasty delicious goodness tastes delicious, and those things in boxes and the frozen aisles just can\u2019t compete.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n