Learning To Cook During Quarantine Is Helping My Health And My Budget
Cooking my own meals during quarantine has made me more health conscious and mindful about how I spend my money.
For most of us, it feels like everything is up in the air right now. If you're anything like me, you might be struggling to implement a routine into your daily quarantine life - even after all these weeks. I've never been a homebody, so spending time all of this time in my apartment has been quite a game-changer. I haven't gotten into any specific workout routines or trends during this time– and I definitely haven't made a whipped coffee! However, one thing I have been able to maintain a routine with is my eating patterns–they have improved during the quarantine.
Before quarantine, I was relatively busy and felt as if I was always on the go. I rarely had time to sit down and enjoy a meal on certain days of the week, let alone cook an elaborate one. Since quarantine has started, I've spent a lot of time trying my hand at health-conscious recipes– particularly for dinners. I'm not used to cooking dinner but have found that it is something I really enjoy. Instead of ordering takeout and eating all of my meals in a rush, I now find an hour or two a day to cook a healthy, well-balanced meal for dinner. Whether I make shrimp tacos or avocado cucumber salad, I feel like i'm expanding my knowledge of recipes and cooking skill overall. I feel much better about the foods that I am eating at this time because I know exactly what I am putting into my body. I try to substitute butter for olive oil in many of these recipes and I can proudly say that I've learned how to cook the right amount of pasta for one.
Cooking meals during quarantine has not only made me more health-conscious, it has also greatly improved my independence. I am looking forward to giving meal-prepping a chance during this time. Once I master meal-prepping– when the world gets back up and running– I will have home-cooked meals ready to accommodate my on-the-go lifestyle. I have come to realize how much money I am saving on delivery fees from restaurants, and in turn, I can spend that money on fresh produce to make healthy, home-cooked meals.
