Written by Zoe Brown, graphic by Julia Kidwell

I learned one valuable skill as a result from the coronavirus pandemic — how to cook. I’m not an advanced chef by any means, but before the pandemic, my cooking experience started and ended with boiling pasta on the stove. I still boil a lot of pasta on the stove, but trust me when I say the quality of my meals has improved exponentially. 

But cooking has done more than just help me learn new recipes. It changed my relationship with food for the better, allows me to express myself creatively, and has helped decentralize consumption from my life.

Changing my relationship with food and health

I am a recovering fast-food addict. For much of high school and part of college, fast food was my automatic go-to, not just what I ate when I didn’t feel like cooking. I spent more money at the drive-through window than I care to admit. But more than that, I saw fast food as both a reward and a consolation. If I had a good day, all I could think about was how I was going to make it even better by going to Chick Fil A. If I had a bad day, all I could think about was how I was going to comfort myself with some Panda Express. 

I saw food as something to consume, not something to create or to fuel my body. 

When I started cooking, it was with the intent to eat healthier. However, I soon realized that I was a bit overly ambitious. Narrowing my Pinterest recipe searches to “healthy meals” made it much harder to enjoy what I was eating. I realized this soon enough and began instead to search for dishes that I knew I liked. For me, I started making homemade marinara, salsa, and hummus. 

Making foods I actually liked made me feel proud of myself, and inadvertently resulted in eating healthier in comparison to what I would order if I had gone out. Cooking your own food makes you more conscious of what goes into it and results in significantly healthier meals. This has helped me become more intuitive and better able to listen to my body’s needs. 

In addition, I try to loosely plan my meals throughout the week so I can grocery shop accordingly. This has helped me structure my week and be more conscious about each meal. Knowing what I plan to cook helps me get excited to eat. 

Creative Expression

Beyond changing my relationship with food, cooking has allowed me to be creative in my daily life. The meals I create are often a direct reflection of how I’m feeling. When I’m feeling down, I opt for a comforting, hearty soup. When I’m feeling excited, I find myself trying recipes with new flavor combinations. 

Cooking is a low-pressure creative outlet as well. If the meal isn’t great, no one has to know but me. But if I absolutely nail a recipe, it’ll be something I can’t wait to cook for family or friends. It elevates my mood and self-esteem to share something delicious with people I love.

Start simple. Just like with any other creative medium, you want to start with the basics and go from there. Being overambitious in the beginning can lead to frustration and burnout. Start creating meals with simple components and begin to gradually incorporate more complex elements and experiment with different flavor combinations. 

Decentralizing Consumption

If you’ve had any experience similar to mine, I urge you not to give up fast food, but to question your relationship with it. Try to think about cooking in terms of creation rather than consumption. 

Someone once said to me that if you reward and console yourself in the same way, you’re doing something wrong. I think this applies to food. It wasn’t healthy for me physically or mentally to turn to food for reward and comfort. Sometimes it might be best to just go through the drive thru if you’re stressed and pressed for time. But other times, you might feel better to take the time to treat yourself to a hearty home-cooked meal. I find that it often raises my spirits to create in the kitchen. Take the time to listen to your body about what you need versus what you crave. 

Here are some of my favorite recipes to cook and serve!

Salsa Verde Chicken and Rice Soup https://www.pinterest.com/pin/592645632210614013/

Orzo Power Bowl https://www.pinterest.com/pin/592645632215629760/

Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta https://www.pinterest.com/pin/592645632206565836/

French Bread Pesto Pizza https://www.pinterest.com/pin/592645632212104214/

Homemade Marinara https://www.pinterest.com/pin/592645632206053048/