Is This Considered ‘Cooking’?

“I don’t cook.”

That is my standard answer when asked about cooking. However, I think I will have to change that statement because I now cook nearly every week.  Not because I enjoy it, but because I want healthy food in the house. Every Sunday I cook a bunch of stuff and have it for the remainder of the week.  My evenings are typically filled and busy with things I need to get done, so I like to finish my day job, eat, then move on to my projects/commitments.

After stating “I don’t cook” to a person I met recently, she looked at me and said, “Well, what do you eat, do you eat out all the time?”  I’m sure I had a crazy look on my face because in actuality, I DO cook.  I guess in the past I thought of cooking as preparing a meal that included all the food groups for people to eat and survive on.  I don’t do that. I just cook for myself, and there is no one to complain, and no one who has picky food choices, etc.  I cook most vegetables the same way, in a little coconut oil, salt, pepper, and lot of spices … boring but tasty.

So, a typical Sunday includes getting home from church and washing, dicing, slicing, sauteing, steaming food … I guess you call that cooking, huh?

Today, I decided try a new vegetable.  I went to a local farmer’s market and bought Swiss Chard.  I recently watched a video to see how to prep and cook it.  Looked simple enough;  like the way I cook collards, spinach, kale, etc.

I gave it a bath (in water, white vinegar and baking soda) along with the other fruits and vegetables I bought today at the market.  Everyone gets a bath, then a vegetable brush scrub – sometimes with dish soap. I know it sounds excessive…. but when I watch all the hands that touch vegetables at the markets its a wonder (if you know me) I don’t come home and throw them into the dishwasher.

Anyway, I ‘cooked’ the Swiss Chard and it was pretty tasty.  Tastes similar to other green leafy vegetables but with it’s own distinct flavor.  I will definitely add this to the food rotation list.

The way I handle eating healthy, by cooking all at the beginning of the week, might not be for everyone because by Thursday, I am usually completely sick of whatever I cooked; but fortunately it is mostly all gone by the end of the week. I have to have a large number of options because I cook 3-5 veggies per week so I need enough options to rotate.  This week was this:

1. Red/Orange/Yellow peppers – I wrote about this in a previous post; a good snack veggie.
2. Collard Greens – I cheated this week and used bagged ones – I knew I was not going to want to spend all afternoon picking greens.
3. English Cucumbers – another good snack food
4. Yellow Squash – I eat a lot of this during the summer.
5. Swiss Chard – I bought one bunch.  It shrunk down to about 3/4 of a cup.  It was more expensive than I imagined – $2.49/bunch.  I will have to catch this on sale in order to have enough for the week. LESSON LEARNED:  Don’t be afraid to try new foods.
6. Decided to try Quinoa too – I read it is a great source of protein, which I need because as you see, I didn’t cook any chicken, or other meat for the week. I’m not vegan or anything, it’s just that I had beef twice last week and I’m not craving anything ‘meaty’ so I decided to skip a week of meat and just have eggs, cottage cheese, and quinoa as my protein.  It was pretty tasty. Will likely add this to the rotation about once per month.
7. Bag of apples – was really inexpensive at the market
8. and Cantaloupe was on sale; not my favorite but will satisfy the craving until juicy, red, decently priced watermelons arrive.

Before you decide you can’t cook and eat like this all week, fret not, because I don’t either.  This food makes up about 70% of my diet now.

I might throw in a slice of Ezekiel Bread and peanut butter one evening, or I might go out with friends and have a salad with chicken on it … or sometimes I might decide to have popcorn with sprinkled with hot sauce for a snack.  The Sunday cooking is primarily a way to not get caught in a state of being really hungry and going for junk food because I don’t have good food in the house.  It works for me…. might work for you.

Sooooo, maybe I am a cook after all…. but I still wouldn’t count on me to cook a full meal for ya…. unless you want a Veggie Plate. 🙂 

Author: iamjanl

❤️ Artist, Writer, and other things View all posts by iamjanl