3 Reasons Why You Should Learn To Cook

Hey there!

How's it going? This week on PickMyBrain, I'd like to share one of my part time endeavors - cooking!
Eating has evolved from being a necessity to becoming a form of enjoyment, even pleasure. The expectations of the food we eat are only going higher by the day - taste, quantity, service, etc.

One of the main reasons why people in Malaysia eat out regularly is because we can still afford it! Imagine having a plate of fried rice for RM5 outside. 10-15 minutes, and you're already tucking in. But imagine if you have to prepare the same dish..at home. From cleaning to chopping to frying to cleaning again - it's all a chore!

But today, I'd like to challenge that mindset and give you 3 reasons to learn how to cook!

1. Save Cost
Imagine that same plate of friend rice 5-10 years from now. It's no longer RM5, but RM10, maybe more! And suddenly, cooking seems like the only way to go, cause well, let's face it, salaries aren't going up that fast!

You enter the kitchen, all pumped up to cook the best fried rice in the world, and then you realise that you have absolutely no idea how to peel a garlic or ginger. No matter, Mum to the rescue! You start the fire, and throw the garlic in and *babam!* *babam!* *babam!* Using the wok's cover as a shield, you try to turn the heat down, but your garlic is already smelling like charcoal. Now, don't you wish you'd have started cooking 5 years ago?

2. Knowing What Goes Into Your Food

Challenge! Can you name at least 3 of these culinary herbs?

I'll have to admit, that just half a year ago, I wouldn't have been able to name even ONE! But thanks Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution series which inspired my family to start growing some of these, I can now recognise 8! Dill, Sweet basil, Thyme, Pearsley, Coriander, Rosemary and Mint :)

If you think knowing what goes into your food isn't as important to how good it taste? Think about China's fake eggs, fake beef, fake bread, etc. And what about the horse meat scandal? How about some crunchy Pisang Goreng Plastic? Scared yet?


3. Controlling What Goes Into Your Food
Alright, so now that you're a worried about what goes into that plate of fried rice, what can you do about it? Do a kitchen check before eating? Watching the chef prepare right before your eyes? It's all not very practical suggestions.

The best answer? Cook Your Own Meals! It doesn't have to be as complicated as you think! Start small. Maybe 2 meals a week? Each meal with 4 ingredients or less? There's tonnes of resources out there like Jamie's 15-minute meals and there's also a 4-ingredient meals website here.

As with anything new, change is resisted. But persist anyway, and good luck! :)

Next week, we'll take a look at $$$ - personal budgeting! Till then, have a great weekend ahead!