In the past, you may have eaten a significant amount of meals outside your home. Perhaps you ate this way for convenience, preference for taste, or simply for the social aspect of being inside a restaurant. With most restaurants closed for indoor dining and the majority of us watching our wallets with a little more cautiousness lately, you have most likely turned to preparing virtually all of your meals in your home.

While transitioning from eating at restaurants to eating all your meals at home is a big adjustment, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still mentally and physically benefit from preparing home-cooked meals.

Take Time to Explore Recipes You’ve Been Saving

Now is a perfect time to learn to cook low-cost meals that you may have been putting off due to lack of time. Tamales, notoriously time-consuming to prepare, are created with cost-effective ingredients. With more time than we know what to do with, there’s no excuse not to give cooking them a try.

Or perhaps you’ve always meant to try your hand at fresh baked bread or canning vegetables. There is nothing to stop you from learning these skills now.

Become More Efficient with Using Your Perishables

No one wants to make multiple trips to the grocery stores at the moment, and that can present some tricky issues with using produce and other perishables before they go bad. Be intentional about using these items in meals before they turn. You will find that you are eating healthy while also learning to prepare meals you wouldn’t normally cook.

For example, bulk yogurt can be blended with frozen fruit and milk to make a smoothie. A sack of potatoes and cheddar cheese can easily become scalloped potatoes. Soft bananas and just a few more ingredients make amazing banana bread.

Enjoy Taking Your Time to Cook

Compiling and preparing ingredients takes more time than most people have during a normal weekday. Use working from home as an opportunity to cook the foods you enjoy but automatically rush to prepare. Enjoy having time to finally learn the “correct” way to cut onions or to cook pasta to an al dente consistency.

Reconnecting with cooking can help take your mind off current events while also treating those we live with to some delicious meals. Make the occasion extra special by breaking out a fancy tablecloth, candles, and wine.

Make Cooking a Social Activity

Plan a Zoom chat with some friends, and organize a cooking night where you all cook together via video. Perhaps you all try different pizza recipes and show off the results. You can even swap recipes and give your friends’ spin on pizza a try the following week. Learn kitchen tips and tricks from one another, and enjoy a meal in the process.

While you might be missing your favorite restaurant entrees over the next few weeks, you can find new recipes to love and maybe even learn to create some of your own.