Chrissie: Letting Loose & Learning to Cook
I cook because I have a love-hate relationship with food that I am always playing to win.
-Chrissie
#KitchenHero
We love seeing everyone’s photos of the Cook Smarts meals they make, whether on our Kitchen Heroes Facebook Group, Instagram, or Twitter. These are definitely some of our proudest moments, especially when we hear about how someone tried something new for the first time or is learning how to cook in general.
Chrissie is one of our Kitchen Heroes who shares amazing home-cooked meals with us via Instagram and Twitter, so we’re so excited to have her share her kitchen story with us. From learning how to be confident in the kitchen to letting loose and dancing while cooking, Chrissie reminds us all that cooking is a continuous learning process, and taking away the stress and fear of cooking means plenty of good times in the kitchen. Read her Hero in the Kitchen story below.
Name: Chrissie
Age: 35
City, State: Charlotte, NC
I cook for: my family and my friends.
Outside of the kitchen I: am a mom, a wife, a homeschool teacher, a friend, and a daughter.
I am a pro at: baking cakes and breads that have tried and true, easy-to-follow recipes.
I cook because: I feel I’m supposed to cook, like a rite of passage into actual adulthood to go beyond the “playing house” stage. I cook because I have a love-hate relationship with food that I am always playing to win.
Favorite Cook Smarts meal so far: has easily been the Pasta with Artichoke-Spinach Pesto and Roasted Cauliflower.
How did you learn to cook?
To ask how I learned to cook is a question with a difficult answer… as I never feel I have ever learned to cook. I always feel like I just “get by” and muddle through it. I feel confident in many areas of life, but I never seem to feel that I’ve gotten the hang of cooking.
What’s been your biggest cooking challenge?
Feeling comfortable with being in charge of the meal. Also, timing all the components to be ready at the same time is a constant foe of mine.
What have you learned since starting Cook Smarts’ meal plans?
Cook Smarts has really changed the way I feel in the kitchen. I feel more in control and more confident in the prep work and the sequence of preparing the dish. Also, Cook Smarts has helped with figuring out side dishes to go along with the main dish. Cook Smarts has taken the pressure off.
Each meal has been like an experiment the first time, and it hasn’t been stressful because the videos and step-by-step instructions meet the needs of my mind to organize the meal successfully. I never seem to have a question about the prep work or the cooking that isn’t answered in a video or picture or in the instructions themselves.
I’ve tried other meal plan services and I felt so much pressure with the food being delivered to me accompanied by a surprise recipe. We’re a picky bunch, and having the option to customize any meal to vegetarian options when there’s fish we’d prefer to leave out has made everything so much easier. Add that to the compiled grocery list that is organized by areas in the grocery store – it is as if Cook Smarts was made for me. It just doesn’t get easier and any more stress free than this!
“I feel more in control and more confident in the prep work and the sequence of preparing the dish…Cook Smarts has taken the pressure off.”
Tell us about your proudest kitchen moment.
I think that first week where the different components of the meal were all ready at the same time, and food could be delivered to my family when the hot food was hot and before the salad warmed up.
What are your tips for health and success in the kitchen?
Find a way to take the stress and fear out of cooking. Take away the things that make cooking a negative experience. I had so much fun the first two weeks with choosing the recipes, preparing the meals, shopping with my gargantuan list (that I didn’t have to bend my brain into a knot to compile myself), and snapping pictures to share on Instagram of my success and my family’s opinions on the food.
Oh, and play music you like while you prep and cook! Throw some singing and dancing around the kitchen if the mood strikes you!
We agree, Chrissie – adding a bit of singing and dancing while cooking really makes it a lot more fun! We’re so happy to hear that our meal plans can help you enjoy cooking and learn how to cook. We know you’ll get the hang of it someday, if you haven’t already. After all, your food photos show that you are quite the competent chef!
To join Chrissie and cook meals like her favorite Pasta with Spinach-Artichoke Pesto and Roasted Cauliflower, check out our meal plan service. You can get started for free!
