Lisa: Expressing Love & Joy Through Cooking
I cook because I enjoy the creativity and control, plus I find cooking to be an expression of love for my husband. – Lisa
As Kitchen Hero Lisa will tell you, even home cooked meals become boring, especially when you make the same thing day in and day out. It takes time to get creative and cook a variety of delicious meals – there’s the planning, the shopping, the prepping, the cooking. . .Even a skilled cook like Lisa, who loves to cook, eventually resorted to prepared supermarket foods. Luckily, she discovered how to save time so that she can get back in the kitchen, get creative, and cook different healthy, tasty dishes made with love and joy. Read more about her Hero in the Kitchen story below.
Name: Lisa Ferguson
Age: 48
City, State: Thousand Oaks, CA
I cook for: myself and my husband.
Outside of the kitchen I: work in social services and enjoy gardening and traveling in my spare time.
If I could have any superpower, it would be: to survive on just two hours of sleep per day.
I cook because: I enjoy the creativity and control, plus I find cooking to be an expression of love for my husband.
Favorite Cook Smarts meal so far: Tie between the Italian Ribollita Soup and the Tilapia with Lemon-Chive Butter.
HOW DID YOU LEARN TO COOK?
Growing up, food in our house was quick and simple, especially since I was the daughter of a single, working mom. When I first moved out on my own, my cooking skills were pretty basic. Just as I was getting bored with my typical chicken breast / veggies / rice dinner, I discovered cable cooking shows and the internet, which gave me access to instruction and demonstrations that women of my mother’s generation never had. I started experimenting and having dinner parties and found that I had an ability and joy for cooking.
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST COOKING CHALLENGE?
As most of us know, cooking takes time – from the planning and shopping, through to the clean up afterwards. As much as I enjoyed preparing my family’s meals at home, there just wasn’t always time. If I stuck to a handful of tried and true recipes, the menu planning time was reduced but the routine was dull. When I came across recipes for new dishes to try, I was faced with a whole list of new ingredients that I didn’t ever use again. If I just walked the aisles of the supermarket without a plan, buying what looked good, a lot of uneaten food usually ended up in the trash at the end of the week.
“I am proud to have found my joy in the kitchen again and I owe it all to Cook Smarts.”
HOW HAS YOUR COOKING ROUTINE CHANGED SINCE STARTING COOK SMARTS’ MEAL PLANS?
By the time I discovered Cook Smarts, my husband and I had fallen into the bad habit of eating out and / or purchasing prepared food at the supermarket. We were spending too much money on food with questionable nutritional value and I had lost the joy I experienced in the kitchen. And worst of all, I had gained considerable weight with my unhealthy choices.
Since signing up with Cook Smarts, dinner has become a pleasurable experience again. My husband and I are enjoying the new dishes and flavors, eating more fruits and vegetables and, best of all, I’ve lost more than 20 pounds since joining 4 months ago. I am proud to have found my joy in the kitchen again and I owe it all to Cook Smarts.
Lisa, we’re so honored to be a part of your cooking journey and to help you out of your cooking rut. Cooking’s not always easy, but it’s even harder to accept that challenge and make healthy eating a possibility. The fact that you are able to turn it around truly makes you a Kitchen Hero and an inspiration! Thanks for bringing us joy and motivation to keep doing what we do!
To join Lisa and cook meals like her favorite Italian Ribollita Soup and Tilapia with Lemon-Chive Butter, check out our meal plan service. You can get started for free!
