Do You Like to Cook?

[Mellotron]

I've noticed that people who have a very restrictive diet - as in not liking a lot of foods, as opposed to choosing not to eat certain foods for other reasons - often don't like cooking, eat a bland diet and frequently have difficulty deciding what to eat.

I eat a wide range of foods and I find cooking for people with food texture issues can be rather challenging and frustrating. My ex-husband was convinced that some foods made him ill and he claimed to dislike others that I suspect he had never even tried. I used to enjoy disguising some of the foods that he wouldn't eat, watch him eat them and then tell me how nice the meal was - and he was never ill afterwards.

Has anyone here managed to overcome some of their food texture issues? How did you do it?

I used to hate the texture of tofu. With its awful squishy texture I just couldn't get past it. Then I started eating it more and more putting it in stir-fry meals with soy sauce. I wound up loving it after a while I think because the flavor of the soy sauce made it tasty so the texture thing wasn't as much of an issue. I have since stopped eating tofu though and gone to a more organic, grass-fed, meat-based protein source. But I don't think I'd have a problem with the texture of tofu still today.

 

[nonsensical]

I do like cooking, but I'm very lazy at times and just go out to eat instead. I hate myself for all the fast food I eat, but sometimes cooking feels overwhelming and inconvenient.

 

[superboyian]

It depends on what mood I would be, often in a good mood I tend to enjoy cooking and adding different variations to it than I would be in a bad mood when I don't enjoy these things as such tbh. Overwhelming? Not as such.

 

[AGXStarseed]

I can heat things up like pizza or garlic bread, but as for cooking in general I'd say no.

 

[Licorice]

I enjoy cooking, trying new recipes and then modifying them. It's more healthy than consuming ready-prepared meals from the supermarket or dining out, and frequently much cheaper too. I think it is a nice way to show that you care for someone, or someone else shows that they care for me when they spend time preparing a nice meal for me. I keep a notebook with quick, healthy meal ideas to help with menu planning, shopping lists and for unplanned events, such as when I arrive home from work and feel too tired to spend a lot of time cooking.

The lower cost of cooking my own meals has been one of my favorite things about it. I can also make smoothies and drinks dirt cheap at home instead of buying them from a shop.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I used to be really into cooking. But in recent years, the stress of worrying about prices and money when shopping turned food preparation into a stressful action.

 

[Laura]

Oooh I love cooking! It's so therapeutic to me! I make home-cooked meals every day for the family, and really enjoy it. Hopefully going to cook up my famous roast pork dinner this weekend, then use the leftovers to make a pork curry on Monday. It's just nice to be running around the kitchen and watching all those random ingredients come together to make tasty treats and delicious dinners And you're right, it's much cheaper than dining out or buying ready-meals. I can whip up a bolognese for 4 people for about ?5.

 

[wyverary]

I live cooking, LOVE it! But it is rare that I do it. It takes a lot of preparation, both mentally and physically, even if I am just doing simple things. I have criteria that need to be met before I start:

-Complete control of the kitchen. I can have other people with me, but I have an absolutely dictatorial presence and they had better be doing EXACTLY what I tell them THE WAY I say to do it WHEN I tell them to do it!
-A completely clean, organized kitchen. I need everything ready when I need it. I clean up as I go along, too, which helps me get everything prepared in a timely matter.
-A steady supply of wine or whiskey. This is NOT optional.

Mostly, when I cook, I make vegan stuff, simply because that is something I cannot get elsewhere, and I love vegan food for whatever reason.

I hate grocery shopping.

 

[Axeman52]

I can heat things up like pizza or garlic bread, but as for cooking in general I'd say no.

Same here.

proper cooking is just stressful for me, i get really hung up on getting exact quantities of ingredients and cooking everything for the exact amounts of time etc. I wish i didn't find it so stressful though, because i prefer freshly cooked food.

 

[Licorice]

I live cooking, LOVE it! But it is rare that I do it. It takes a lot of preparation, both mentally and physically, even if I am just doing simple things. I have criteria that need to be met before I start:

-Complete control of the kitchen. I can have other people with me, but I have an absolutely dictatorial presence and they had better be doing EXACTLY what I tell them THE WAY I say to do it WHEN I tell them to do it!
-A completely clean, organized kitchen. I need everything ready when I need it. I clean up as I go along, too, which helps me get everything prepared in a timely matter.
-A steady supply of wine or whiskey. This is NOT optional.

Mostly, when I cook, I make vegan stuff, simply because that is something I cannot get elsewhere, and I love vegan food for whatever reason.

I hate grocery shopping.

I can't stand other people in the kitchen, either. I can keep track of pots and pans, but I can't keep track of someone taking up the stove, sink, etc, unexpectedly.

 

[wyverary]

Same here.

proper cooking is just stressful for me, i get really hung up on getting exact quantities of ingredients and cooking everything for the exact amounts of time etc.

I just do not worry about this at all. Even if I have a recipe in front of me, I consider it more "suggestion" than "instruction." The wine helps relax me, so that I do not stress out but also so that I am a little bit more bold and less rigid in my methods...which, for me, usually works quite well.

 

[Axeman52]

I just do not worry about this at all. Even if I have a recipe in front of me, I consider it more "suggestion" than "instruction." The wine helps relax me, so that I do not stress out but also so that I am a little bit more bold and less rigid in my methods...which, for me, usually works quite well.

Hmm.. Perhaps i could try thinking of recipes more like suggestions rather than rigid instructions and see if that helps. Actually your criteria you posted earlier might work for me, too (except the wine/whiskey because i don't drink)

 

[ghoulbler]

I really like cooking! Mostly desserts. I spent an entire week experimenting with cookie batter because I wanted to see what ingredients did what to the finished product. Of course I could have just looked it up online but it was fun finding out myself. The kitchen was full of cookies :giggle2:

 

[Rob]

Yes, I enjoy cooking! I often make curried dishes with mung beans or chickpeas, with perhaps some garden-fresh vegetables in the mix like potatoes or even turnip greens. I picked up all the extra turnip greens in my parents' garden and steamed about five steamers' worth of turnip greens. Turnip greens are rich in calcium and other minerals so they are a valuable diet item during our long winters here in Golden British Columbia Canada. And they are a great side dish to your favorite entr?e.

I also cook with eggs a lot too, as they are rich in choline, an important nutrient for Aspies and other autistic people with learning disabilities. I will boil them and put some Himalayan salt and basil or turmeric on them, as well as make them into omelets with diced tomato and saut?ed onions.

Very nice topic. Thanks.

 

[MoCoffee]

I really enjoy cooking and baking. I am a vegetarian and since I live in a small city it's hard to find good choices. We have one coffee shop that caters to vegetarian and vegan appetites but most of the restaurants here serve Chinese and Italian meals. Even the grocery stores don't have much variety and since I'm on a fixed income, I can't afford to eat out very often. I've gotten pretty good at making tasty, healthy meals and I'm always on the lookout for new recipes.

 

[The Penguin]

Yes I do. I'm in this video cooking

 

[Harrison]

I love cooking, my mother taught us all to cook from an early age, and back then it was all fresh veg etc, a habit that I still have.

 

[Randomperson]

I like to eat, but whenever I cook using something other then the microwave I have what seems to be at least a 50% chance of getting a new 2nd degree burn.

 

[Kari Suttle]

I don't know how to cook much, but i can cook. It depends on my mood as to how much i enjoy it. I hate, say, waiting on water to boil for pasta. I hate waiting for food to cook but cooking itself i enjoy as long as its something simple and i dont have anyone watchin me cause then i get nervous.

 

[SameStars]

I don't really care for cooking, so I don't put in the effort. Once I live on my own, this might very well change.