's MOTD Thurs Feb 28, 2008

[Guest guest]

HATE TO COOK?

Thursday, 28 February 2008

Women come to me all the time and announce...", I don't cook because I just hate to cook!" Whew! Why, these ladies could almost get away with wearing an I Hate To Cook medal on their chests!Now why does anyone hate to cook? There was a lady who wrote a cookbook once called the I Hate To Cook Cookbook. Her name was Peg Braken and she put together a bunch of recipes for people who really do hate to cook. I'll admit, her recipes were so easy and simple that anyone could make them.So, are you one of those people who hates to cook? Yeah? Well, maybe you hate to cook because your mother hated cooking. And how did you know your mom didn't like cooking? Easy, because of the way her cooking tasted! And maybe she got her dislike for cooking from her mother, your grandma!Who knows why you dislike going into the kitchen to prepare a meal so much? But one thing I do know is that if you want to consistently lose weight and keep it off, learning how to cook healthy meals is something you've gotta learn to love to do.Now I know, most people think the fastest way to cook is to just fry their foods. And let's face it, frying is pretty fast! Let's see, you take a chicken breast, dip it into an egg, some flour and toss it into the Big Daddy deep fryer. And...viola! You've got yourself fried chicken breast, just minutes later. But, (And do I have to tell you?), that kind of cooking will make you fat!Then there're those recipes you find in fancy cookbooks that contain forty different ingredients. I'll be honest with you. I stay away from those kinds of recipes because they're rather intimidating. I go for simpler recipes and I share them in the Clubhouse with you every month. In fact, my Clubhouse Recipe Box contains hundreds and hundreds of recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think one of the reasons some of you hate to cook is that you cook without music. Not me! I like to think of cooking as a dance between the ingredients and cooking is a dance I just love to stir up. Okay, here's how you learn to love to cook, like me!First of all, find a recipe that you can handle. Read it a few times and familiarize yourself with it. Next, assemble all of the ingredients you'll need to make your recipe. And besides the ingredients, get out your measuring cups and spoons, too. Have everything you'll need right there at your fingertips.Over the weekend, I made chicken gumbo while listening to an Keys CD. And, oh! My gumbo turned out as sassy as some of her numbers!Once you have the music you wanna hear playing in the background, begin chopping, slicing and prepping your recipe. Put everything together and follow the instructions to a "T."

When you make a recipe for the first time, be sure not to change the measurements, okay? Don't think, Oh, I'll just add a little more curry powder. Hey, if the person who created this recipe wanted more curry powder, he or she would have put it in there! After you make a recipe the first time, then you can fiddle with it for your tastebuds the next time you make it.

If there's a picture of the recipe, try to make your dish look just like it. When you finish your recipe, sit down and eat! And I have to tell you, you'll enjoy the recipe even more knowing that you took the time to make it.So learn how to steam, broil and bake. If you do, you'll love it even more because...weight-loss will be in your fate!Love,