Top five tips to source recipes in a way that works for YOU!
Cookbooks…
Websites…
Social media posts…
Pinterest…
Magazines…
TV programmes…
Apps…
I’m pretty sure that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the overwhelming number of places it’s possible to source ideas for things to cook. And, of course, that doesn’t include the infinite types of recipes available: from meat-focused to plant-based, family food to meals for one, ideas for weaning babies to inspiration for food allergy sufferers, where do you begin if you are just trying to find an appropriate recipe for one single occasion, let alone setting yourself up for a lifetime of cooking meals?
Here are five top tips to get yourself focused on where to source recipes in a way that works for you.
Work out your household’s preferred types of foods to eat. Does anyone follow a particular diet, either down to preference or food intolerance? What sorts of meals do they prefer to eat? Hearty, lighter, less meat, eating for weight loss or heart health etc. Do you mainly need quick-to-put-together meals for your day-to-day eating, or do you have more time to work on meal preparation day-to-day?
- Consider which type of recipe source will work best for you. Lots of people save recipes on social media like Pinterest and Instagram, but then don’t go back and cook them, ending up feeling overwhelmed by the number of recipes they’ve saved in disorganised folders. Many people prefer to use a cookbook or to have a hard copy of a recipe in front of them which they can annotate. For others, using recipes on social media and blogs is intuitive, and they have a system for accessing and using the recipes they save. Work with what you know you prefer. This might be a mixture of the above, or just one type of source.
- Do a bit of research into recipe creators who create the types of meals you want to cook. Having empathy with the cookery writer can instil a real desire to cook and eat their recipes. This is particularly true of cookery writers who have been on some sort of journey with their food, and have a greater purpose, so to speak. Great examples of this type of cookery writer are Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater, and Ella Mills. They are all utterly passionate about the recipes they create and the foods they eat, and write with passion about their recipes, whether the focus is pure enjoyment, sustainability and provenance, or the benefits of eating a plant-based diet.
- Source your recipes! If you’ve decided to focus on cookbooks, go to the library and spend some time looking through the books they have available to borrow. If you prefer websites, set up a user account on BBC Good Food, or some folders on the recipe section of your favourite supermarket website. Start saving meal types, focusing on the types of recipes you are looking for. If you love to sit down with a magazine, take out a subscription to one that catches your eye, or which has a focus on your household’s needs. There are plenty of magazines with a focus on specific diets or ways of cooking. NB. When I use the word “diet,” I use it simply to refer to a way of eating, as opposed to being “on a diet.”
- Sit down with your recipe source and do some organising! If you love cookbooks, take some mini post-it notes of different colours and mark the recipes you want to make. Colour code the types of recipes so you know what each tab refers to. If you have hundreds of recipes saved on Pinterest, but they’re not organised and sheer terror fills you when you think about opening your boards, set aside half an hour a few times over a couple of weeks to start going through what you’ve saved, curating your boards and binning anything which no longer appeals, whilst creating much more focused boards for the recipes you want to keep. If you have piles of cookery magazines, sit down with them and pull out any recipes you want to save, placing them in a plastic wallet or ring binder, then place the unwanted magazines in the recycling. This will save you from leafing through page after page of unwanted recipes in order to find the one you want. Try not to be precious with old magazines and enjoy the liberation of disposing of unnecessary clutter.
If the idea of doing all this sounds overwhelming before you’ve even started, how about working with me on a meal planning session? I can help you take stock of where you are currently in terms of your cooking ability and understanding of ingredients and recipes, where you want to be, and how to get there. Check out my Meal Planning Packages page for more information or send me an email through the address at the bottom of the page.
I look forward to working with you and transforming your cooking experience.
xxx Sam
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