Cook like a Queen

We’ve heard through the pea-vine that Kate Middle is taking royal cooking classes in preparation for her role as new mum.   We just can’t help but imagine what it would be like to slice, dice and sauté alongside the Duchess of Cambridge in the Buckingham Palace.  But stepping back into reality, it’s obvious that Kate is onto something.  Preparing home-cooked meals automatically makes you and your family healthier; people consume 50% more calories, fat and sodium when they eat out than when they cook at home.   So whether you never cook, rarely cook, or sometimes cook, we want to inspire you to step into the kitchen even more.  By following these simple steps, you will begin to enjoy preparing meals for your family just as you would if you were cooking with her highness.

• Plan accordingly.  Make your dinner goals and write down a plan of attack.  Would you like to make three home cooked meals this week?  Your first step is to figure out what you’re going to make and remember to start with a simple recipe that you know your family will like then build from there. 
• Create a detailed list. Grocery shop for all your weekly meals at once, which means before you go the grocery store make a detailed list of every ingredient you will need.  Also, find out what produce is currently in season in your area and add that to your list.   This will save you money as seasonal produce costs much less due to its availability.
• Make sure your pantry is well stocked. Check out our Peas-Perspective about our favorite kitchen staples and use it to help you stock up.
• Get comfortable with your knife.  In order to get the most out of your home cooked meals you’re going to want to load those plates with vegetables so it’s important that you feel confident while slicing zucchini’s, chopping tomatoes and dicing onions. You’ll also find that when you know how to use your knife you’ll save loads of time on prep.  We found this youtube knife skills video very helpful and we think you will too.
• Set the mood.  Do what you need to do to make cooking feel like a joy, rather then a task.  Light some candles, fill your favorite vase with flowers and set it in a place you can see it, put on your favorite album, sing along and remind yourself that Kate is doing the same thing.
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Burn the rice, over salt your marinade, drop some lemon seeds into the dressing…it’s all-good.  As you get more comfortable with your favorite recipes this will happen less and less, your meals will get tastier and you will speed up the whole meal making process. But until then, just relish in the learning experience.   Just remember to have a few Peas of Mind products on hand so that when this does happen, you can toss a pizza in the oven with some veggie fries and know that your family is getting a health meal and that it will be better next time.