Come on it happens to the best of us. I won’t pretend to be someone I’m not – and that means being upfront and honest to say I don’t always enjoy cooking. But I do love to cook so what gives?
One word: Motivation. I almost wrote “time” instead but even when low on time you can rearrange your schedule, or get up earlier or stay up later if the motivation is there. Today, I had time. I had the ingredients. But I completely lacked the motivation to do anything. I’m a lucky gal though – I have a husband who also likes to cook and he took care of dinner. But he too falls prey to lacking motivation from time to time as well.
From experience I’ve found two things to influence motivation.
Money
If I don’t have the money to buy what I need or want to buy it kills the enthusiasm which in turns kills the motivation.
This occurred not so long ago. I was at the store to buy some lamb hoping to get a great buy like I typically find. It was a special trip too just for this one thing since I had a huge craving for lamb. Just some small pieces would have been fine. I was motivated to cook and try some new seasonings I had in mind for it.
However my usual Managers Special which almost always has something I can use, was all cleaned out – some lucky person must have beat me to it.
All that was left was some leg of lamb that wasn’t in my budget. I was crushed. I didn’t buy it and when I returned home, I became a slug on the couch.
My motivation was gone.
Lack of Creativity
This is caused by a number of things. Mainly how tired you are. At times like these there is only one thing to do – order out or pull out a cookbook or look in the freezer. OK, so that’s three things you can do. See – under promise and over deliver!
Possible Solutions:
When felling unmotivated to cook, recognize it. Think of a recipe which requires minimal effort. Even just pasta with olive oil, garlic and some cheese. The best pasta for that type of recipe is short pasta like rigatoni.
However, if you simply cannot pull yourself up by the bootstraps and you have to feed the family, take the family out and enjoy the time together. Turn the night into a positive and have fun.
Here’s a little money saving tip: Instead of dining at the restaurant, save the tip money and order carry out to bring home. Put a table cloth on, nice silverware, use wine glasses for water and light some candles. It will be even better than eating out and a night the kids will remember.
So in the end, don’t beat yourself up – it happens to everyone.
Liz
www.simpleitaliancooking.com
Italian Kitchenware and Recipes
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