How to Get Inspired to Start Cooking Healthy Recipes

Maybe you’re setting out on your cooking adventure for the first time, or maybe you’ve just fallen out of the habit of doing your own cooking. Either way, there are specific steps you can take to gain inspiration for cooking healthily. Feel excited about walking into the kitchen with the following five steps.

Check Social Media and Food Blogs

Cooking ruts are difficult to bounce out of. Pasta and some canned sauce is easy and requires no thought, but it doesn’t have much nutritional value and isn’t likely to open up your creative cooking ideas. Set aside the spaghetti colander and pick up your phone. Use social media as a jumping-off point for your weekly meal planning. Find beautiful foods on Instagram and recipes from companies like Nucific on Pinterest. Usually, these accounts are tied to food blogs with recipes that you can follow to the tee or use as a general outline for your own creation. 

You can always go to those original food blogs: cookbooks. If you don’t want to invest, hit your local library to find a cookbook that catches your fancy.

Experiment With Ingredients

One way to find social media accounts and food blogs is to search by specific healthy ingredients. Hit the farmers’ market to find something seasonal or something you’ve never used before. Also, try meats and fresh vegetables from your local Asian market or a Halal store. Ask the vendor how he recommends preparing your find or search the internet based on your ingredient to find unique recipe ideas.

Another search option is combining your ingredient with a regional cuisine you’d like to try cooking or a specific method you’re trying. For example, if you find a beautiful eggplant you could search “eggplant and Mediterranean” or “eggplant and sous vide.” Remember to bookmark your recipes so you can find them again easily.

Plan Ahead

Planning your meals is not only a way to stay inspired but to make sure you’re getting all of the nutrients your body needs. Trying to decide what to cook when it’s almost mealtime has about the same success as asking your kids what they did in school today. Nothing comes to mind and you’re standing in the kitchen looking blank and feeling uninspired.

Whether you do actual meal prep one or two days a week or you just sit down once a week with your family and outline what you’ll have each night and who is in charge of cooking can bring excitement back to your cooking.

If you plan your meals ahead of time you can buy ingredients online to cut down on food waste and save you time in the kitchen. It’s convenient as it allows you to shop from the comfort of your home and avoid the hassle of going to the store. Online shopping also gives you access to a wider variety of products, including specialty items such as the best bone broth that might be hard to find locally.

Simplify Your Plans

When you’ve been cooking all the time, losing inspiration can simply be a case of burnout. Don’t force yourself to continue in the same mode indefinitely if what you’re doing doesn’t make you feel good. Instead, focus on something easy and healthy that you can prep quickly. Try throwing together a fruit tray and a simple fruit dip to snack from during the week. Make an easy summer salad like a Caprese or three-bean that has lots of color and flavor to spark your tastebuds and imagination.  

Party On

One option that goes a completely different direction from simplifying your plans is to throw a dinner party. Maybe you have healthy cooking down, but you want to stretch your wings. A dinner party can be a great excuse to really lean into new techniques and fancier ingredients.

If cooking for eight or ten people feels too intimidating, get your friends in on the action. Ask everyone to bring a course. You can assign dishes or just provide a theme for the evening. This type of group cooking exercise makes cooking an exciting, interactive and rewarding activity. If the first dinner goes off well consider making it a monthly or bi-monthly party with a rotating host.

Getting inspired can mean finding your comfort zone or breaking out of it. With these five ideas, you’ll be ready to try something new next time you cook.