Baking & Cooking for Yourself, How We Can Make it Enjoyable?

Baking & Cooking for Yourself, How We Can Make it Enjoyable?

It is difficult to provide an exact number of people who eat alone or cook for oneself. However, almost all of us experience a sense of accomplishment after creating something delicious or relaxing experience of cooking/baking for ourselves at least once.

Especially in modern urban life, it is common for people to eat or cook alone, at least occasionally. Whether it be due to living alone, living with a partner who travels a lot, having busy schedules, or simply personal preferences.

Main benefits of cooking for yourself

1. Health: Cooking at home allows you to control the ingredients and preparation methods, making it easier to maintain a healthy diet.
2. Cost: Preparing meals at home can be less expensive than eating out or buying pre-made meals.
3. Enjoyment: Cooking can be a relaxing and enjoyable activity and provide a sense of accomplishment.
4. Creativity: Cooking your own meals allows you to experiment with different ingredients and flavours and can be a fun way to express creativity.
5. Socialisation: Cooking for others, whether friends, family or romantic partners, can be a great way to socialise, bond and share experiences.
6. Cultural immersion: Cooking your own meals allows you to learn and explore different cultures and cuisines.
7. Waste reduction: Cooking and eating at home reduces the amount of food waste generated by eating out.

What stops people from baking and cooking for themselves?

 Talking to my customers, I realised people sometimes find it challenging to cook and bake for themselves. But what are those challenges?

1. Lack of inspiration or meal ideas: Cooking for one person can be uninspiring, especially if the person is not confident in the kitchen or doesn't enjoy cooking.
2. Difficulty in portion control: It can be hard to gauge how much food to make for one person, leading to wasted food or leftovers.
3. Limited cooking equipment: People who live alone may need access to a complete set of cooking equipment, making it challenging to prepare certain meals.
4. Time constraints: Many people who live alone have busy schedules and may need more time or energy to cook a full meal.
5. Difficulty with cooking for one: Some people find it hard to cook for themselves because they are used to cooking for a family or group.
6. Cost: Cooking for one person can be more expensive than cooking for a group.
7. Food waste: When cooking for one person, it's easy to let food go wrong because of an overestimation of how much to buy and cook.

Here are some tips from me for cooking/eating alone more enjoyable and fun

1. Plan your meals: Plan your meals in advance, make a grocery list and stick to it. This way, you'll have all the necessary ingredients and won't waste food.
2. Experiment with new recipes: Try new recipes and cuisines. This will make cooking more exciting and fun.
3. Make it a ritual: Create a particular routine or ritual around meal times, such as lighting candles, playing music, setting the table nicely, or using unique dishes or cutlery.
4. Cook for yourself as if you were cooking for guests: Make an effort to plate your food nicely and make it visually appealing.
5. Share your meals: Share your cooking and baking experience with friends and family by taking pictures and posting them on social media. You can even share the baking/cooking process with your friends and family over a video call.
6. Cooking/Baking classes: Take a cooking/baking class to learn new skills and meet people with similar interests.
7. Treat yourself: Make a special meal, bread or dessert as a treat to yourself. It can be a small reward for your hard work.
8. Get creative with your ingredients: Try to make something new with the ingredients you already have in your pantry. It can be a fun challenge.
9. Turn a challenge into an experience: Pick a bread recipe if you have never baked before and make the whole experience into a fun challenge. Filming and taking pictures of the process make it a memorable experience and a story, Reel or a TikTok post.

I'd like to be your companion in the kitchen.

At Bake2Explore, I am working on a new exciting programme to be your companion in your kitchen. My mission in helping everyone to try the joy of cooking and baking their own food and bread at least once, if not more.

What I am working on:

• Putting together simple, exciting easy-to-follow recipes. 
• Practical tips on how to source healthy organic ingredients and know them better.
• Guide you through portions and measuring and trust your intuition, culinary and childhood memories.
• Ideas to store your food, bread and ingredients to minimise your waste. 
• The best way to create a community that inspires you, excites you, and makes you accountable for the delicious journey of being your own culinary coach.