7 Obstacles to Cooking at Home (+ Tips to Overcome them!)

Do you want to cook at home more but find it difficult? Here are 7 common reasons and how to tackle them!

From health benefits to financial savings to just simply feeling more organized, there are many reasons you may want to build the habit of cooking at home.

But it can also be a struggle. And if it is for you, you're certainly not alone.

Whether it's a lack of time, motivation or you simply can never figure out what to make, there is no shortage of barriers.

But it is my passion to help busy people like yourself overcome these obstacles and to make home cooking more enjoyable and easier.

So here are 7 common challenges and tips to solve them so that you can make cooking a part of your daily routine.

1. Lack of Time

This is a big one for almost everyone I've talked to (myself included!).

Between long work hours, family commitments and social obligations, finding the time to cook at home can be a significant challenge.

But fortunately, I do have some tips to help!

• Plan Ahead: This is not to be overlooked and absolutely essential to cooking at home (it comes up a few times in this post!). When you're hungry and want dinner now, it is so much harder to decide what to make, feel motivated to make it (and wait for it to be ready) and so much more tempting to order takeout! So to make it easier to succeed at developing the habit of cooking:
  • Look at your schedule: Looking at your schedule at the beginning of the week is important for figuring out when you can cook and how to approach your cooking plan. Maybe you're home every night and have an hour to cook? Maybe you're not home at all and need to prep something to pack along?
  • Decide when to cook: After looking at your schedule, you can plan when you can cook and just how much time you have to do so.
• Incorporate Some Degree of Meal Prep: If you're busy, some degree of preparing ahead or batch cooking can be so helpful! You don't have to cook a whole week's worth of meals on Sunday (though you totally can if that's your style), but simply preparing a couple of things ahead of time can make a big difference on a busy night.
  • Prepare Ingredients: Just doing a couple of simple tasks like precooking chicken breasts, chopping vegetables or measuring spices can make recipes later in the week so much quicker!
  • Batch Cook: Or, you can take it a step further and make a full batch of something ahead of time to pack for lunches or to freeze to keep on hand.
• Keep Meals Simple: If you're short on time, remember that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a simple dinner.
  • One or Two Pot Meals- Look for recipes where most of the elements are cooked together to save time on dishes.
  • Use Prepared Ingredients- Buying prechopped frozen vegetables or using a quality jarred pasta sauce, for example, can be a huge time saver.
• Embrace Leftovers: Learning to love leftovers is so convenient. I almost always plan for leftovers when I am cooking whether that means choosing a recipe that makes multiple servings or doubling the batch. It doesn't add a lot on to the initial cooking time but can save you a lot of time later in the week!
  • Store Conveniently: But leftovers only help if you actually eat them. A key step for ensuring you use your leftovers (no one wants food waste) is to portion them into servings ahead of time.
  • So for example, rather than storing mashed potatoes in one container, pork tenderloin in another and roasted carrots and asparagus in another, portion them out into multiple single serving airtight containers in the serving size that you want.
  • That way, they are actually convenient to reheat (you only have to reheat one container and you only have one dish to wash when you reheat it).
  • Plus, this makes planning so much easier! You can see at a glance how many servings of leftovers you have. And you can easily freeze and thaw single servings for later.

2. You Don't Know What to Make

We make countless decisions throughout the day and decision fatigue is real.

Even as a food blogger with 300+ recipes on my site, the question of "what's for dinner?" can somehow make my mind blank!

But there are some things that definitely help me and will hopefully help you too!

• Keep a Running List of Recipes You Know and Like- When your mind goes blank on what to make for dinner it can be so helpful to have something to refer to in order to remind you of what sorts of recipes you can make.
  • It can be as simple as using a google sheet (that's what I do!). Simply list the recipe name in one column and then a link to the recipe in the next column.
  • Take it a Step Further: Along with the recipe name and links, I also include a column with the serving amount (I write the servings that we actually got out of it, not what is on the recipe card so that I have a good estimate of how many meals I can plan for out of the recipe), the time that it took to make it (again, I write the time it took me to make it- not what the recipe says- in order to help me accurately plan) and notes (where I write any successful substitutions that I've made, etc).
• Keep a List of Recipes that You want to Try- And then, if you're someone who likes to try new recipes, you can add a second sheet to the same document where you write the name and link to recipes that you are interested in trying.
• Create a Meal Plan or Rotation- Having a regular meal rotation can be huge for easing decision fatigue.
  • Or try a pre-set theme- Or, if you don't want a rigid meal plan, setting weeknight themes can help give you some inspiration for dinner (such as taco Tuesday or pasta on Thursdays).
• Decide Ahead of Time- Deciding what to make for dinner when you are already hungry can make it so much harder! So having something planned in advance (when you are of a sound, not-hangry state of mind) can be a lot easier.

3. You Don't the Right Ingredients on Hand

So maybe you can decide what to make for dinner but it never seems like you have the ingredients that you need!

In order to overcome this, I have a few tips.

• Plan Your Meals Before Grocery Shopping- I told you that planning was going to come up a lot in this! Knowing what you are planning to make and then tailoring your grocery list to it not only ensures that you have what you need but it also helps to minimize food waste.
  • Meal Plan- This is a key reason why I am passionate about meal planning. Deciding what to make for dinner already takes so much effort and so doing it ahead of time and having the groceries on hand to follow through with it makes it much easier. (Check out my Meal Plan for Two (with Grocery List) post for a week of done for you meal planning!).
• Check Your Inventory- Before you decide what to cook, it can be really helpful to see what you already have and decide if there are recipes that you can make to use those ingredients. Plus, that way you avoid buying duplicates.
• Keep Ingredients on Hand for Easy Go-To Meals- I also have a few go-to meals in my list that use ingredients that I can always have on hand (think non-perishables, frozen ingredients and other staples). Look at the recipes that you like to make and see if any of them could be highlighted as your "staple" recipes. Then make sure you always have the ingredients you need.
• Adapt and Improvise- And finally, if you've decided on a recipe but don't have every ingredient, that doesn't have to stop you! You can search for substitutions and use your best judgement for omissions and swaps. Who knows, maybe you'll find you even like it more!

4. You Don't Enjoy It

This is another big roadblock for many!

While I personally do enjoy cooking, it can feel like a chore, even for me, from time to time.

If cooking is something that you just never like doing, I hope these tips can help.

• Get Clear on Your Why- If you've stumbled on this post and you don't like cooking, there is clearly a reason why you want to cook more. Maybe it's for your health, maybe it's for your wallet, maybe you want to improve your skills or maybe it's for some other reason. Whatever it is, getting clear on why and reminding yourself of it can be a big motivator. Especially after you start seeing results.
• Identify What you Dislike and Mitigate it- Along the lines of self reflection, it can also help to figure out what you most hate about cooking. Is it doing dishes? Do you find it overwhelming? Whatever it is, addressing the root of it can make it a bit easier. If you hate dishes, prioritize cooking one pot recipe. If you find it overwhelming, start simple (canned tuna over rice still counts!).
• Make it As Easy As Possible- If you really don't like doing it, remember not to overcomplicate it. Using shortcuts like prechopped vegetables and sticking to easy recipes (like this 20 minute egg roll bowl) that take very minimal time can help it to be a less daunting task.
• Try to Make it Fun- Even if you don't enjoy cooking and don't think you ever will, try to see if there are ways that you can incorporate something that you do enjoy. Try putting on music, listening to a podcast or talking on the phone with a friend.

5. You Hate Grocery Shopping

Or maybe you don't hate cooking but you do hate grocery shopping.

Whether its the crowded store, the stress of finding ingredients or time constraints, it can definitely feel like a whole other chore.

Make it easier for yourself to keep the groceries that you need on hand with these tips.

• Go in With a Plan- Grocery shopping can be a lot more efficient with a little bit of upfront work.
  • First, make a meal plan.
  • Then, make a grocery list to ensure that you have everything you need for the meal plan (and can essentially just shop once for the week).
  • And finally, organize it to the store. List all of the produce together, all of the meat together, etc. so that you don't have to keep wandering back to the same aisles.
• Go at a Better Time- If you hate grocery shopping because of the crowds and waiting in line for the cashier, consider planning your grocery shopping for an off-peak time during the week.
• Consider Outsourcing- If you have the means, you can consider having your groceries delivered or look into curbside pick up (which some grocery stores offer at no extra cost).

6. You Have Limited Cooking Experience

Cooking is a skill and as like any skill, it takes time to learn. But I am confident that you can do it!

If you have limited cooking experience but want to start cooking more, here are some ways to do that.

• Start Easy (like really easy)- When you are first starting to develop the habit of cooking, start with whatever you are comfortable with- even if that is just a grilled cheese.
• And Then Keep Practicing- You will make mistakes, like with any skill, and that's totally okay! If a recipe doesn't quite turn out for you the first time, don't be discouraged. Some of cooking is "by feel". The more that you do it, the more experience you'll have to build on.
• Focus on Flavor Over Appearance- Don't get discouraged if a recipe that you make doesn't look like the pictures. If it tastes good, call it a success!
• There's No Shame in Shortcuts- Cooking at home doesn't mean you have to make everything from scratch. If using a jarred pasta sauce for a recipe makes it feel more attainable, do what you need to do!

7. Fear of Failure

With any new habit or skill, it can be scary to start. But just the fact that you are doing it is already a win!

Your meals don't have to be perfect and they certainly don't have to look as good as they do in the recipe that you are following (speaking as a food photographer- it takes a lot of time to style food for a photo!)

So, if you're trying to cook more, remember to:

• Give Yourself Grace- Life happens and sometimes things don't go as planned. Remember your wins and don't fret over your losses.
• Don't Strive for Perfection- And along those lines, remember that progress, not perfection is the goal! Make your goals small and achievable (maybe start with cooking at home one more night per week than you do now).
• Use Shortcuts- If you need to pick up a bagged salad and rotisserie chicken to go with your Lemon Herb Rice sometimes, that is okay.
• Remember Your Why- And lastly, remember why you want to cook more. The mere fact that you are starting to develop this habit is a successful step towards your goals!

While a meal plan doesn't solve all of these problems, it can certainly help with a few of the barriers! Check out this post with a Meal Plan for Two (with Grocery List) to get started.

What do you find are your biggest barriers to cooking at home? Do you have any tips to share?