The 25th September is National Cooking Day. Some of you may be thinking that you cook every day and many of us do. So, where did National Cooking Day come from and what makes it different to any other day? Keep reading to find out.
The History of National Cooking Day
The idea for National Cooking Day was ‘cooked up’ by US kitchen supplies company, Potsandpans.com to celebrate and remind us of the joys of home cooking. Often cooking can lose its lustre and become perceived as another daily chore to add to a busy day. But, it’s important to remember that cooking is about so much more than quickly filling the bellies of the hungry people in your home so that you can plop down in front of the telly in peace!
Cooking enables us to make food more flavoursome and exciting and presents an opportunity to bring out our more creative side by trying new recipes and combinations using the foods and flavours that we love. It’s also a great way to bring the important people in your life together – think of the importance of Sunday lunch, birthday teas and Christmas dinner in homes across Ireland – these age-old traditions never get too old to enjoy!
Avoid Cheat Meals Today!
Cooking can be utilised to honour local cultures and traditions, as well as get a taste for the culinary delights that are popular in other countries around the world. Now, we’re not talking about nipping down to the local Indian, Chinese or Asian take-away. Whilst it’s always a treat to be able to do this, perhaps save it for the weekend. Take-away meals and fast food should never be allowed to become a staple of daily life – it’s not recommended for good health or for a healthy bank balance.
Pre-prepared fresh or frozen instant meals and meal kits have increased in popularity in recent years, no doubt contributed to by our increasingly busy lifestyles. Although these are extremely helpful when you need a quick lunch to sustain yourself and get on the go again, don’t fall into the trap of making instant meals your cooking solution for your daily lunches and dinners.
Cook Something Today
On National Cooking Day, challenge yourself to get into the kitchen and cook a tasty meal for yourself, your family or some friends. If you’re feeling adventurous, push the boundaries and do something different!
Alternatively, there’s nothing wrong with cooking up your favourite dish, as long as you didn’t eat the same dish last night or the night before – you know the saying – variety if the spice of life!
Use cooking as a means to express yourself or show someone special how much they mean to you. Take note, you’ve got almost 5 months to perfecting your cooking skills to dish up the perfect Valentines Meal for your other half!
Taking the time to learn how to cook a proper meal is incredibly beneficial for individuals of all ages. Are you a young person who is about to head off to university or move into your first home away from your childhood home? With no Mum or Dad to cook for you, it’s best to develop these skills quickly to maintain a healthy and enjoyable relationship with your food!
Eat Better and Spend Less!
As we touched on earlier, one of the big bonusses of getting into the habit of preparing home cooked meals is that it is often cheaper and more nutritious to prepare a meal for your family than to rely on boxed goods, instant meals and take-away. Think about how much it costs to buy a sausage supper from your local chippy, compared to how much meat and potatoes you could purchase for the same amount of money from your local supermarket or butcher. You can feed a lot more mouths on a lot less!
National Cooking Day is about all of this and more. Appreciate the wonder of the home cooked meal – the joy of preparing it, and the delight of eating it, hopefully in good company as well.
Now, that’s enough talking about it. You know what you need to do now!
- Select your dish – there are lots of great recipe websites online for you to find something you like
- Purchase your ingredients (and think about whether any extra utensils or cooking dishes are required – hopefully your kitchen is already well stocked).
- Get into the kitchen and start cooking!
If you’d like to share your favourite recipes or photos of your home cooked dinners with us on National Cooking Day (or on any other day), get in touch with us via Facebook or drop us an email to marketing@universalmeat.co.uk
