Several studies have already highlighted the positive results of a family eating together. One of which is a better family relationship.
However, not only does eating together lead to a stronger bond with your family but sharing meals with them at home also helps you lead a healthier life.
This is why a lot of people, especially parents, are encouraged to resort to cooking home-cooked meals for their family instead of preparing the usual convenience foods.
Indeed, there are numerous reasons to make meals at home – even when, sometimes, cooking can be an arduous chore to accomplish.
And if you’re a busy, working parent you may find it difficult to commit to cooking home-cooked meals due to your job responsibilities.
The good thing is, it becomes easier to cook quick, nutritious meals with the right cooking technique.
So, if you want to serve your family with a great meal at home, here are a few tips to help you make your home-cooked meals even more delicious:
1. Invest in great-quality cookware
Excellent cookware is worth the investment. It makes all the difference to use the right cooking equipment to nail your cooking endeavour.
For example, you may perhaps live in the part of the world where livestock is abundant, like New Zealand.
Investing in buying a pressure cooker at stores, and other cookware shops, gives you the advantage of making your meat juicier and even more flavourful.
There’s much easier work involved as well as much more satisfactory results. An investment in high-quality cookware may cost you more, but in the long run, it’ll be worth it.
And if you feel like going that extra step for pizza night, investing in a pizza oven ensures quick dinner with a delicious crust. Try out Ooni pizza ovens by Botanex for your next pizza night!
2. Use fresh ingredients
It takes the right ingredients to make good food but the fresh ones keep you healthy.
Processed foods are the common ingredients of the food you eat today. And even though it’s convenient, using processed ingredients should be minimised or avoided.
It’s in your best interest to purchase and eat freshly-grown ingredients so no preservatives, chemicals, or dyes are added to your food.
Apart from keeping you healthy, fresh ingredients also bring out the authentic flavour of your cooked meal, making it hearty and savoury.
3. Try to avoid complex recipes
It’s not that you can’t do it, but it’s more convenient to avoid following recipes that require ‘special’ or ‘rare’ ingredients.
However, if it’s otherwise inevitable to prepare a meal with a complex recipe you may try to modify some of the special ingredients with the ones which are available in your local food market.
Also, you may omit the ingredient or use a substitute that you already have at home. You may start by preparing a simple recipe for breakfast for your family like delectable peanut butter pancakes.
4. Prepare seasonal produce
Eating in season is a quiet movement that’s beginning to make noise in the food community.
Serving your family with a hearty meal, using seasonally-produced foods, ensures the quality and freshness of the meal. It’s believed that vegetables and fruits are on their best qualities when in season.
So, even with the simplest salad recipe for your family will definitely satisfy their hankering if you do it with seasonal produce foods.
5. Learn knife skills
This might be often overlooked in achieving an excellent dish, but it’s actually essential to develop proper knife skills, even when you’re only cooking meals at home.
If you know the correct knife skills, you can consistently prepare your dishes and cook them evenly with the proper cut and proportions.
If you’re just starting in your cooking journey, learning knife skills will make you seem like a master chef right away that may surprise your family.
Sometimes, it’s in the little things where perfection is seen.
6. Use herbs and spices
Enhance your meals with herbs and spices to make them more flavourful. Adequately seasoned foods are said to always taste better.
So, you may add strong flavour to your dishes by garnishing them with fresh herbs.
Also, one tip is knowing exactly when and how to use fresh herbs and dry herbs. It’s much easier to prepare your meals once you understand these things. They’re both aromatic and very versatile; they work very well for sauteing and roasting.
Cooking at home can be therapeutic and also a great opportunity to bond with family. Besides, a quality shared meal with family provides a better ambiance and reduces stress.
However, in order to secure your desired meal at home, first you may want to follow the above-mentioned tips and start your journey to a better meal experience with your family.