Let’s be real, you don’t hate cooking.
You hate how exhausting it feels after a long day when you’re starving, have no plan, and your fridge is looking like “girl, good luck.”
You want to eat better. You want meals that actually fuel you, not drain you. However between work, kids, stress, and trying to hold it all together, cooking feels like just one more thing on your plate.
Plus let’s not even talk about the pressure to cook healthy—like what does that even mean? Do you need a nutrition degree just to season some veggies and make it make sense?
Here’s the truth:
You don’t need to be a chef to feel confident in the kitchen. You just need a rhythm that works for your real life.
Once you find that? Cooking won’t feel like a chore. It’ll feel like self-care.
As your culinary wellness coach, here's your permission slip to start where you are and learn how to make cooking easier, healthier, and a whole lot more joyful.
Let’s get into it.
Reimagine what cooking means.
The kitchen has been sold to us as either:
- A place for struggle meals and survival cooking, or
- A place where you better know what you’re doing or just stay out the way.
As a professional Chef and hormone health coach, I advocate for those of us who live right in the middle. You know that space where you're not trying to be the next Top Chef, you’re just trying to eat better, feel better, and not be stressed every time you step into your kitchen.
I remember one of my clients telling me she used to dread cooking dinner after work. Her job is demanding and she stays on her feet constantly.
She’d walk in the door already exhausted, open the fridge, and immediately feel overwhelmed. Not because she didn't have any health-forward food in there, but because she had no plan, no energy, and no clue how to throw it together in a way that didn’t feel like punishment.
So she’d end up skipping dinner or grabbing takeout, then feel guilty about it the next day.
That's the cycle we are trying to break free from and it takes more than discipline. You need a rhythm and tools to actually make cooking feel manageable.
The mindset shift that I teach is that cooking doesn’t have to be about doing the most. It can be about doing what feels good.
That can look like choosing ingredients that support your body and taste like something you want to eat. Cooking in a way that fits your lifestyle, not some 3-hour Pinterest fantasy, and letting go of perfection and building habits that actually last
When you stop asking “What do I have to cook?” and start asking “How do I want to feel after I eat?”, that’s when everything starts to shift. You don’t need fancy. You need flow.
Here's how you're going to start developing that:
Tip #1: Find Your Flavor Lane.
One of the fastest ways to build confidence in the kitchen is to figure out what you actually like to eat then build from there.
A lot of people think they need to learn 20 new recipes with crazy steps in order to be great in the kitchen. But the truth is, you just need a few go-to flavor combos you enjoy and know how to use them well.
Start with seasonings and ingredients that feel familiar. Maybe it’s garlic, thyme, scallion, and coconut milk. Maybe it’s cumin, lime, and a touch of honey. Maybe it’s smoky paprika with fresh herbs.
Whatever makes you excited to eat, that’s your flavor lane.
Here are some steps to build that:
- Keep a note in your phone of flavor combos you love (e.g.: curry + ginger + lime)
- Pay attention to what you always go back to when something tastes good
- Don’t be afraid to remix your favorites in different ways—baked, sautéed, tossed into bowls or wraps
Confidence starts when you stop guessing and start knowing and doing what works for you.
Tip #2: Create Your Kitchen Flow.
Everything becomes 10x easier when you have a system. The same applies to the kitchen and cooking. It becomes 10x easier when you have a system or a rhythm.
Not a strict schedule. Not a color-coded meal plan.
Just a rhythm that helps you stop thinking so hard every time it’s time to eat. If every dinner feels like starting from scratch, you’re gonna burn out—fast.
Here’s how to create kitchen flow that actually works with your life:
-
Prep ahead (even the little things) when you can.
Chop your aromatics (onion, garlic, herbs) and store them in jars so they’re ready to go during the week. Green seasoning anyone? -
Batch the basics.
Cook a pot of quinoa, brown rice, or lentils and keep them in the fridge. Use them as a base for bowls, salads, or quick sautés. -
Keep your go-to veggies on deck.
Bagged greens, frozen okra, pre-cut squash—whatever makes it easy to throw something together without the stress.
You don’t need to meal prep like a fitness coach. You just need to make the decision once so you don’t have to make it five times throughout the week. Over time this flow gives you the freedom that makes cooking feel less chaotic.
Tip #3: Stack Your Wins, Not Your Stress.
Small wins and small habits. That's what we are focusing on. Confidence in the kitchen doesn't always come from throwing down the most fire recipe or making a 5-star gourmet meal on your first try.
It's in the small wins and micro moments that add up over time.
Made a one-pot dish that didn’t stress you out? That’s a win.
Seasoned your food without measuring and it came out bomb? Big win.
Actually enjoyed cooking for once? That’s the real flex.
The problem is, we stack pressure instead of stacking progress. We expect to go from overwhelmed to “I got this” overnight when really, it’s about building trust with yourself.
Here’s how to start stacking those wins:
- Master one go-to dish you can make without thinking
- Try one new seasoning or veggie a week
- Celebrate showing up, even if it’s just chopping an onion without crying this time
Every time you show up for yourself in the kitchen, no matter how small, you’re building something. Don't count those moments out.
Tip #4: Set the vibe.
Everything feels right when the vibe is right.
I don't know about you but cooking in a kitchen that is not clean, spills all over the counter, dishes in the sink is not my idea of setting the vibe. That's a recipe for stress, not dinner.
Instead, a clean kitchen, maybe a little candle and a fave playlist sounds more like it. Don't you agree sis? This simple shift, whatever that looks like, is enough to make you feel excited to dive into that new recipe and flex your cooking skills.
Not to sound cliche, but romanticize your cooking experience. It doesn't have to be perfect either, just curated according to your flow. Make it feel like your soft place for your nervous system. This helps with clarity, focus and when you treat cooking like a ritual instead of a rush, it goes from “ugh, I have to cook” to “mm, I get to create something.
Tip #5: Give Yourself Permission to Learn.
Dahling you don't have to know it all. If nobody taught you how to build flavor, how to meal prep, or how to balance your plate for energy and hormone health, how could you expect to just figure it out on your own overnight?
Now you're carrying this shame in the kitchen because you burned your rice, or your fish came out too dry or better yet, you're stuck trying to eat “clean” without feeling deprived.
All that pressure makes cooking feel like a test you’re always failing.
You're not failing though. You’re just entering your learning era.
You’re allowed to Google “how to roast vegetables” at age 30. You’re allowed to forget the salt. You’re allowed to start small and keep it simple.
Confidence doesn’t come from getting it right all the time (trust me sometimes I mess up in the kitchen too) it comes from trying, tweaking, and trusting that you’ll keep showing up.
I urge you to look at learning how to cook better as an act of love.
Not just for your body, but for your future self who’s gonna thank you for making this shift.
Make cooking feel good again.
I know just how much you want to start or even get back to those days when you actually looked forward to cooking. You know those days when the kitchen didn’t feel like a war zone. When you had more energy, more creativity, and the meals that you made? ATE ev-er-ry time!
You’re not asking for too much. You should want cooking to feel easier, more aligned, and worth the effort.
Well sis, ask and you shall receive. You deserve a rhythm that matches your real life, supports your health goals and still leaves room for joy...because balance baby.
Join me in one of my culinary workshops that I've ceated to help you find that rhythm.
We're not focusing on cooking fancy, we're building confidence with the food, flavors, and systems that support you.
If you're ready to stop surviving dinner and start enjoying the kitchen again, I’d love to have you at my virtual kitchen table.
Check out the upcoming workshops and start cooking with more ease, flavor, and flow.
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