In the Kitchen

Even though it wasn’t necessarily in my game plan when Saturday ended, Sunday ended up being a day dedicated to the culinary arts. In fact, the whole weekend kind of was… From biscuits, to brussels sprouts, to lentil, kale salads, to nutter butters, my roommate and I spent some serious time for enjoying the finer flavors in life.

What amazes me is how little time people actually do spend in the kitchen. In America, we do just about everything as quickly as possible. This means that many people will turn to fast food or a microwaveable option before they plan out and execute a full made-from-scratch meal. The average American now spends just over 2 hours a week cooking, when in the 1960s the number ranged from between 30 and 40 hours. That is a huge change.

I am all about doing certain things quickly: showering, cleaning, etc, but food is something worth taking your time on. Don’t get me wrong, I am not spending 30-40 hours cooking. I cook all my lunches on Sunday, cook 3-4 dinners 2 times throughout the week, then spend the weekend experimenting in the kitchen. Why do I take more time than the national average? Because food is worth it. It is what gives you energy, what keeps you healthy, what fuels your day. If Americans started to focus on food as opposed to convenience,  I have a feeling our national waist line would start to shrink.