A Taste of Open The Cookbook

In my practice as a Health Coach I've come across many people who do not know how to cook, people who like tocook but don't know what to cook and so many variations in between.My journey with cooking was not formal. Writing this has taken me through memories that have shaped my lovefor preparing meals. My first memory of cooking was in my kindergarten class where the teacher taught us how tomake scrambled eggs and sausages in an electric frying pan. That smell of sizzling meat and the sight of those fluffyeggs is forever embedded in my mind. It was the first time I equated cooking with a sense of true enjoyment.My first experience baking in a real kitchen involved a friend, lots of laughter and a fair amount of mess when Iwas 11. I also had to take Food and Nutrition as a subject in high school. I'm not sure how much of an influence thathad on me, but I'm sure it developed some level of comfort in the kitchen. While at university I lived in anapartment-style dorm. One of my flat mates taught me how to make a stir-fry. That's when my journey in thekitchen really began to gather steam.I have only taken two formal cooking classes in my entire life. The first was with a vegetarian friend. I was notvegetarian but I thought it might be interesting and informative. Most recently I took a 2 hour class with aprofessional Chef who taught "knife skills". That was amazing! I was such a glad bag, I was grinning the entiretime. I was also surprised to discover that I already knew many of the skills he was teaching--he just showed me abetter way to do them. He also taught me about knives: how to care, handle and hold them correctly. It was sucha great investment.So without formal training, I'd call myself an 'experimenter' in the kitchen. I take inspiration from what is aroundme and what I enjoy eating. I love to read cookbooks, recipes online and on social media, then put my own spin onthem. I also enjoy creating a recipe from scratch.I believe we (as a society) have strayed from the kitchen due to our busy lives but the kitchen is one of the mostimportant rooms in the house! We cook to provide nourishment for our loved ones. Through this cookbook we seekto inspire you to get into the kitchen (for a short time), to make real (easy to cook) food and to enjoy the process aswell as the outcome.So this really is from our kitchen to yours.Along the way we ask you some very pointed questions; please pause and reflect before writing your answersdown. There is power in writing. Let's harness this power to make some gradual positive changes in your life.-Natalie