It is no question that the ongoing health crisis has caused a host of different challenges for citizens across the country as we all adapt to a new normal for the time being. While many of our most serious fears and concerns are what understandably receive the most attention, Richard Gorra notes that simple issues such as handling our assorted home responsibilities during the crisis are often overlooked even if they still have a habit of causing us stress. For example, with restaurants closing their doors and only offering delivery or contactless pickup, many of us are finding ourselves cooking much more frequently than we had before. In this article, Richard Gorra makes a shortlist of tips that can help take the stress out of cooking at home.

One tip that Richard Gorra has for making mealtime at home as stress-free as possible is making a list for meals throughout the week in advance. Gorra finds that one of the most stressful parts of cooking is deciding what meal makes and preparing the ingredients, but just a bit of planning means that you can get a jump on cooking a delicious meal without the hassle. A quick meal list made at the beginning of the week makes planning simple and also ensures that you can know what ingredients that you don’t have and may need to go to the store to buy ahead of time.

Another method that Richard Gorra uses for making cooking simpler Is doing some prep ahead of time. When Richard Gorra was working at stressful jobs and coming home late during his younger years, he found that having food easy to prepare when he arrived at home meant that he could still have a home-cooked meal. In the current climate, no matter if an individual is staying home or going to work every day for an essential job, it certainly helps to have some level of prep done before mealtime to make assembling the meal faster and easier. Richard Gorra acknowledges that the practice of doing some prep before cooking doesn’t have to be a lot of work, and something as easy as peeling vegetables or having some of the basic ingredients assembled can be worth it for the sheer amount of time that you save you in the kitchen later.

Richard Gorra also attests to the fact that making cooking a fun part of your routine could make it easier to cook more often at home. Many people fall into the trap of feeling like cooking is merely a responsibility and that they cannot have fun doing it. Richard Gorra frequently speaks to how cooking can be used to bond with others in your household and how, if you live alone, it can be exciting to see how a meal comes together and how to make some of your favorite simple dishes. Have fun with cooking and remember that you can take a break by making a super simple meal or ordering take out from your favorite local restaurant if you find yourself feeling more stressed about preparing a meal than invigorated.