Intuitive Cooking Made Easy: No More Dreaded Meals

Inspired by the sweet and sultry vibes of Toni Braxton

Everyone’s intuition is screaming when it comes to food. Most days we press the mental ‘mute’ button.

 It doesn’t help. 

Your intuition is critical-it’s like the air you breathe. 

When you put your intuition on "Do Not Disturb," it's gonna ghost you when you need it most.

How many times has your gut warned you not to eat at some sketchy two-star restaurant? 

What do you do? Take another bite of that undercooked burrito. 

It's not just the burn-your-ass-red sauce that’s the problem, friends.

The storm of bad fast food decisions has you looking like a record-breaking marathon runner, sprinting to the nearest toilet. 

Relax. It’s not your fault. 

Life is a never-ending multiple choice test and its exhausting. 

You're forced to make countless decisions every day, it's like trying to organize a messy closet—it's chaos.

Chaos sounds like: I’m not dealing with this today. Let someone else cook. 

It’s quick. It’s easy. It’s one less thing to decide. 

What’s for dinner? Has become a mental anthem for eternal torment.

I get that everyone needs an ‘A’ rated restaurant every now and then. 

I’m talking about those instances, where it’s not possible to do so, and you would rather not cook-you know, because you’d rather not. 

The weight of this psychological phenomenon called,  decision fatigue, kills our culinary intuition.  

Before you label it indecisiveness,  know there’s a difference between decision fatigue and indecisiveness. 

"Indecisiveness is usually evident right from the beginning, whereas decision fatigue usually sets in after a series of decisions…“ says Rashmi Parmar, MD.

 Anticipating the energy drain before you cook? 

 Not a great start. 

If the first thing we do is look at the stove as an “overwhelm altar”, we’re going to find symbols of stress everywhere. 

Let’s give our brains a much needed hug. 

I’m old enough to remember taking quizzes in magazines.

I’ve created a throwback 90’s magazine-style quiz to help you beat decision fatigue when you need to cook, but you’re dreading it.

Channel your inner Toni Braxton!

Get culinary intuition tips.

Question 1 (Breathe Again):  Feeling stressed while cooking? 

A. Yell profanities and curse the ingrates I’m cooking for!

B. Attempt a clean-as-you-go TikTok dance routine.

C. Renew my Uber Eats subscription. 

*************************

Question 2 (Another Sad Love Song): Dread cutting onions?

A: Tears? You mean letting laughter escape through the eyes?

B. Whip out the swimming goggles to protect my eyes.  

C. Call a friend or family member for support. 

*************************

Question 3 (You’re Makin’ Me High): Confused about a fancy recipe with rare ingredients?

A. Pretend to be on the  “Nailed It” cooking show and find the sweet spot between raw and overcooked. 

 B. Add cayenne pepper to everything. The hotter the better. A burst of spice awakens the taste buds!

C. Watch the Hunger Games with the family. Maybe they’ll appreciate me more.

*************************

Question 4: (Un-break My Heart) Recipe fail! How do you respond?

A. Turn the burnt parts into a crunchy topping-Nobody's gonna know. They're gonna know. How are they gonna know?

B. Blast songs about overcoming challenges and finding strength.

C. Ask yourself if you’ll ever cook again.

*************************

Question 5: (Let It Flow): Trust your culinary intuition by:  

A. Silencing the food police. If they don’t like it, oh well. It’s dinner.

B. Never cooking without a recipe.

C. Taking hints from others about your cooking.

Results:

If you got mostly: 

-A’s: The shame-resilient cooking spirit. You don’t let shame take over!  Your gut is your compass. You embrace imperfection with pride! 

The best way for you to avoid decision fatigue: Break cooking decisions into bite-sized steps. 

Create an "Influence List" to identify factors that guide your cooking choices.

 For example: 

Food Nostalgia: Which dishes remind you of happier times?

Time constraints: Choose a go-to quick and easy recipe that nobody complains about. 

Available ingredients: What’s in the fridge? In the words of Tim Gunn, “make it work”. 

How to use your intuition more: Take a balanced approach to intuitive cooking. You already know intuition serves as a valuable guide in the kitchen, you’ve bought the T-shirt.

Challenge your beliefs and be open to different opinions. 

Acknowledge when your intuition is guiding you to ask for support.

Sometimes, it is too salty!

*************************

-B’s: The practical “strong” friend we need to check on:  You find comfort in a well-thought-out plan for every meal. You make responsible choices, good for you!

The best way for you to avoid decision fatigue: Buy a recipe journal. Document your cooking experiments, including intuitive modifications and outcomes. Build a history of intuitive cooking wins.

How to use your intuition more: Embrace flexibility. Have fun! Mistakes can be delicious too!

*************************

-C’s The supportive and thoughtful friend: You’re kind, caring and always sharing. You can dish out unwanted advice, but can you take it?

The best way for you to avoid decision fatigue: Focus on learning from recipe failures and let others help with decision-making tasks. Stop seeking constant confirmation your dish tastes good.

How to use your intuition more: Associating intuition with vulnerability makes you reluctant to embrace your intuitive insights fully. You dread  judgment and ridicule from your meals not meeting expectations.

Stop beating yourself up for days when a recipe doesn’t turn out as expected. It happens. Kitchen mishaps don’t define you. 

*************************

Thanks for taking the quiz! Share your results in the comments!