I love cookbooks and magazines! Oh, and cooking shows! Love, love, love! Seriously! I just got a new edition of Delicious in the mail today and I looove looking through the pages to see if I can find inspiration for boring weeknight dinners (I don’t do boring, by the way, I do tasty). Donna Hay is my favourite though and I download them to my iPad for extra fun (Geee, it doesn’t take much to entertain me does it?!). Although I love cooking shows, magazines and books, I am pretty bad at actually following a recipe. I usually look at it, then check what I’ve got in the fridge and what I can replace ingredients with – then I start cooking and I look at the instructions when I am halfway, realising I am doing it all wrong (according to the recipe that is), but 98% of the time it turns out delicious!

This one time I actually followed the recipe 100%, I took some charcoal beef ribs out of the oven after they were sitting there for as long as the recipe suggested. Lucky for me I had only one friend over for dinner that night and she was very forgiving, and loved my radish salad and fresh fruits for dessert… So, that just teaches you to trust your own instincts, rather than what a recipe tells you! Hah! (I wish I took a photo of that ‘dinner’, it would’ve been quite describing – but I will google charcoal instead and put that in – same same).

What happens when you follow the recipe 100% (ok, probably not every time…)

Anyway, the magazines and books are great for inspiration. That’s all I need, as I rarely cook the same thing twice (when it comes to dinner that is, I don’t know how many hundred times I have had omelette for breakfast or lunch – not with the same vegetables though!). Last night I cooked risotto (for the third time in my life I think) and it turned out super delicious. There was probably 70% vegetables and chicken and 30% rice, so the total opposite of what you get when you order it out – but probably a lot better for you! I will try to remember what I actually put in it and repeat it and possibly post the recipe. I cooked enough for dinner last night, dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow! Makes my life sooooo much easier!

The best part about just using the recipes for inspiration is you can adjust them to make them as healthy (or unhealthy) as you like. I typically use butter instead of margarine, olive oil instead of vegetable oil, cut back on the carbs and use more vegetables instead. Don’t be afraid to try new things in the kitchen, most of the times it turns out delicious! The other times, you’ll just have to suck it up and eat it anyway (or make a quick salad). So the moral of the story is, get cooking! You’ll know exactly what you’re putting in your mouth. It will be healthier, with less additives and a lot better for you! And do your kids a favour and teach them how to cook too! They will thank you for it when they grow up!

Follow me on Facebook (Awesome Ashild) and Instagram (@awesomeashild)! You might get some dinner inspiration from there too 🙂