SALT LAKE CITY— Americans really don’t seem too interested in cooking these days. Only 10 percent of Americans love to cook and 45 percent are somewhat OK with cooking, according to a Harvard Business Review article.

Most of us know that cooking from home is more affordable and healthier, so why don’t we do it? Families are busier than ever, and cooking takes time and energy to plan, prepare, and even clean up. Not to mention, if you’re cooking for children, you have some pretty tough critics to deal with.

Unfortunately, this leads to families spending more money on eating away from home than ever before: $3,154 a year based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey for 2014-2016.

There are some things you can do to help make cooking more enjoyable, or at least, less stressful. Here are five basic strategies to practice to eat in more and save yourself time and money.

1. Menu planning

If you take a few minutes to plan some favorite meals for the week before you shop, you will have better chances of reducing the times you go to the grocery store. This not only saves you time shopping but also money because you are less likely to make impromptu purchases.

There are so many ways to find easy recipes. If you have internet access, you can find just about anything you want to make, and you can look for recipes that meet your specific needs or preferences. Want cheap, family-friendly meals? Low salt? Have a food allergy? There are countless websites of recipes with pictures, videos, and some even include recipe lists.

If you don’t have internet access, your local library will have cookbooks, or you can rely on tried and true family recipes. I recommend keeping your planned menu handy so you can remember what you planned.

2. Stock up the Pantry

While you are planning for the week, check what you already have in the pantry and refrigerator. This reduces waste by preventing you from buying ingredients you already have. Also, by keeping some basic ingredients on hand, you will have something to work with if you don’t get menu planning done one week.

Try to keep things that you will actually use and can go with multiple meals. Here are examples of foods to stock, but personalize your pantry to have foods you use regularly.

• Pasta
• Rice
• Canned Soups
• Canned fish/meats
• Canned fruits
• Dried Cereals
• Tortillas
• Beans
• Canned veggies
• Broth
• Pasta sauce
• Peanut butter
• Condiments

3. Meal prep

After you get your groceries home, you can do a little work now to save time later in the week. Find the strategies that work best for you.

Some people like to prepare or chop their produce on a particular day of the weekend, so it’s ready to use when they get home after a long day. Some cook and freeze meals in advance. Some pack all of their lunches for the week on Sunday.

Whatever works for you, meal prep can improve your chances of actually making the meals you planned by reducing the chore of cooking when you’re tired.

4. Practice simple cooking techniques

If you’ve ever watched a cooking show, you may feel that even what is shown as an example of "easy" cooking techniques may look like magic. If you are new to cooking, or just have a knack for setting off the smoke detector, start simple.

Here are some (mostly) foolproof cooking methods to try. Some of these use fewer pots and pans, too.

• Crockpot or Instant Pot meals
• Noncook meals (sandwiches, salads, smoothies)
• Stir-fry
• Microwaving
• Roasting
• Using meal or salad kits

5. Keep clean-up easy

Many people avoid cooking because they don’t want to spend hours cleaning up afterward. Even if you enjoy cooking, after you do the work of planning, prepping, and cooking, who wants to clean a sink full of pots and pans?

If clean-up is overwhelming, look for one pot meals, casseroles, crockpot recipes, or noncook meals. Dirty dishes are unavoidable, but some meals make more than others.

If you cook for the family, see if you can share the work. Whoever doesn’t cook does the cleaning, or try assigned days for each person to cook. If not, try to clean as you go. That way you are less likely to have a huge pile of dishes after you eat.

Life is hectic and cooking from home takes some commitment, but it could save you thousands of dollars. If you need some motivation, plan something fun to do with the money you save. Incorporate just one or two of these strategies in your schedule and see if you can reduce the number of times you eat out this week.

Maria Stevens is a registered dietitian nutritionist with degrees in dietetics as well as nutrition, fitness, and health from Purdue University. She is a UCSD-certified lactation educator. Her focus is on promoting community wellness and family health.

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