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How Cooking Can Build Confidence

Can you cook? By the time people reach adulthood, most have developed the ability to prepare simple meals at the very least. Many people enjoy cooking; some may even consider it a hobby. Cooking involves some creativity, which allows it to serve a therapeutic purpose.

There is something about a home-cooked meal that tends to taste better. It can bring a sense of nostalgia and comfort in many cases. It can be gratifying to prepare a meal for others to enjoy. Getting to show off your skills and abilities in the kitchen can create a sense of pride.

The ability to cook and prepare meals from scratch encourages healthy eating and can boost confidence. Eating healthy and building confidence can come in handy if you are struggling with or recovering from addiction.

Cooking Fosters Skill Development

Cooking requires skills. It requires understanding measurements and using the proper utensils. It involves operating kitchen appliances correctly and knowing what appliances to use for different recipes. Cooking also requires awareness and adequate management of time, especially if you are preparing more than one dish at a time. For example, if you are preparing dishes for a major holiday or event such as Thanksgiving dinner, you are likely to multitask quite a bit.

Cooking also requires a little bit of flexibility and, sometimes, a little creativity. Let’s say you are following a recipe and realize you are missing one ingredient. Do you stop where you are and run out to the store? This is not ideal if you have already begun prepping, mixing, and preheating. You may need to get creative with an ingredient swap. Luckily, there are plenty of tips you can find online to help.

Because cooking requires so many skills, it builds confidence as you learn and improve. You may start by preparing something simple. Plenty of quick and easy recipes only require a few ingredients. Next, you may try something a little more challenging. Maybe you even try to prepare a few different things at once.

What begins as an obligatory activity as part of your treatment program could evolve into a hobby or even a passion. Many discover that they love cooking or baking soon after giving it a try.

Cooking Enhances Wellness

Now that we have discussed cooking skills, let’s switch gears and focus on what you should aim to cook with. At Enlightened Recovery, we focus on preparing and consuming whole, organic foods. Many come fresh from our farm. We know that organic, nutrient-dense foods help heal our bodies in ways that processed foods cannot.

For this reason, our wellness groups focus on teaching you how to create meals using healthy and organic ingredients. As discussed above, the skills that cooking helps develop build confidence and can prepare you for taking care of yourself after treatment.

Cooking and eating healthy, nutritious meals makes you feel better. When you feel better, you perform better. This can apply to your performance at work, at home, or even your activities while in treatment. You are more confident when you feel good and can present your best self.

Cooking Builds Group Learning Skills

At Enlightened Recovery, we offer our wellness and nutrition activities in groups. We believe there is great benefit in learning among peers. This creates an opportunity for shared experiences and accountability. It can also be very motivating to have others share in your success and growth in cooking and wellness.

Setting new goals for yourself with each class and allowing others to be aware of your goals and progress can be very beneficial. You can be encouraged by peers to try new things and challenge yourself when it comes to cooking, and you can do the same for others.

The Value of Confidence in Recovery

Having confidence impacts your recovery in a variety of ways. First, confidence helps prevent relapse. The more confident you are, the less likely you are to give in to cravings. Additionally, confidence helps you stay motivated to remain engaged through 12-Step meeting attendance, sponsor communication, and other aspects of your recovery.

It is wild to think that learning to cook healthy and nutritious meals can impact your recovery in such a big way. However, it really can. Taking good care of yourself in treatment and recovery is crucial. Eating well is an essential component, and so is self-confidence.

Cooking is a fun way to improve your health and develop skills that can transfer into new jobs or hobbies in recovery. Learning to cook with fresh and organic ingredients can help you heal from the inside out and build the confidence you need to be successful in recovery.

Learning to cook can be very empowering and help you build confidence in treatment and recovery. Even if you have been cooking for yourself for years, you might benefit from learning new techniques or trying new ingredients. The skills required to cook are skills that can be useful in other areas of life as well. At Enlightened Recovery, we offer nutrition and wellness groups that teach clients how to prepare and enjoy meals made from fresh, organic ingredients. After cleansing your body of all the toxins, you need to consume foods rich in vitamins and nutrients to begin to heal. If you or someone you care about is struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol, we would love to speak to you about our programs. To begin your journey to healing and recovery, call Enlightened Recovery today at (833) 801-LIVE.

Begin Your Recovery at Enlightened Recovery

Enlightened Recovery is here to help you or your loved one overcome drug and alcohol addiction as well as co-occurring mental health disorders. Our holistic treatment programs treat the whole person in recovery. We have locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

Get the help that you deserve now with Enlightened Recovery.