Stock Up On These Kitchen Staples To Make Cooking More Accessible

Getting involved in the process of cooking is probably one of the best things you can do for your well-being. You don't have to be a top chef to get interested in preparing your own meals. Start with one meal a week—maybe it's dinner on Sunday—and see where that leads you. Cooking can be a great wellness practice, sparking creativity, reducing stress, and allowing you to slow down and reconnect with yourself.

My mom always teases me that I had no interest in cooking growing up, and now it's a big part of my lifestyle. The shift for me began when I hit a breaking point with the stress in my life and wanted to feel better. I committed to shopping for more fresh produce and healthy grains, and I started asking friends for recipe recommendations, along with researching new recipes on my own.

The key for me was simplifying these recipes as needed and swapping ingredients in and out to create my own unique versions that I loved. The freedom to start making recipes my own was what really got me excited about cooking. In order to give yourself the freedom to improvise, it's important to have a good stock of staples in your kitchen. 

Beyond this, I recommend shopping for groceries weekly, depending on the specific meals you want to cook that week. Here is a list of my kitchen staples to aid you in your stocking up. When I have these items around, I can easily create a variety of meals for everyone, or something easy and quick just for myself.