How I did it: The first time I went to a grocery store when I started university, I literally freaked out because I had no idea what I should be buying to feed myself. I spent my first two years on a meal plan to avoid dealing with it, and then realized that living on cafeteria food was actually making me sick.

I found some awesome cooking blogs and websites online, and concentrated on finding recipes that were simple and not expensive. Then I pulled myself off the university meal plan, and started buying less frozen dinners and more ingredients for actual cooking. Began cutting coupons and looking for deals to save money, and even cut down on my eating out.

About seven months later, I now rarely buy anything frozen or pre-made, and I've been surprised by how much I enjoy cooking. Love going to the grocery store now - something I never thought I'd say.

Lessons & tips:

• start with cooking from scratch once or twice a week
• don't overwhelm yourself with complicated recipes at first; start simple
• cook for friends as practice & fun
• give yourself time to cook when you're not in a rush so you can enjoy it
• check out Food Network for ideas, or a blog I love called smittenkitchen.com
• bookmark favorite recipes to repeat or share with friends

Resources: Food Network.com
smittenkitchen.com
Googling ingredients I didn't recognize

Apr 21, 2011, 04:38PM PDT | 0 comments | 1 cheer