The Surprising Ways Cooking Positively Affects Your Mental Health

I am glad that in this modern age, cooking is seen as something as bare minimum skill for anyone despite their gender. I always believe that cooking is a very essential skill that once honed over and over, a simple dish like fried egg can be too delicious to miss. But do you know that aside from transforming raw ingredients into something edible, cooking has more positive effects to your mental health?

Maybe some of you who already used to cooking can relate to this but for those who still reluctant to cook your own food might want to read why cooking can make you healthier not just physically but also mentally. As someone who has cooking as her hobby, I already felt this effect for the past two years when I start to take diet seriously. I thought that cooking my own food is healthier, cheaper, and can adjust the portion according to my diet plan too. Unconsciously, I also feel many positive effects for my mental health that I would like to share to you today!

What are the effects? I can gave you 5 most important effects you will feel when you take cooking as your habit

If you haven’t find any stress relief method that suits you, maybe you can try cooking. According to study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, cooking can be a therapeutic and stress-relieve activity because it gave a sens of accomplishment, help reduce anxiety, and increase your self-esteem. Based on my own experience, those points are very true because cooking is not just when you put all of the ingredients into the pan but the activity is so much deeper than that. Preparing the ingredients based on the recipe, following the steps and measurements in the recipe, make adjusments in taste, plating your food so it will look appetizing, and enjoy the delicious meal I made on my own make me feel like I won the olympics (okay maybe it’s a bit too much but you get what I mean).

Your first time cooking don’t need to be grand and complex like making a beef wellington. A simple fried rice or omelette will do. Always start small and simple then look for more recipes to try as you go deeper into honing your cooking skills. For me, it’s always fun to try new recipe just like going on a new adventure with new things to discover.

When you cook, you have to focus. There are so many details you need to pay attention like the heat of your pan, the size of carrots you want when you chop it, how much salt to put in your food, and many more. Personally when I cook, my mind automatically focus on the process because I am hungry and it will be upsetting to have salty food. The concentration and focus that I need to give towards cooking as time goes by also affects the way I concentrate on any other task because I am used to focus on finishing one task at the time like cooking. Research published in the Journal of Health Psychology also suggest that mindful activities like cooking can help reduce anxiety and depression because we are distracted from negative thoughts and give a sense of calm for being present in the moment.

Cooking itself is a complex activity where you need to remember and do things according to the steps. There is no time and space to ponder about anything else because after chopping the ingredients you need to cook it then toss it around until it gets cooked to perfection or else it’ll be burnt. Take your minds off the uncertainty of the world and take a moment to be present by cooking your favorite meals.

Some of the moments I dislike in life is when things can go beyond my control and it may or may not my fault to begin with. Don’t you feel tired when life just went spiraling uncontrollaby despite your hardest attempt to keep it under your control? I have those moments too which is why I start to cook. When I just start my diet, I thought hard about how to keep myself full and energized but still eating clean. At that time I believe that I have no choice but to cook and thought how burdening it’ll be. Turns out, having control over what I eat especially the portions makes me feel good about myself. My diet went well, I also feel lighter and healthier. Studies have shown that feeling of having a sense of control over what food we eat associated with better mental health outcomes. We need to plan, prepare, and cook our own meal that gives a sense of autonomy and mastery over one’s choices.

As an Asian raised by Asian parents with a sprinkle of tough love action, the way my parents show their love to me was never through words. It was always through subtle actions and attention that I think most Asian can relate to which is food. There will be that one moment when Asian kid studying hard in their room and their mom come to the room with a plate of fresh cut fruit for their kid to enjoy. There are also those moments where we thought he had the hardest day and come home to find our mom just finished a fresh batch of our favorite food made with love. When that food hit the tongue we thought to ourselves like maybe today isn’t that bad.

Cooking and sharing meals with loved ones has always been part of culture everywhere in the world no matter if it for special occasions or just ordinary Wednesday night. Gathering on the table to share foods, stories, thoughts, and energies give an opportunity for us to feel supported and bond with out loved ones. Research shows being in a situation where we feel supported and have strong social connections can improve out mental health and well-being. So if you feel like today isn’t your day, go cook something simple and share it with your loved ones. Seeing them smiling and enjoying the food we make will got you thinking there is always good in bad days.

Have you seen the plating on MasterChef or any other cooking competition that make a simple chicken breast look so juicy, tempting, and delicious? You won’t get that without a dash of creativity. Looking at the plating always got me thinking how it is such a high quality art and just makes your mouth drolling all over. There is this saying that goes ‘you eat with your eyes first before your mouth’ and I hundred percent agree on that. I am not the most creative person when it comes to plating but I do know how to get creative with the ingredients when I don’t have some and just use whatever I got. This is what I like the most about cooking. We can be as creative as we want with the ingredients, flavors, and how it looks which is a great platform for me to express myself. Having a platform to express ourselves and our creativity has been associated with increased well-being and life satisfaction according to science. I personally think that cooking is a very fun experience with discovering new recipes, trying it out, tune the food based on our likings, and even serve it prettily that gives a sensation of accomplishment like ‘look at that beautiful thing I created’. Try cooking new recipes and try to give your own twist on that then see how it goes. Even if it went bad, you still need to feel proud because at least YOU MADE SOMETHING and that is already a great achievement.

So… What are you going to cook today?

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