Conquering Your Fear

     About 5 years ago the most complicated homemade meals I made were grilled cheese sandwiches or spaghetti. My husband and I were young newlyweds and even though we lived together a year still hadn't ventured outside of the box- literally. We ate a lot of processed foods- Banquet, On-Cor, Homestyle, Stouffers, and more. We also ate A LOT of fast food- didn't help that my husband worked for a major fast food chain.
     It wasn't until I had my first child and he started eating table foods that I realized I needed to change how I did things. I very slowly started cooking and baking. However, if a recipe had a lot of ingredients, I immediately ran for the hills and wouldn't try it. Sometime around when I was pregnant with my second son or around the time he was born, things started to change again. No longer were those recipes with tons of ingredients scary. Once I separated out the spices-- which by this point I had accumulated a variety-- the lists weren't so big and bad anymore. After the first trimester ended with my daughter and I had avoided cooking for weeks due to bad morning sickness and sensitivity to smells- especially chicken (I had hide in the bedroom!), my cooking resumed full force. I had missed it!
    Now 5 years later, we rarely eat fast food. It is seen as a treat rather than bad meal planning on my part. It is also something we reserve for the difficult days where being a mom to three takes a huge toll and I am just barely keeping the house from falling apart. The only boxes you might find are Kraft Mac and Cheese (because for some reason my homemade stuff isn't good enough for the kids plus it's easier for the hubby). You'll find the freezer filled with ground beef, chicken breasts, french fries, and frozen vegetables instead of pizza rolls, chicken tenders, salisbury steaks (unless it is the homemade variety which I have yet to freeze), etc. Occasionally some ice cream and homemade pancakes. Actually has pumpkin puree and homemade chicken nuggets in it right now!
   Don't be afraid to take that step out of your comfort zone. Look a recipe over and separate out what is all spices and what are the main ingredients. A recipe might have 3 main ingredients and the rest are spices. You might come to realize just like I did that a lot of recipes aren't scary or difficult after all.