Does Cooking Increase Happiness?
As you watch your dough, sprinkle your salt, season your chicken and lather your butter, you can see your attitude rise and happiness flourish simultaneously. Your time in the kitchen not only brings people closer together but it can without a doubt increase your positivity and overall wellness. Not only do you have the means to satisfy your cravings but you can feed your mind in the process.
Have you ever wondered why people use baking or cooking as an outlet to release tension? Studies have shown that cooking has countless benefits in improving your overall mood in daily life. Cooking is considered to have therapeutic elements. Research says that spending time in the kitchen has the ability to improve the level of satisfaction you feel in your life because humans crave purposes and being in the kitchen working towards completing such as dish feeds that purpose, no pun intended. Hence, a simple recipe and a mere few hours in the kitchen is not only good for your stomach but also serves your mind.
Innovation in the Kitchen
While in the kitchen people have countless opportunities to showcase their innovation and originality. This makes sense since the same recipe can be given to numerous people and yet no one dish turns out the exact same when several different people are preparing it. Everyone adds their own zest to the dish they wish to prepare.
Being in the kitchen can even help stress levels and anxiety as it provides a calming effect that enhances an overall sense of joy.
Serve Your Cake and Eat it Too
Two birds one stone, or rather one cake two benefits. Cooking and baking not only helps your mood but after accomplishing the task at hand, whether it's a cake or a cannoli achieving the final product aka the final dish provides you with a level of pride in achieving something you worked for from A to B. This end result allows you to see something through from start to finish which is measurable and that creates a sense of pride that promotes happiness. Therefore this accomplishment feeds not only our bellies but the human need for purpose.
The key to success and utmost joy in the kitchen is first being confident, and honing in on your skills, practice is everything. Secondly, it's growing your own fresh ingredients which adds to your role in the process and gives you even more pride when achieving the final dish. Lastly being mindful of the process, and being in tune with the senses of both touch, taste, and smell, helps you become one with the process.
It is these three ingredients that create not only a happy and healthy kitchen but a happy balance in your everyday wellbeing. So what are you waiting to cook next?