XP TRACKERHow to cook at home more
The hardest part of cooking at home is deciding what to make at 7 p.m. when you're tired. Settle that question in advance, keep the meals simple, and cooking stops feeling like a project.
Why it's harder than it sounds
Most people who want to cook more already know how to make a few meals. The cooking goes fine; the problem is everything around it. Three things usually get in the way:
- The decision comes too late. You get home tired and hungry with no plan, and a delivery app takes ten seconds.
- The fridge doesn't match the meal. You have half the ingredients for three different dishes and all of none.
- The recipes are too ambitious. A new recipe with twelve ingredients on a Wednesday is a recipe for ordering in.
Start smaller than you think
Your starter habit is two home-cooked dinners a week, on fixed days, from a short list of easy meals. Write down three meals you can make without thinking: a pasta, an egg dish, a one-tray bake. Those are your defaults.
The cue is walking in the door. On a cooking day, put the pan on the hob before you sit down. If you sit first, the delivery app usually wins.
"Cooking" counts loosely here. Scrambled eggs with toast and tomatoes is a home meal. So is a jarred sauce with pasta and a bag of spinach thrown in.
An example starter plan
Go up only when the step before feels easy. If a week was hard, repeat it.
- Days 1 to 7: two dinners from your listPick the two days now. Cook one of your three defaults on each. Nothing new.
- Days 8 to 14: shop from a listBefore your weekly shop, write down the meals for three or four dinners and buy only for those. Cook three this week.
- Days 15 to 21: cook double onceMake twice as much of one dinner and eat the rest for lunch or the next night. Add one new easy meal to your list.
- Days 22 to 30: one prep sessionSpend an hour at the weekend cooking a grain, roasting a tray of vegetables and preparing a protein. Aim for four or five home meals a week.
Make the kitchen easier
- Keep a backup shelf. Pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, beans, eggs and frozen vegetables give you a meal on the night you didn't shop.
- Put your meal list on the fridge. When you're tired, choosing from five options is easy. Choosing from the internet isn't.
- Use one pan or one tray. Fewer dishes means less dread about the clean-up.
- Clean as you cook. Wash the board while the pasta boils. You'll sit down to a clear kitchen.
Common mistakes
- A new recipe every night. New dishes take twice as long. Repeat your favourites and add one new meal a week at most.
- Buying a week of fresh vegetables you won't use. Buy for the meals on your list, and lean on frozen vegetables.
- All or nothing. One takeaway doesn't ruin the week. Cook the next planned dinner.
What to do after a missed day
Ordered food instead? That's fine. Cook your easiest default meal tomorrow and the habit carries on.
If vegetables are turning in the fridge after a few missed days, make the next meal a "use what's there" one: an omelette, a soup or a stir-fry. It clears the guilt along with the fridge.
If you've drifted for a week or more, go back to two dinners a week from your list. Our guide to getting back on track covers restarts in more detail. Look at which days you miss, too. If it's always the same late-work day, make that your leftovers night.
Cook at home as a quest in XP Tracker
In XP Tracker, Cook at home is one of the optional quests you can add from the library of about 60 (tap + Add a quest). It's a simple check-off: you cook, you tick it. It runs daily by default, and if every day is too much you can set it to certain days of the week, such as your two or three cooking days. Meal prep and Grocery run are weekly quests that pair well with it.
Each one you tick earns XP for your hero and damage on the current boss. Every added quest keeps its own streak, and skipping a day only costs the XP you didn't earn. For more ideas to pair with it, see our list of real-life daily quests, or meet the Druid, the class about patience and tending what grows. The art at the top is the Druid's.
Questions people ask
How do I start cooking at home if I can't cook?
Learn three easy meals and repeat them. Eggs on toast with a side of vegetables, pasta with a jarred sauce and spinach, or a tray of roasted vegetables with sausages all count. Skill comes from repetition, not from new recipes every night.
How many times a week should I cook at home?
Start with two dinners a week and add one when that feels easy. Four or five home-cooked meals a week is a realistic goal for most busy people.
What should I keep in the cupboard?
A backup shelf of pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, tinned beans or lentils, stock cubes and spices, plus eggs and frozen vegetables. With those you can make a meal on the night you didn't shop.
Is meal prep worth it?
For many people, yes. One hour at the weekend to cook a grain, roast a tray of vegetables and prepare a protein covers several meals. You don't have to prep everything; even one batch helps.
Does ready-made food count as cooking?
If you're building the habit, count anything you put together at home. A ready sauce with fresh pasta and a bag of salad is still a home meal, and it's a step toward cooking more from scratch.
Start your journey
Pick a class, do the day's quests, and watch your hero level up with you.
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