Many of us have grown up enjoying home-cooked meals made by our loving parents. Some people would have picked up valuable cooking skills and continued to make great use of their kitchen when they finally moved out of home – for others it’s not so easy.

With all of today’s options for fast food and home delivery, it’s increasingly harder for some of us to find the motivation to buy raw ingredients and cook a healthy meal at home. This is especially true for those people who work long hours and really don’t have the energy to prepare an elaborate meal from scratch every single evening.

Services that deliver pre-portioned ingredients for healthy and easily prepared meals have become popular with people who want to cook from home without all of the stressful grocery shopping. A dukkah steak with lemon and feta greens, for example, is very nutritious, low in carbohydrates and easy to cook once you have the ingredients!

There are also plenty of tips and tricks you can use to make cooking at home more convenient and/or appealing to you. The following will take a look at some of the best methods you can employ.

Cook several simple meals at once

One of the main things that turn people off cooking at home is the fact that they need to make an effort in the kitchen every evening. As mentioned earlier, this can be particularly unappealing for people who come home physically and/or mentally exhausted from their jobs.

A great way to avoid this is to simply cook several dinners at the same time. There are plenty of healthy, filling meals you can create in bulk and easily re-heat on different days of the week.

The only disadvantage of this strategy is that it’s not really practical with more elaborate dishes, so you might end up getting bored of eating similar meals over and over again. However, it is still a great way to ensure you are getting a nutritionally wholesome meal each night of the week.

Plan your meals ahead of time

Another great way to make cooking at home less of a chore is to build a weekly meal plan that sets out what dishes you want to eat and what ingredients you will need to prepare them. You can research recipes that you want to try or ask your family for Sunday dinner ideas that you can cook at home. Doing this means you won’t waste as much time in the supermarket or staring at the contents of your pantry thinking about what you want to cook.

For many people, the act of supermarket shopping for healthy, raw ingredients can be a stressful experience. Being bombarded with so many different decisions about food can be overwhelming and lead people to simply opt for a quick takeaway or microwavable option.

Writing down what you plan to eat and how you are going to prepare it will make you far more likely to actually commit to that plan. This helps motivate you to continue cooking healthy meals and lessens the temptation of unhealthy choices.

Involve other people

If you find the prospect of cooking an entire meal from scratch daunting, why not try to lessen the workload by asking for some help? If you live with family members, a romantic partner or a flatmate you can ask them to help you cook a healthy dinner that you can enjoy together.

Not only does this lessen the overall workload and speed up the cooking process, but it also helps bring you closer together through a shared experience. Cooking can be a wonderful bonding exercise that can help make your interpersonal relationships much more dynamic and meaningful.

Invest in time-saving cooking appliances

If the length of time it takes for you to cook a healthy dinner is holding you back, you should look into acquiring new appliances that can save you a lot of time and effort in the kitchen. Modern technology is truly amazing and you’d be surprised how much quicker you can do things with a new cooking gadget.

A rice cooker is a great investment for those who find the manual method of preparing rice frustrating. They make it easy to cook several pounds of rice with little to no-effort required.

A slow cooker or crockpot is another amazing cooking device that allows you to simply chuck in a load of ingredients before heading to work so you can come home to a hot, healthy meal.

Learn better cooking techniques

If cooking is a skill that doesn’t come naturally to you then it never hurts to try to get some extra training and guidance on how you could improve. The reason you’re not cooking as much in your kitchen may be just a simple case of you not knowing the most efficient way to make use of everything in your pantry.

If you have a friend or relative who is an excellent cook, ask them to come around and show you some tricks. They’ll be flattered you asked them for their expertise and should be happy to train you free of charge.

Otherwise, you can always sign up to a professional cooking class. While this will cost money, you will learn a lot of really useful skills incredibly fast.

Hopefully by using the above techniques you can get yourself utilising the full potential of your kitchen while also ensuring you are following a healthy diet.

Just in time for Mother's Day.  I'd love to share with you a few tips on making the perfect bunch of wildflowers for that special person in your life.

Picture this.

You’re at the farmer's markets.

Bikes of varying colours and degrees of rust are littered on the outskirts of the gates.

There are elegant girls effortlessly roaming around in pale yellow linen sundresses and glasses that are too big for their faces, holding woven baskets filled with organic mangoes and crispy kale leaves. Every stall has freshly-picked daffodils and orchids, giving off the freshest of aroma’s and a delightful sense of calm. You're having the perfect day, so much so that you’ve almost forgotten what you’ve come for.

But then, out of the corner of your eye, you see it: the perfect arrangement of exquisite wildflowers.

You start floating towards it. This will be the day that you’ll finally be united with the floral arrangement of your dreams.

It’s looking at you while you’re looking back at it.

It’s magical.

And then something terrible happens.

You see…

The price tag.

Uh oh.

While arranged wildflowers do make beautiful centrepieces, they do tend to come at a hefty price. Making your own arrangement of wildflowers is a fun activity that can allow you to unleash your inner creative and florist while not breaking the bank.

Wildflowers add atmosphere to any home but also make for wonderful bridal bouquets and even small bedside table arrangements. There’s nothing I love more than walking into a home with freshly-cut flowers with a healthy dose of greenery interspersed with some tea lights.

If you’re wanting to live out that fantasy, the way to begin is by finding the perfect vessel.

Some people love to use a big vase on a mantlepiece to create a focal point for a room. You may choose to use a simple vase, upcycle your flea market finds, unearth treasures in junk shops or use different old tins, jars and cans to create a bohemian theme. Find the vessel that works best for your space and style.

Next, it’s time to find some greenery. When it comes to picking the greenery, I love foraging or as I like to call it, community gardening. When it comes to the rules of picking wildflowers, it is not normally an offence to pick the 'Four Fs' – fruit, foliage, fungi or flowers – if the plants are growing wild and it is for your personal use and not for sale.  But back away from flowers in council parks, roundabouts and verges, community gardens, protected or threatened plant species or nature reserves.

Foraging has broadened my view of all of the beautiful wild things growing around me. Once I start looking for greenery, it’s hard to stop. The more you allow yourself the time to simply stop and smell the roses (ha!), the more you realise how much beauty there is around you.

However, if you do choose to forage, please be respectful of other people’s properties and only take what you need. You may like to grab greens from trees, bushes or overgrown, weeded areas. Insert your greenery at a variety of heights. I recommend pulling off the leaves that you can see are going to fall below water-level to keep your arrangement in line. This will keep the arrangement looking pristine and help reduce bacteria too.

Now, the best part: it’s flower time! When picking your flowers, always be sure to get a few more than you think you’ll need; you’ll be surprised how many flowers get stage-freight and break when they’re on display. Add your taller flowers to the center and edges of the bouquet.

I love Australian native wildflowers. They have a rich fragrance and add vibrant colours and textures and last a really long time too. There are so many to choose from so, have fun with it! Some of my favourite Australian wildflowers that are not threatened or protected are Eucalyptus, Wattle and Hakea. The wilder, the better. Make sure to cut each stem on an angle with secateurs or sharp scissors and cut to suit the length of your vase, you can also mix locally bought flowers with them to.

When it comes to arranging the flowers, simple works best and remember less is more.  Don’t try to over-do things with too many different plant varieties rather, let your instincts guide you and choose the flowers that you love. You may choose to gain inspiration from Instagram, magazines or your favourite artists.

And if you don't have any wild flower areas around you that you are able to use then, shop local.  One of the best parts about wildflowers is while they look fancy, they can be kept within budget. Whenever I shop for my produce, flowers included, I support local businesses. Not only is this a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, it also sends a message about where you decide to spend your money which has a greater overall impact on the economy.

When you’re done with the bigger flowers, insert your smaller filler flowers at different heights where you see fit.

Finally, it’s time to add some water to the arrangement. Be sure to keep your wildflowers out of direct sunlight. To keep your flowers fresh, cut the stems and change the water daily.

Don’t stress too much about getting the perfect arrangement; working with wildflowers means there’s no right or wrong. They look effortlessly beautiful however you choose to arrange them. As they say, there are many ways to … make a floral arrangement? Whichever way you arrange them, you can’t go wrong. Use your creative eye, have fun and enjoy!

Once you’re done, be sure to stand back, admire your arrangement and make any adjustments if you need to.

Then give them to the person you love with a smile.

If you're keen to spoil mum with breakfast in bed, here's a delicious recipe.

Happy Mother's day!

Lee xo