A cooking method that has been around for a decade or more is commonly known as 5-ingredient cooking. It has grown in popularity because it is simple to do, it reduces the time spent cooking and it saves money. You can simplify your shopping and cooking time by reducing the number of ingredients you use.
Benefits
You spend less time shopping because each recipe uses just five or less ingredients. If you are into menu planning, you can combine some ingredients to take advantage of bulk buying. You can also take advantage of sales by stocking up on key ingredients when they are sale. Canned tuna, noodles, rice and canned mushrooms are some the staples this works well with.
You save money because you don’t buy huge lists of expensive ingredients that you may only use once, leaving the rest to waste. By taking advantage of sales or bulk buying, you can cut costs even more.
Having just five ingredients often reduces the amount of time you spend in the kitchen, depending upon the actual recipes you choose to make.
Recipe Sources
Cook books are a great source and you can find them just about everywhere. Just about every popular chef and food company has a 50-ingredient cook book on the market. Claire Robinson, Betty Crocker and Gooseberry Patch are just a few. A quick search on Amazon will reveal dozens if not hundreds of others. Some books are categorized even further, featuring a particular method of cooking like slow cooker, stove top or oven baked.
If you are reluctant to spend money on a cookbook before trying out the recipes, check your local library. They may have an entire shelf of these books at your disposal. If not, they’ll be glad to order it for you.
Another option is to utilize the internet. Hundreds of cooking sites have sections dedicated to this type of cooking. About.com, Rachel Ray and Cooks.com are just a few with vast recipes collections.
Even television has gotten in on the act. Food Network features “5 Ingredient Fix” with Claire Robinson on Saturdays at 10:30 am (9:30c). Robinson’s approach teaches you how to shop stress free for fresh ingredients. Her technique focuses on enhances the flavors in each of the ingredients to make cooking a no-fuss activity that rewards you with great tasting food in a short amount of time.
Once you try 5 ingredient cooking you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with other methods.