How to Become Your Own Private Chef (and Stop Wasting $50 on Pasta)
I started cooking because I love good food. But why should the only decent meal I eat cost $50, require a reservation I forgot to make, and force me into uncomfortable pants?
It’s 2025. We have thousands of cooking tutorials, meal prep hacks, and budget recipes at our fingertips—so why not bring the restaurant experience home without the overpriced cocktails or awkward small talk?
The best part? You’re in control. Cook what you love, how you love it. Make it healthy, indulgent, dairy-free, gluten-free, or all of the above. Oh—and you can do it in sweatpants.
This guide will show you how to start cooking at home, meal prep without the sadness, and save serious money on food—no culinary school required.
The Takeout Trap: Why Cooking at Home Saves You Money (and Sanity)
If you’re in your 20s and living off sad meal delivery or basic chicken-and-rice bowls, you’re not alone. It’s like Groundhog Day, but with less seasoning.
Most takeout is overpriced and mid at best—and it eats away at your budget fast. Cooking at home gives you better flavor, more nutrition, and control over your health goals.
And no, “I don’t have time” isn’t a real excuse. Let’s pull up your screen time and reclaim two of those scroll-happy hours for something that actually benefits you.
Beginner Cooking Tip #1: Always Shop with a Plan
Every delicious meal starts with a grocery list. If you head to the store without one, you’re likely to come home with three zucchinis you forgot you bought last week and a bunch of sad spinach turning to seaweed.
Spend 10–15 minutes planning 2–3 meals for the week. Choose recipes with overlapping ingredients to cut down on cost and waste. Check what you already have in the fridge, freezer, and pantry, then make a focused list. Shopping with intention = less waste, more flavor, and fewer panic orders from DoorDash.
Meal Prep Ideas That Don’t Suck (Seriously)
Let’s retire the phrase “meal prep” if it makes you think of sad, soggy rice bowls sitting in your fridge like forgotten relics.
Here’s a better method:
Prep ingredients, not full meals.
Roast your proteins, chop your veggies, and mix a few sauces.
Store or freeze what you won’t eat right away.
When it’s time to eat, throw your ingredients together in different ways for quick, healthy meals that don’t feel like leftovers. This is meal prep for people who like good food and zero effort on weeknights.
Below are some of my favorite kitchen essentials from Amazon to get you started on your cooking journey!
*This post contains affiliate links so we may receive compensation if you purchase products linked to below. As an Amazon Associate, I can earn from qualifying purchases.
Learn to Cook by Watching the Pros (Without the Pretension)
Use your screen time wisely: watch creators who make cooking fun, simple, and doable. There’s no shame in learning from YouTube. In fact, it’s the ultimate free culinary school.
Here are a few of my favorite cooking channels to start with:
Final Thoughts: You Deserve More Than Microwave Meals
Learning how to cook at home isn’t just a money-saving life hack. It’s self-care. It’s control. It’s creativity. It’s how you stop living off $17 pad thai and become someone who can whip up an amazing pasta dish that actually tastes like $50.
No more sad takeout. No more excuses. You’re your own private chef now.
