Hi there, I’m Beri!
I love to cook food and bake treats for my Bear (hubby) using healthy ingredient alternatives. We all want to enjoy delicious, indulgent food and our guilty pleasures without compromising on our health and fitness goals, so I’m here to share with you all my recipes that allow you to do just that: eat happy and healthy, without the guilt.
When the Bear and I got married in 2021, I had zero skills in the kitchen. I was living with my parents prior to my marriage and my mom was the main chef in the house so I rarely stepped in the kitchen to cook my own food. I was too busy focusing on building my career at that time and my mom always encouraged me to learn but I always told her “I don’t have the patience to stand around in the kitchen and watch carefully over food while it’s being cooked”.
You can say I first learned to cook out of necessity. I will forever remember the day Bear and I moved into our new home and I cooked my first meal. He had some raw frozen chicken he bought over with him from his previous home. We were both hungry and I decided I would attempt to cook our first meal, but not before letting the Bear know that I was a terrible cook. The only spices I had in my spice cupboard at the time were salt and pepper. I searched for a recipe online and prepared the chicken in a skillet. I presented the chicken with a side salad to the Bear and he said “it tastes good” and shared some words of encouragement. I tried it myself and couldn’t eat more than one bite (it was too bland for my liking and in comparison to my mom’s delicious food that I was so accustomed to, it was really not that good). At that point, I had accepted that we would be eating bland chicken forever.
It wasn’t until we hosted family at our housewarming party a few weeks later that I discovered my passion and excitement for experimenting in the kitchen. For the menu, I had initially planned to buy pre-marinated salmon, prepared hors d’oeuvres and grains from a grocery store and a cake from a local bakery. I had only intended to make a fresh salad from scratch (which essentially meant I was going to cut and toss vegetables in a salad bowl and mix in store-bought dressing). When I discussed the menu with the Bear he said “I think you should make everything from scratch”. My initial reaction was “no way!” I expressed my worry that the food will likely not taste good given my lack of cooking skills to which he replied “it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t taste great. What matters is that you put in the effort and made it all yourself”.
Nervously, I agreed. I looked up recipes and started preparing every dish for the housewarming gathering. I meticulously followed each recipe and made sure I watched the food carefully while it cooked in order to ensure it didn’t burn. The Bear lent a helping hand in the kitchen and we worked on every dish together. It was in that process that I realized how I actually thoroughly enjoyed cooking and discussing the ingredients and techniques with the Bear while we “tasted-as-you-went”. We both made sure that everything tasted as good as it could and I was excited about presenting the food to the guests, which included two of the top chefs we know who made great quality and great tasting food: our moms.
All the guests at the housewarming loved every single one of the dishes- from the fresh arugula and bean salad, to the lemon and herb salmon, to the eggplant moussaka and everything in between! I was hearing praises around the table throughout the dinner and I felt humbled and pleased at the generous comments and feedback. I felt great and It was in these moments that I learned Beri can cook for her Bear!
This experience fueled my passion for not only learning about cooking and baking techniques but also for experimenting with new recipes for my Bear almost every single day.
