Faced with cooking for themselves for the first time, a teen sought help online planning real dinners before their parents left town.
On Reddit, user Cute-Literature-4462 shared a post explaining how they had little to no kitchen experience and needed “urgent” help to feed themselves while their parents were away.
‘Amazing’
The original poster (OP), a 16-year-old, explained they would be eating breakfast and lunch at school, so they only needed ideas for dinners. They asked for simple, nutritious recipes with ingredients and instructions included.
They ruled out frozen food and meal kits like HelloFresh, adding they would be shopping soon and only had access to an oven, stove, microwave and air fryer.
After posting, the teen returned with an update, saying they had successfully made steak and eggs in a single pan with butter and thought it tasted “amazing.”
They also mentioned buying grass-fed ground beef and planned to try cooking that over the weekend, promising another update.
Basic Cooking Skills
The Reddit post drew more than 1,000 comments , many focused on staying safe while learning the basics of cooking.
“If you have long hair, pull it up in a bun or ponytail before using your stove,” a supporter advised, adding, “Don’t wear loose sleeves or clothing that could drape down onto a burner.
“Find a YouTube video on how to extinguish a kitchen fire and watch it. Don’t leave the kitchen when you have a burner turned on.
“Make sure you know where your fire extinguishers are before your folks leave and any emergency contact numbers.”
‘Simple and cheap’
Others recommended starting with simple meals.
“Pasta with a jar of tomato sauce. Salad kits in a bag. Scrambled eggs with toast. Precooked bacon and make BLTs,” one contributor offered.
Meanwhile, another pointed the teen toward tacos: “Tacos/burritos are another great choice. I made them when I was sixteen. All you need to do is brown ground beef or turkey, add taco seasoning and some water and simmer.
“Then put them in the shells of your choice with whatever toppings you like. Very simple and cheap.”
Cooking Tips Go Viral
Basic cooking knowledge is being shared in more places than ever.
Newsweek reported about a viral TikTok video that shared several different cooking hacks to make everyone’s kitchen experience easier.
Chopping onions can make us cry and sobbing into an apron is never a good look. However, what does look great is the make-shift protective gear one woman fashioned out of a hooded sweatshirt and a pan lid.
Additionally, a number of items sold online can help those with minimal cooking skills.
Here are some well-reviewed beginners kitchen items that can make cooking simpler:
- A 33-piece beginners kitchen utensil set.
- A non-stick set of pots and pan.
- “The I Don’t Know How To Cook Book.”
- A cookbook for all cooking experience levels.
Newsweek has reached out to Cute-Literature-4462 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
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