3 TOP QUESTIONS

When cooking a meal, you:

1) Decide what to cook, find the right recipe

2) Go shopping, gather the necessary groceries

3) Prepare the ingredients

4) Do the actual cooking

5) Clean up pots and pans

6) Tidy up the kitchen

Actual cooking (3 and 4) is just a portion of the activities required to prepare a meal. And notice how tasks 1, 2, 5 and 6 are pretty much the same, whether you cook for 2 people or for 12 - you still have to decide what to cook, get hold of the groceries and clean up afterwards.

You can maximize your efficiency by preparing a meal ONE TIME not just for your own family, but for more households. Tasks 1, 2, 5 and 6 are the same; you'd do them anyway! The extra effort invested in tasks 3 and 4 will be abundantly paid back MANY TIMES by receiving meals from other SHCOOKs.

Stress, how much stress from the approaching dinnertime and nothing planned for dinner! SHCOOK is conducive to a more relaxed home because finally you can eliminate survival mode - the anxiety of the usual question ‘what's for dinner’. And the day that it's your turn to cook, you won't be stressed because you have it all under control: you have been preparing mentally for the whole week, you have set aside time for the one time you cook, and you will find yourself actually enjoying crafting a meal for your family and the SHCOOKs in your ring.

The SHCOOKing way of preparing meals easily adjusts to your schedule and lifestyle - its flexibility and customization allows you to determine how much you want to cook and how often. Every SHCOOKing ring is different because the members of the ring set it up to take care of their unique needs. Just find the right people and set up your unique ring.

Whether they are ‘old’ friends and you are helping each other in a new SHCOOKing way, or friends you just met through SHCOOK, do not miss this opportunity to share human warmth besides your meals. Over time, you will not only exchange food, but you will also form a network of supportive friends. If your ring was setup to take care of special dietary needs, your goal will be much easier to reach when you can count on a whole team of friends.

Planning your meals automatically drastically reduces the food you waste. Just buy what you need when it is your turn to cook. And avoid seeing those vegetables wilt in your refrigerator because you didn't find the time to prepare them during the week. Now you know what you need and when you need it (and you will prepare it!).

Not only you won't waste food, therefore money, but preparing SHCOOKed meals is ideal to buy in bulk - your dollars will go a long way. Another way to see it, is that the same budget that was buying your family junk food will now buy you high quality healthy ingredients: maximize the return on your food dollars! Also, SHCOOK allows you to drastically reduce the number of meals purchased at the last minute, when you scramble because you have nothing for dinner and resort to those takeout meals that really add up by the end of the month.

If you are not already an experienced cook, over time you will become more and more proficient and curious about trying new recipes. Your cooking abilities will grow. And as you taste new recipes SHCOOKed by your friends you will be gradually exposed to more flavors and techniques. Especially children will benefit from the variety and open-mindedness in eating. A positive change that will be with your children for the rest of their lives.

Now your dinner time is shaped differently: the evenings that you receive your meals become your evenings, your family's evenings. Concentrate on the most important things in your life without the hassle of providing for a meal. All your mind-share is for what counts to you, not for what can be eaten. Instead of preparing a meal or running to the take out you can read a book or play with your children.

Once you'll have mastered the “art of SHCOOKing”, you'll probably realize that you can sometimes prepare an extra portion for somebody going through a challenging time. Savor the feeling of joy experienced in gifting a meal to somebody who needs it.