Have you ever watched a friend or family member prepare a great meal and think, how do they do that? Where have they learned to create such amazing dishes and make it all look incredibly seamless?

The whole process appears to be very daunting to the untrained cook. The truth is that meal planning doesn't have to be so complex. It all comes down to two simple stages: preparation time and cooking time. Once you've learned this simple art of cooking, you'll be released from your dependency on restaurant food and processed food and be able to get all the nutrients you need from delicious, satisfying meals prepared at home.

Cooking is a skill worth learning. It's a wonderful gift to be able to move around a kitchen with ease and confidence, and it only takes some patience and practice. The beginning stages might consist of trial and error, but give yourself permission to make mistakes. With a more relaxed way of learning, you'll find it exciting and easy to cook more often. Take note of foods you find appealing and appetizing by looking at different recipes and meal ideas. In getting started, you may notice that you'll need to stock up your pantry with some basic items such as grains, beans, spices and seasonings. To create a seasonal menu of meals, shop around your neighborhood farmer's market for fresh, local produce. Creatively selecting combinations of foods is similar to a painter choosing colors from a palette. Find inspiration from your surroundings and the foods that bring you happiness and joy. In time, you'll discover which flavors suit your taste and develop your own personal style of cooking.

The food we eat assimilates into our bodies and becomes part of our blood, our cells and even our thoughts and feelings. Learning to cook high-quality food for yourself and those you love changes everything. Home cooking nourishes us, mind, body and soul. When we put our energy into making food, we ultimately put that energy back into ourselves. However, when we eat out, we lose control over the quality and quantity of the ingredients we are eating. Restaurant food is usually served in overly large portions with too much salt and saturated fat. We also can't be sure of where the food came from, what sort of flavorings were added or the health and cleanliness of the people who prepared and served the food. By cooking our own meals, we create more love for ourselves, more love for our lives and therefore more health.

Think of a time when someone cooked for you - your mother, grandmother, spouse or even a thoughtful friend. When food is prepared at home by a loved one, it affects us very differently than the exact same food from a restaurant. Perhaps it's the smell or the taste of the food, or the environment it's created in, but there is something unique and wonderful about a meal cooked at home. The attention and care that went into the preparation fills us up in ways that goes beyond macronutrients. Home cooked meals bring feelings of safety, comfort and familiarity. Eating out at a fabulous restaurant on occasion is nice treat, but what a privilege it is to share a home-cooked meal with friends and family. You may even want to create some rituals around eating in your home - a scheduling a weekly meal with extended family, dining with the fine china and linens that are hardly ever used, playing some light music in the background. Just remember to take a moment to appreciate your gift of love through the food and your ability to share it with others.

As the seasons change, you can adjust your cooking style and methods for the time of year. By eating in accordance with the natural harvest of the season, you can begin to feel more balanced and build a stronger connection to your local environment. In the cooler months, you may be more drawn to warming food like soups and stews with more protein and fat. Experiment with different cooking techniques like baking and roasting to add more heat into your food. With the holiday season approaching, it's a great time to share your own cooking with others and even incorporate some healthy recipes into family traditions.

Finally, remember to keep it simple. You may want to try a complex recipe with some exciting new ingredients for a special occasion, and go for it! But for everyday diet, cooking easy, uncomplicated meals will lead you a more relaxed and enjoyable lifestyle. I've including some tips below that will help you get started and quickly turn you into a seasoned chef.

Use a timer
Remember that old infomercial saying: set it and forget it! Have the same mantra with cooking. Just because a recipe calls for 30 minutes of cooking time doesn't mean it takes 30 minutes of your time. Use a timer to spend less time waiting around. This will help you multi-task as well. Chop up some veggies for a salad or prepare a dessert while things are on the stove.

Burn the rice
Let yourself make mistakes in the beginning. Remember, it's okay to over-season the sauce and no problem if you burn the rice. Use this time to experiment but just don't let yourself get frustrated by your mishaps. There is bound to be a learning curve. As you stick with it, cooking will become easier, more enjoyable and hugely rewarding.

Add Flavor
The key to creating great meals is cooking food with simplicity, and then offering a wide variety of condiments at the table. Everyone can then personalize the meal to their own taste. Create a tray or a lazy Susan stocked with condiments, seasonings and spices. Include the standards like salt and pepper, but how about adding salsa, sesame oil, turmeric, tahini, tamari soy sauce and natural sweeteners? Having a readily available condiment selection to customize plates makes it fun for the guests and much easier on the cook.

Cook once, eat twice
Each time you cook a meal, make extra. This way you won't have to start from scratch at each mealtime and you'll spend less time in the kitchen. Then spice up your leftovers with some fresh flavors and you have yourself a new dish. This works well with grains. For example, make a big pot of brown rice that can be used for a hot breakfast cereal, add to a soup or side dish for lunch, and stir-fry the rest with veggies for dinner. You could even make a brown rice pudding for dessert.

Notice the effects of your cooking
Cooking for yourself is the best way to understand how food affects your body. You'll create a new level of awareness when it comes to your body's reactions to foods, develop conscious eating patterns and even broaden your palette. You'll also begin to discover which types of cooking are best suited for you, when you feel satisfied or if there are any missing ingredients. Explore, experiment and learn to distinguish the foods and quantities that support your health and happiness.