Strengthening Executive Functioning Skills Through Cooking
“Executive function” is a term used to describe a set of skills that our brain uses to achieve our goals. These skills help us to come up with a plan, concentrate, remember instructions, and manage multiple tasks. It is normal to have difficulty using some of these skills. Certain activities, like cooking, require a lot of executive functioning skills. Since cooking uses many of these skills, cooking is an activity that can strengthen our executive function. However, this also means that cooking can be challenging and frustrating–it doesn’t have to be, though! In this article we break down 3 executive functions: planning, organization, and self-monitoring. Each executive function has a definition, how it is used in cooking, and tips to make each skill easier to engage in.
Planning
What is planning?
Planning is similar to creating a strategy to get things done. Planning involves prioritization, sequencing, and awareness of time.
How is planning used in cooking?
There are many moments throughout the cooking process where you have to use your planning skills. For example, before you start cooking, you need to make a list of all the ingredients you need and check to see if you have them or if you need to go grocery shopping. Then, you need to figure out the order in which you complete the cooking steps and plan how much time each step takes. All of these things utilize your planning skills.
What are some tips that help with planning?
Keep a list of your recipes in one place. This could be in the notes section of your phone or in a binder. Pinterest could also be a useful tool. You can set up your own board on Pinterest and can organize recipes however you’d like. You could create boards with any one of the following categories: recipes to try, favorite recipes, easy recipes, vegetarian recipes, and more! Keeping your recipes in one place is helpful because you will be able to easily find the ingredients for each recipe while grocery shopping.
It could be helpful to have written directions for each recipe and include how much time each step takes. Most recipes online have written directions but they might not be as specific as you prefer. To help you, you can use an online tool like Magic ToDo. To use Magic ToDo, you write out the cooking task in the search bar (ex: “make pasta”) and then click the button on the right to break down the steps. What is great about this tool is that you can adjust how much you want the step to be broken down. For example, when you enter “make pasta,” the first step is “boil water.” You can leave it there or you can break down that step further, which will tell you to start with “gather a pot.”
To help figure out how much time each cooking task takes, you could test out the recipe and write down how long it takes you to complete each step. Or, if you are using the Magic ToDo tool, you can click the dropdown button on the right for each step and it will estimate how long each task will be for you. Keep in mind that how long you spend doing each task might be different than Magic ToDo’s estimated time–and that’s okay! Monitoring how long different cooking tasks take will help you plan ahead and know if you have time to make a specific recipe at a specific time. A photo of Magic ToDo is below:
Image description: A list of steps in a checklist format in chronological order to make pasta.
Organization
What is organization?
Organization is when you do something in a way that makes a task as simple and easy as possible.
How is organization used in cooking?
When cooking, we need to keep an organized work space in order to find all ingredients and tools that are needed for the recipe. It is also important to stay organized while cooking even though it can be difficult. Cooking often requires many ingredients, tools, and moving items around which can cause disorganization (the opposite of organization).
What are some tips that help with organization?
Before you start cooking, take the time to get organized. This means find all the ingredients and supplies you need and put them neatly in one area of the kitchen. Not all recipes will have supplies listed so you may need to take some extra time to think through each step and what you will need. In addition, take out 1 medium bowl. You can use it to collect food scraps and garbage while cooking to minimize trips to the trash. (If you compost, take out 2 bowls, separating food scraps and other garbage!)
Use a specific area in the kitchen to prep your ingredients. Choose an area that is not crowded with other things.
As you cook, put away the things you are done with or put them in other areas of your kitchen. For example, the counter space closest to your fridge can be where you put ingredients you are done with that need to go back in the fridge. You can do the same thing with dirty dishes (on or close to your sink would be a good spot) and things that have to go back in the pantry (a counter closest to your pantry would be a good spot).
When you’re done cooking, put all the fridge items away at one time, put all the pantry items away, make one trip to the trash and/or compost, and finish by cleaning your dishes or loading your dishwasher.
Self-Monitoring
What is self-monitoring?
Self-monitoring is when we are able to notice what we are doing and figure out if what we are doing is going well or not. If we notice that we are not doing something well, we are then able to make a change.
How is self-monitoring used in cooking?
Being safe during cooking is important. Self-monitoring helps us with safety awareness. For example, we need to be able to stop ourselves from touching a hot stove top or grabbing sharp tools the wrong way. Self-monitoring also helps us figure out if we are doing a cooking task the right or best way. For example, if you are following a recipe to something you have never made before, you might ask yourself, “Am I doing this the right way?” if you realized what you are doing looks, feels, smells, or tastes different than what is being described in the recipe.
What are some tips that help with self-monitoring?
Ask yourself questions like “am I doing this step well?” and “how do I know if I am doing this well?” when cooking to help you figure out if something you are doing needs to be changed.
If you are following a recipe, pay attention to words that have to do with the look, smell, texture, taste, and sound of each task. For example, if a recipe calls for whisking cake batter until smooth, you want to pay attention to the word “smooth.” By paying attention you are more likely to notice when your batter is smooth or lumpy and make changes if you need to.
Like all activities, practice makes things easier and that includes cooking! Although cooking requires various executive functioning skills, the more we cook and include strategies the simpler things become.
If you want help practicing cooking and these executive functioning skills, visit our one-on-one class page. In a one-on-one class, you are matched with a chef who can work with you on your cooking goals and the areas you have difficulty with.