If you usually love to cook, ending up in a slump can be difficult. You might be recovering from an illness or suffering from burnout at work. Maybe the last few recipes you tried didn’t quite do it for you or your family, or perhaps these days you just. don’t. feel. like. cooking.

Unlike other creative pastimes, cooking is also a means to an end, and even though you don’t want to do it, you’ve still got to eat. What’s worse, if part of your identity is wrapped up in being proud of your cooking skills, it’s easy to fall into a bit of a shame-spiral that can make coming back to the kitchen even more difficult.

I’m here to say it’s ok, it’s normal, and it happens to everyone.

Here are 5 ways to get your mojo back:

1. Can’t someone else do it? Sometimes you just need a break. Is there anyone else in your household who can pick up the slack? Every adult needs to know how to cook simple meals, even if they don’t like to. It’s just part of life. Can you order in? Pick up a ready-made meal? These aren’t long-term solutions, as they will hit you in your wallet, along with filling you up with sodium, fat and hidden sugars. But if you need a night or two off, go easy and give yourself some room to breathe.
2. Watch or read (the right kind of) food porn. Don’t tune in to shows, cookbooks or websites featuring aspirational, gourmet cooking with tons of ingredients and fussy, time-consuming techniques. It will only make you feel worse about your slump. Instead, stick to simple recipes designed to get food on the table – fast, with short ingredient lists and time-saving suggestions.
   • Some favourites:
     • The Kitchn. This link goes straight to their videos page – I’m much more likely to be entranced by something if I watch a video rather than reading a recipe. At very least I need an awesome photo.
     • Jamie Oliver’s latest Channel 4 series, Jamie’s Quick & Easy Food and tie-in book 5 Ingredients – Quick & Easy Food didn’t just get me out of my recent slump, they inspired this post as well.
     • Buzzfeed Food. I can’t think of a better place to watch cooking videos, find recipes or simply remember that food is supposed to be fun. Also good for silly quizzes, if nothing else grabs you.
3. Cook in advance on the weekend. Truth time – I absolutely detest cooking from scratch on a weeknight when I work in an office. I’m often tired and cranky when I get home from my commute, so my cooking mojo is always at its lowest ebb. A recipe that may have sounded amazing on Saturday afternoon will probably be too much work for me by the time Tuesday evening rolls around. Thanks to this prized piece of self-knowledge, I do most of my cooking on the weekend – usually big pots of soup, chili or stew for portioning and freezing, roasting a large chicken for lots of leftovers, and roasting trays of vegetables to use throughout the week. And low-key weekends are also ideal for trying new recipes.
4. Fall back in love with your kitchen. Go through your pantry staples, organise your spice rack, de-clutter your cupboards. Clean out the fridge and freezer. You may rediscover ingredients you bought with the best of intentions. If they are non-perishable, use them as a jumping off point for a future recipe. If they have gone bad, chuck them out and remember to go easy on yourself. This decluttering task can be a bigger job than you think – definitely order pizza that night.
5. Get some new gear. Once your kitchen is feeling organised and calm, consider rewarding yourself with a new piece of equipment – anything that you’ve always meant to get to make things easier. A mortar & pestle? A new blender? It could be as simple and cheap as replacing a cookie sheet, or as luxurious as a top-of-the-line food processor. Celebrate your new purchase with that recipe you’ve been meaning to make for ages.