I learned a long time ago the folly of cooking food on an empty stomach. Like, cooking food when you’re hungry and can barely think straight due to the raging hunger deep in your belly. Yeah, that’s the kind of hunger I’m talking about. I learned long ago never to cook when I’m hungry like that because it never ends well.
In such situations, one of two things will happen; you either cook rubbish and don’t even notice it, or you’ll almost burn your house down all in the name of cooking. Neither is a viable option because they both involve wastage.
I remember a few years back when I returned home from school. It had been a hectic day, I didn’t eat anything before leaving home and upon my return, all I could think of was just preparing a meal to shove down my throat before I fainted from hunger.
When I got home, I immediately got to cooking. I prepared everything I needed and cooked it all. It was ready in record time and I ate my fill and drank a lot of water. And as usual with a great meal, I began to feel sleepy not long after. So, I slept off. I didn’t wake up again until later at night when it was time for me to eat again. However, when I took just a spoonful and put it in my mouth, I almost spat it out in shock.
Everything that could have been wrong with the meal was wrong. I put in too much pepper, too much salt, too much water. The water didn’t dry up properly, and the food itself didn’t soften well enough to be consumed. I never noticed these things earlier because I was extremely hungry and my main focus then was to fill up my belly. However, the moment the gnawing hunger was taken care of, I realized the abomination that I had cooked up for myself.
That was when I realized that cooking on an empty stomach is never ideal, you’d make mistakes that you’d never make on a normal day. But then, what do I do to combat such intense hunger if I can’t cook? It’s quite simple, to be honest. For me, I have provisions. I have cornflakes and golden morn. They’re always good for quenching biting hunger for the short term. Some even prefer to use noodles.
And for those who can’t afford these, garri is also a safe bet. Garri is one commodity I make sure that no matter what, I never run out of it. When you’re hungry, you can either chew or drink a small amount and it’ll go a long way in taking the edge off the hunger. I’ve been employing this tactic for a while now and it’s been working like magic for me.
I have a friend who once returned from work and tried to cook on an empty stomach. Not only was he hungry, but he was also tired. He started cooking and halfway through, he slept off. By the time he woke up, the food had burnt and turned to charcoal in his pot, his gas was finished and his room was filled with smoke. It was so bad that for weeks he couldn’t breathe properly because of how much of the air he breathed in. That’s another danger of cooking when hungry or tired.
So, I’ll advise that you don’t do this. As far as I’m concerned, it’ll always be better for you to be safe than sorry.
