Meet Ryan: From Takeout King to One-Pan Champion

"This cookbook changed the way I view cooking. It's not just for women. The easy-to-cook recipes fit right into my lifestyle, and I've even started cooking for other people."

When Fast Food Becomes a Lifestyle

Ryan had convinced himself that ordering takeout five nights a week was just part of being a busy professional. At 32, he worked long hours at a marketing firm, hit the gym regularly, and spent weekends with friends. His kitchen existed primarily as a place to store pizza boxes and energy drinks.

 

"I wasn't one of those guys who couldn't boil water," Ryan explains. "I just never saw the point. Why spend an hour cooking when someone else could do it better and deliver it to my door?"

 

His college roommate had once joked that Ryan's oven was probably still factory-clean. It wasn't far from the truth. The stovetop saw occasional use for heating canned soup or scrambling eggs, but anything more complicated felt like it required skills Ryan didn't have and didn't particularly want to learn.

 

Food was fuel. That's how Ryan saw it. He ate to survive, to maintain his workout routine, and to avoid feeling hungry during meetings. The fact that his meals came in paper bags or plastic containers seemed efficient, not problematic.

 

The Wake-Up Call Nobody Wants

The shift happened gradually, then all at once.

Ryan started noticing he felt sluggish after meals. The afternoon crashes got worse. He'd finish lunch and immediately reach for another coffee, then another. His workouts suffered. Despite spending hours at the gym each week, he wasn't seeing the results he wanted. His clothes fit differently, and not in a good way.

Then came the monthly budget review.

Sitting at his desk one evening, Ryan pulled up his credit card statements and started tallying his food expenses. Breakfast sandwiches at the coffee shop. Lunch from the deli downstairs. Dinner delivery. Weekend brunches. Late-night pizza orders.

The number was staggering.

He was spending nearly $800 a month on food, not counting drinks, when he went out with friends. Almost $10,000 a year on meals he barely remembered eating.

"That's when it hit me," Ryan remembers. "I was paying restaurant prices for mediocre food, feeling terrible, and wondering why I couldn't afford the vacation I'd been planning. Something had to change."

 

The Stereotype That Almost Stopped Him

Ryan's first attempt at solving the problem was predictable. He googled "easy recipes for guys" and ended up more confused than when he started. Recipe blogs overwhelmed him with advertisements and life stories before getting to the actual instructions. YouTube cooking channels assumed he knew what terms like "sauté" and "deglaze" meant. Everything felt designed for people who already knew their way around a kitchen.

The bigger problem was psychological.

"I'd grown up watching my mom cook elaborate meals while my dad grilled on special occasions," Ryan admits. "Somewhere along the way, I absorbed this idea that real cooking, the daily meal-prep stuff, was women's work. It sounds stupid saying it out loud now, but that belief kept me from even trying."

His girlfriend at the time had tried to teach him a few dishes. The experience had been frustrating for both of them. She got impatient when he didn't know where things were or how hot the stove should be. He felt incompetent and defensive. They'd ordered pizza instead.

After that, Ryan decided cooking just wasn't his thing. Some people were good at it, and some people weren't. He was in the latter category, and that was fine.

 

Finding a Different Approach

The conversation with his friend Marcus changed everything.

They were at the gym, and Ryan mentioned his budget crisis and his general dissatisfaction with how he'd been eating. Marcus, who'd recently lost 30 pounds, listened and then pulled out his phone.

"Check this out," Marcus said, showing him a photo of a skillet meal he'd made the night before. "One pan. Took maybe 25 minutes. Cost about six bucks to make, and it was actually good."

Ryan was skeptical. "You made that?"

"And about 100 other recipes from this book I got," Marcus replied. "It's specifically designed for guys who think they can't cook. No fancy stuff. Just a pan and basic ingredients."

That weekend, Ryan found himself browsing the One-Pan Cookbook for Men by Jon Bailey online. The title made him slightly uncomfortable at first. Did he really need a cookbook "for men"? Wasn't that reinforcing the same stereotypes he'd been trying to move past?

But as he read the description and reviews, something clicked. This wasn't about gender. It was about meeting people where they were. And where Ryan was, frankly, was at the beginning. He needed recipes that didn't assume prior knowledge. He needed an approach that felt accessible.

The spiral binding caught his attention, too. He'd watched his mom struggle with cookbooks that wouldn't stay open while she cooked. If he was actually going to use this thing, practical design mattered.

He ordered it.

 

The First Victory: Breakfast Sandwiches

When the book arrived, Ryan did something unusual for him. He actually read the introduction. Jon Bailey, the author, acknowledged something Ryan had never seen in a cookbook before: the fact that many men grow up without learning to cook and then feel embarrassed about it as adults.

"It's not about being a guy or not being a guy," Bailey wrote. "It's about starting somewhere practical and building confidence."

Ryan appreciated that honesty.

He flipped through the recipes, looking for something that wouldn't intimidate him. The Breakfast Sandwich caught his eye. He'd been spending $8 every morning on essentially the same thing from the coffee shop downstairs from his office.

Saturday morning, Ryan assembled his ingredients. Eggs. English muffins. Cheese. Sausage. Everything the recipe called for, he could find at his regular grocery store. No specialty items. No confusion about what "fresh thyme" looked like or where to see it.

The spiral binding proved its worth immediately. Ryan propped the book open on the counter next to his stove, and it stayed exactly where he put it. No trying to hold pages down with a coffee mug or struggling to read upside-down text.

Following the step-by-step instructions, Ryan cooked his first real breakfast. The eggs weren't perfect. He overcooked them slightly. But the sandwich tasted good. More importantly, it tasted like something he'd made himself.

The cost breakdown made him smile: less than $2 per sandwich, compared to the $8 he'd been spending. And the whole process, including cleanup, took 15 minutes.

"I can do this," he thought.

 

Building Momentum: Dinner Gets Real

Emboldened by his breakfast success, Ryan started tackling dinner recipes. He worked his way through the book systematically, trying one or two new recipes each week.

The Italian Sausage and Peppers became a weeknight staple. Twelve minutes of active cooking time, and he had a meal that tasted better than most of the delivery food he'd been ordering. The cleanup was minimal because everything was cooked in one pan.

The Chicken Fajitas surprised him. He'd always thought fajitas were complicated, something you got at a restaurant. Turns out, it was just chicken, vegetables, and seasoning in a hot skillet. The book walked him through it clearly, and the result looked like something from a menu.

But the real breakthrough came with the Vegetable Stir-Fry.

Ryan had never been a vegetable person. His typical diet mainly consisted of protein and carbs, with vegetables appearing occasionally as a sad garnish he'd push aside. But the stir-fry recipe made the vegetables taste good. The high heat, the seasoning, the texture contrast between the different vegetables—it all worked.

He found himself actually craving vegetables, which was a completely new experience.

"The book taught me that I didn't hate vegetables," Ryan reflects. "I just didn't know how to cook them properly. Once I learned to get them crispy instead of mushy, everything changed."

 

The Social Shift: Cooking for Others

Three months into his cooking journey, Ryan did something that shocked his friends. He hosted a dinner party.

His buddy Jake had been giving him grief about Ryan's newfound cooking obsession. "Congratulations, you can scramble eggs without burning the house down," Jake joked. "Let me know when you're actually good at it."

Ryan invited Jake and three other friends over for what he called "nothing fancy, just dinner."

He made the Pork Chops with Apples from the book, served with a simple salad and roasted potatoes. The pork chops were the hero, though: the recipe showed him how to get a perfect crust while keeping the meat juicy, and the apples added a sweetness that balanced the savory elements.

His friends were genuinely impressed. More importantly, Ryan felt proud. He'd created something with his own hands that brought people together and made them happy.

"That meal probably cost me $30 total," Ryan says. "Taking five people out to a restaurant would have been $150 minimum. And this felt more personal. More meaningful."

The dinner party became a regular thing. Ryan started trying more complex recipes from the book, experimenting with different proteins and flavor combinations. His friends went from being skeptical to being genuinely excited about what he'd make next.

 

The Lifestyle Transformation

Six months after buying the cookbook, Ryan's life looked completely different.

His food budget had dropped to around $300 a month. He was saving over $500 monthly just by cooking at home, money he redirected toward the vacation fund that had motivated this whole journey.

More significantly, he felt better. The afternoon energy crashes disappeared. His gym performance improved noticeably. He was building muscle more effectively and had more stamina during workouts. The constant bloated feeling he'd attributed to "just getting older" went away.

His relationship with food had fundamentally shifted. Instead of viewing meals as an inconvenience to be outsourced, he saw cooking as a skill worth developing. A form of self-care. A way to take control of something important.

"I used to think meal prep was something health nuts did on Sundays," Ryan explains. "Now I understand it's just being intentional about what you're going to eat instead of making panicked decisions when you're already hungry."

The one-pan approach made it sustainable. Ryan wasn't spending hours in the kitchen or dealing with massive cleanup projects. Most recipes in the book took 30 minutes or less, and the single-pan format meant he could cook a complete meal and have minimal dishes to wash.

 

Breaking Down the Barriers

Looking back, Ryan recognizes what kept him from cooking for so many years: a combination of perceived incompetence and cultural messaging.

"I'd internalized this idea that cooking was something women did or that professional chefs did, but not regular guys like me," he says. "The truth is, cooking is just a skill. Like anything else, you get better with practice."

The cookbook's title, which had initially made him uncomfortable, turned out to be precisely what he needed. It permitted him to start from zero without feeling judged.

"If the book had been called 'Cooking 101' or 'Easy Recipes for Beginners,' I probably wouldn't have bought it," Ryan admits. "I would have convinced myself it was too basic or that I should already know this stuff. Having it specifically oriented toward men who don't cook removed that barrier."

He's since recommended the book to several friends facing similar situations. Most of them had the same initial hesitation about the title, and most of them ended up finding it as helpful as Ryan did.

"It's not about men being unable to cook or needing special instructions," Ryan explains to friends. "It's about acknowledging that a lot of us were never taught, and that's okay. You have to start somewhere."

 

The Unexpected Benefits

Beyond the obvious financial savings and health improvements, Ryan discovered unexpected benefits from his cooking journey.

His confidence in other areas increased. If he could teach himself to cook, what else could he learn? He started tackling other skills he'd previously dismissed as "not his thing," from basic home repairs to learning Spanish.

His dating life improved, too. Being able to cook an impressive meal at home became an asset. First dates at restaurants gave way to more intimate evenings where Ryan could showcase his growing culinary skills.

"There's something attractive about competence," Ryan notes. "Being able to feed yourself and others is a basic life skill, and people notice when you have it together in that way."

The social aspect surprised him most. Cooking for friends and family created opportunities for connection that dining out never quite matched. People lingered longer at his dinner table. Conversations went deeper. The act of preparing food for others became a way of expressing care.

 

Advice for Others Starting Out

For anyone in a similar position, Ryan's advice is straightforward.

"Stop overthinking it. You don't need to become a chef. You just need to be able to feed yourself decent food without relying on restaurants for every meal."

He emphasizes starting simple. "Don't begin with complicated recipes that require 15 ingredients you've never heard of. Start with basic stuff. Master scrambled eggs. Then move to a simple pasta dish. Then try something with chicken. Build confidence gradually."

The tools matter too. "Get a good pan. Not the cheapest one, but you don't need to spend $200 either. A decent nonstick skillet or cast-iron pan will handle most recipes. And seriously, if you're going to buy a cookbook, get one with spiral binding. Being able to lay it flat on the counter while you're cooking makes such a difference."

Ryan also suggests being honest about your skill level. "Don't be embarrassed about being a beginner. Everyone starts somewhere. Find resources that meet you where you are, not where you think you should be."

Most importantly, he advocates for patience with yourself. "You're going to mess up recipes. You're going to burn things. You're going to create dishes that don't taste great. That's all part of learning. The difference between people who cook and people who don't isn't talent; it's willingness to keep trying after you fail."

 

Looking Forward: The Journey Continues

Ryan recently bought his second cookbook, branching out beyond one-pan meals. But he still returns to the One-Pan Cookbook regularly for reliable weeknight dinners.

"It's like a greatest hits album," he says. "I know every recipe in there works. I know they'll taste good. When I'm tired and don't want to think too hard, I can flip through and pick something I'm in the mood for."

He's started experimenting more, adjusting recipes to his taste and even creating his own variations. The foundation the cookbook provided gave him enough confidence to go off-script occasionally.

His next goal is to master baking, which still intimidates him. But now he knows the pattern: find a good resource, start simple, practice consistently, and be patient with the learning curve.

"A year ago, I would have told you I was someone who just didn't cook," Ryan reflects. "Now I'm someone who cooks most of my meals and actually enjoys it. That's a bigger identity shift than I expected."

 

Your Turn in the Kitchen

Ryan's story illustrates an important point: the barriers between you and decent home cooking are often more psychological than practical. If you can follow instructions and operate a stove, you can cook.

The right tools make all the difference. Ryan found success with the One-Pan Cookbook for Men because it met him where he was, without judgment or assumptions about prior knowledge. The spiral-bound design supported actual use in a working kitchen, not just reading on a coffee table.

Whether you're tired of expensive takeout, frustrated with how you feel after eating restaurant food, or simply curious about developing a new skill, cooking is more accessible than you might think.

Ready to start your own kitchen transformation? Explore the One-Pan Cookbook for Men and discover how single-skillet simplicity can revolutionize your relationship with food. The spiral binding that made such a difference for Ryan is just one example of how thoughtful design supports real-world cooking. Your journey from takeout dependence to kitchen confidence starts with a single pan and the willingness to try.