Learn everyday English through the topic of cooking and food.

Get bonus English lessons here: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/jda-industries-inc/subscribe

In this episode, we talk about breakfast routines, snacks, quick meals, go-to dinners, grocery shopping, and even washing up. You’ll get natural listening practice plus lots of useful phrases that you can use to describe your own daily life in English.

We keep things conversational and practical so you can build real-world fluency while enjoying a relaxed chat about food.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

Talk about your typical breakfast and morning routine
Describe snacks, cravings, and “guilty pleasures”
Explain quick meals and leftovers in natural English
Use phrases for ordering takeout and frozen meals
Describe your go-to meals and cooking style
Use common expressions for grocery shopping
Talk about washing up and taking turns with chores
Express food preferences, likes, and dislikes

Useful phrases from the episode:

Breakfast and habits

I tend to have breakfast around nine or ten.
I usually start the day with a cup of coffee.
I used to eat a lot of cereal as a kid.
I used to live in Spain.
I’ve grown to love this.
I’ve gotten used to being hungry.
I don’t mind being hungry.

Snacks and cravings

I’m not big on snacks.
I just need a little something before lunch.
I need a little snack to get me through until dinner.
Let’s grab a few snacks before we go.
I fancy something to eat.
I fancy something sweet.
Chips are my guilty pleasure.
Chocolate is my guilty pleasure.
I’m trying to cut back on chocolate.
I’m trying to cut back on snacks.

Quick meals, leftovers, and takeout

I’m just going to throw something together.
Let’s just have pizza.
Let’s finish that leftover pasta.
We have some leftovers in the fridge.
I love leftovers.
Can I get a box for this?
In American English, we say “takeout.”
Frozen pizza is really popular here.
It’s convenient and fast.

Go-to meals and cooking style

What’s your go-to meal?
My go-to meal is beef stew.
My go-to meal is beef pasta.
I like to cook from scratch.
I don’t really like ready meals.
Instant meals are very popular in the U.S.
We try to rotate meals each week.

Grocery shopping

Do we have any garlic?
Do we have any pasta left?
Do we have any herbs for this dish?
I’m just going to nip to the store.
Let’s stock up before the weekend.
I’m not a big fan of grocery shopping.
I forgot the one ingredient I needed.

Cooking and washing up

I like to clean as I cook.
I like having music or a podcast on while I cook.
I don’t mind washing up.
We take turns doing the washing up.
It’s my turn to wash up tonight.
Whose turn is it to wash up tonight?
The sink is full again.
The dishwasher hasn’t been unloaded.
This pan needs soaking.
I like to get in the zone when I’m cooking.

Talking about likes and dislikes

I fancy a quick drink before dinner.
I fancy going out to eat.
I’m craving steak tonight.
It’s not my cup of tea.
I’m not a big fan of full English breakfasts.
I’m not keen on full English breakfasts.

Reflect and practice

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would you choose? Use the phrases from this episode to describe your own breakfast, snacks, and dinner routines in English.

Chapters:

(00:00) Learn English Podcast Intro

(00:48) Breakfast

(04:11) Snacks and Snacking Habits

(08:26) Quick and Easy Meals

(09:16) Leftovers and Takeout Culture

(11:44) Cooking from Scratch vs. Instant Meals

(15:15) Grocery Shopping Tips

(20:30) Cleaning Up and Final Thoughts

Jack from To Fluency