5 Benefits of Cooking at Home

A couple of decades ago, cooking meals at home was the norm. In most cases, the family unit consisted of a husband who went to work and his partner would be a housewife who cooked meals for the family.

Over time, as women gained more independence and started focusing on their own careers, it became a habit to buy meals from restaurants or just microwave TV dinners.

The food manufacturing industry’s practices also resulted in the use of more additives, flavoring, chemicals, etc. in the food. One such example would be the use of high fructose corn syrup in most processed foods.

This combination of eating outside and consuming processed foods excessively has resulted in obesity becoming an epidemic. Now more than ever before, people are fatter, sicker and highly addicted to sugar.

One of the best ways to break this pattern of eating mindlessly will be to prepare your own meals at home.

1. Healthier meals

When you cook at home, you’ll have total control over all the ingredients you use. You’ll not use excessive oil or ingredients such as monosodium glutamate. Contrary to popular belief, you can make tasty meals at home too.

Once you wean yourself off commercially-sold food, you’ll find that you need less salt in your diet too. With a few good recipe books, you’ll be able to whip up meals faster than Gordon Ramsey. Or at the very least, tastier and more nutritious than what you could get outside.

2. Cost savings in the long run

You’ll save a lot of money in the long run. Initially, it may seem like cooking your own meals is more expensive because buying all the ingredients might have a higher total bill.

However, once you prepare your meals, you’ll discover that the portions are much bigger and your food can last for a couple of days in the refrigerator. All in all, you’ll not only get more bang for your buck, but will have more protein and healthy fats than just overloading on carbs.

3. Less likely to overeat

At home, you can decide just how much food goes on your plate. At a restaurant, you’re served a portion that you usually have no control over. Usually, these portions are large enough for big eaters, but are too much for the average person.

So, you’ll inadvertently be consuming more calories than you need because most of us have been conditioned to finish up all the food on our plate. To exacerbate the situation, at a restaurant, you may be tempted to wash down your meal with a soda or indulge in some dessert. After all, why not… since you’re already there.

The end result is more calories in your body and an increasingly large waist line. So, it’s best to eat at home.

4. Time saver

Many people believe that it’s too troublesome to cook at home. After all, coming back home from work and preparing a meal when you’re already exhausted is not exactly a pleasant task.

The remedy to this issue is to cook all your meals for the week on a Sunday and pack them into individual containers and label them for each day of the week.

Alternatively, you may cook on Sunday for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday… and on Wednesday, you may cook for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. So, you’re only cooking twice a week.

The good news is that you can go home straight from work and you’ll have food waiting for you. No need to queue at any eating place or constantly wonder what you’ll be eating for that day.

5. More hygienic

You’ll always be more hygienic when preparing your own meals than any restaurant will ever be. That’s just the harsh truth. Waiters and kitchen staff will always have horror stories of how some restaurants have gotten away with unhygienic practices.

Cooking at home will reduce your chances of having food poisoning, indigestion, etc.

These 5 benefits make a very good case as to why it’s best you cook your own meals and only occasionally indulge in food outside. If you’re trying to lose weight, this habit will be extra helpful in your weight loss journey.

Start cooking at home and you’ll be amazed at how much more you enjoy your meals and not only will you have money, but you’ll have more time too. Give it a try today.