Why you should eat more home cooked meals

The health benefits of home cooking

In the age of fast take out and delivery services, home cooking is often abandoned for accessible, time-saving alternatives. When opting for the seemingly more convenient delivery option, you may be forfeiting the many benefits of cooking at home. Beyond potentially saving money, cooking at home can have numerous health benefits: physical, mental and social.

Cooking at home has been shown to be beneficial in a variety of ways. It is important to also note that eating out once in a while is not necessarily detrimental to your health. Prioritizing home cooking does not mean skipping out on dinner at your favorite restaurant or take-out on days not spent at home. Being mindful is always at the forefront of well-being. Therefore, the awareness and knowledge of the benefits of home cooking can help in the implementation of those small habits that accumulate overtime for long term health. Emphasize cooking more meals at home rather than the unrealistic aim to never eat out.

Overall health benefits of cooking at home:

PHYSICAL BENEFITS
- Ingredient awareness and control
  - Cooking at home means knowing the ingredients you are putting in your food. You can opt for fresher, sustainably sourced ingredients (vital to nutrient density), and incorporate specific ingredients to cater to your health. Introducing a variety of fresh produce helps to increase different nutrients to your diet.
  - Cooking at home also grants the ability to control the caloric content of your meals. Eating out often entails unnecessary added oils and sugars which can quickly increase caloric intake as well as contribute to harm of the gut-microbiome. Cooking at home can create a knowledge and awareness of the caloric and nutritional content of foods.
  - Learning about the food you consume and how it affects you is crucial to health improvement. Cooking meals that not only taste good but make you feel good is an important skill to obtain.
MENTAL BENEFITS
- Stress relief and happiness
  - Cooking can be therapeutic in is creative, relaxed and focused process. Cooking at home has been shown to promote well-being and is linked to increased happiness. The simple act of small tasks coupled with creativity through cooking at home may actually make you more relaxed and happier on a daily basis.
SOCIAL BENEFITS
- Relationship builder
  - Cooking is a great way to bring people together and ignite social connections. Home cooking has been shown to be associated with greater family connections. Cooking can be an enjoyable activity to share with others with the end reward of a delicious meal.

Homemade recipe ideas:

TWC