With more time spent at home these days, you may find yourself wanting to visit or order takeout from local restaurants. However, with winter approaching, you should start thinking about ways to be healthier and cost-efficient so the yummy holiday meals, as well as holiday shopping, can be all the more enjoyable.
It’s Healthy
Sometimes, taking the steps to be and feel healthy is difficult. Whether you have trouble finding ways to eat healthily or exercise regularly, these are two things many people struggle with. Yes, it is much easier to order food from your favorite restaurant. Bringing in about $863 billion in sales in 2019, the restaurant industry is and will continue to make money. However, perhaps it is time to make the change in your life from ordering food to cooking more at home.
Cooking at home is healthier because we aren’t adding the preservatives that most restaurants put into their foods. This increases our calorie intake and has us craving more. However, cooking at home significantly decreases your calorie intake because you are reducing your consumption of processed foods, fats, sugar, and sodium. When you start cooking at home and lowering your intake of these unhealthy preservatives, you will feel a difference in your body and energy levels. You will also feel overall healthier. Many people think cooking at home limits your options, but it actually allows you to try a variety of healthier foods. It’s important to cook foods you will enjoy eating rather than just cooking it because it is healthy. Try cooking foods you enjoy but in a healthier way, and expand your palette so cooking your meal will feel fun rather than a chore.
It Brings People Closer
Whether you live alone, with roommates, or with your family, cooking at home allows people to be brought together. Cooking food together can be a fun way to bond with friends or family. If you live alone, invite loved ones over to join you. Eating together in any kind of home allows communion among those enjoying the meal. Cooking and eating with others can be enjoyable on a number of occasions. You can utilize you and your loved ones’ cooking skills for birthday dinners, ethnic or religious celebrations, or even weekly Thursday night dinners. Food makes people happy, so eating together can make people happy too.
It’s Cost-Effective
Now, many people like restaurants because they produce foods we enjoy, but it is also about the convenience – order, pickup, eat. Simple. However, this routine can become expensive, and it is important to keep your finances in check. With an average of $8,398 in credit card debt per household, perhaps it is time to cut down on spending money on takeout and start spending money on healthy and yummy foods from your local grocery stores and markets.
Another option when it comes to buying food rather than meals is planting your own garden. Although gardens take quite a bit of preparation and maintenance, the end result is great: fresh fruits and vegetables. Not only will this save you money on sometimes costly fresh produce in the grocery store, but it is also much more convenient to snag some food from your yard rather than running to the store. Another option is shopping at fresh produce stands. Whether you live in a rural area, the suburbs, or in a city, surely there are fresh, cheaper markets or stands near you. Groceries can add up, but shopping for ingredients and cooking yourself is much more cost-effective overall than eating at or ordering takeout from restaurants regularly.
There are So Many Options
Many people say they don’t have time to cook, but if you take the time to schedule and prepare your meals, it is easier than you think. You don’t want cooking to be a chore, so planning out your meals for the week or even month can allow you to strategically plan and shop for your meals to be healthier and more cost-effective.
Whether you follow a particular diet or not, there are thousands of recipes out there. 5-ingredient vegan recipes? Done. Vegetarian meals or keto-friendly meals? Done and done. There are a number of recipes on the internet at your fingertips, and there are also several kitchen appliances, such as slow-cookers, that allow cooking to be both easy and time-efficient.
For 98% of Americans, cooking at home was revealed to be the preferred way of preparing a meal in a 2020 survey. Let’s continue this trend by opening our eyes (and web browsers!) to the many options out there. Whether you want easy or elaborate recipes, there is something out there just for you. Cooking at home allows us to be healthier and more cost-efficient, two things you may want to improve upon in your life. Invite some friends or family over today and get cooking. You might just be surprised how much you enjoy cooking for yourself.
