We’ve all been told that eating home-cooked meals is good for you. But aside from the obvious, like getting rid of preservatives and other chemicals, what exactly does it do for your body? We’re going to take a look at 7 surprising benefits of home-cooked meals that you may have overlooked!
Benefits of Eating Home-cooked Meals
1. It encourages healthy eating habits
If you want to improve the overall health of your diet and eat a healthy, balanced diet, then home-cooked meals can be an effective way for you to do this. As well as being more nutritious than ready-made foods, home-cooked meals are also less likely to contain hidden sugars or fats that can cause health problems in the long term.
2. It provides better nutrition
In addition to being delicious, home-cooked meals are often the highest quality option for your body. You know exactly what’s going into your food and you have control over every ingredient.
There’s a reduction in preservatives and additives which are usually added to store-bought foods to extend their shelf life, but they can also cause negative effects on your health by adding too many chemicals and unnatural ingredients into your diet.
By avoiding these foods altogether or opting for organic versions of them if necessary, you can avoid ingesting any harmful toxins while still getting plenty of nutrition from other sources like meat or dairy products that come from animals raised without pesticides or hormones injected into them before they were slaughtered (which also goes back to point one about knowing where everything comes from!).
3. It is cost-effective
It may come as a surprise to you, but cooking at home is actually cheaper than eating out. This is especially true if you make use of leftovers and healthy ingredients that don’t cost a lot.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average American spends at least $2,000 on food each year—more than they spend on housing! The good news is that by cooking at home and eating from your pantry or freezer instead of going out to eat, you can save money in so many different ways. Here are some advantages:
- It will save you money on gas costs for driving back and forth to restaurants
- You won’t have any extra costs like tipping or cab fare
- You’ll never have those annoying surprise charges from your credit card company due to hidden tips or fees
4. It is good for the environment
This is the most obvious benefit of eating home-cooked meals, and it’s also the most important one. When you eat at restaurants or fast food places, you have to buy a lot of packaging and fuel to transport the food from point A to point B. In addition to that, there’s also an environmental impact from producing all those plastic wrappers, Styrofoam cups, and plastic forks.
But when you cook at home? You don’t need any packaging other than what your ingredients come in (and even then sometimes). And if you’re making something that doesn’t require refrigeration or freezing (like roasted vegetables), then no fuel is needed either! Your carbon footprint will be much smaller because of this – meaning less pollution in general for everyone around us.
5. It is great for bonding
Not only does cooking together allow you to bond with your family, but it also allows for quality time. You can make it fun by setting up competition and seeing who comes out on top. That way, even if one person wins, everyone still gets to enjoy themselves and have fun as a family.
If you want to get away from the norm of eating out all the time, try hosting some cooking classes at home instead! This will encourage your kids to view food as something more than just a source of energy or fuel; they’ll start viewing food as an experience worth trying new things!
6. It promotes the consumption of quality food
You know exactly what you’re putting in your body when you cook at home. You can control the quality of ingredients and avoid unhealthy additives like sugar, salt, or trans-fatty acids (which are often found in processed and packaged foods). Plus, if you buy fresh produce from local farmer’s markets or grow your own vegetables, there’s no food waste—and that means more money saved!
7. It reduces the risk of certain diseases
The benefits of eating home-cooked meals are numerous, but one of the most surprising is how it can reduce your risk of certain diseases. Here are seven diseases that cooking your own food may help prevent:
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Stroke (cerebrovascular disease)
Simple Food Recipes You Can Try At Home
What are the benefits of cooking at home? You can save money, get to know your family better, and eat healthier. Plus, there is a wide variety of recipes you can try.
Here are just a few ideas:
- Breakfast: Eggs Benedict or pancakes with blueberries and yogurt
- Lunch: Tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat bread with tomatoes and lettuce (it’s delicious!)
- Dinner: Pasta with sautéed chicken breasts and onions in lemon juice (this recipe is from Italy)
Some other meals include mac and cheese, and pot roast, among others.
Recipe for mac and cheese
If you love mac and cheese, try this recipe. It’s sure to be a hit with your family!
Ingredients: 1 pound pasta, 2 cups shredded cheese (1 cup sharp cheddar and 1 cup Colby), 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup flour, 3 cups milk (1% or 2%), 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well. Meanwhile melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until it foams up then add flour stirring constantly for about two minutes or until the roux becomes bubbly looking but not browned then add milk slowly whisking constantly until smooth then cook over medium-low heat stirring often until thickened (about 8 minutes). Add cheeses stirring constantly until melted then pour over cooked noodles in a large bowl mix thoroughly then transfer to an ovenproof dish bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 25–30 minutes or until bubbly around edges remove from the oven sprinkle with parsley before serving
Recipe for Pot roast
Ingredients
- 1-2lb beef roast
- 1 cup beef broth
- 8oz can tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced (optional)
Directions: In a large slow cooker or Dutch oven, combine all ingredients except the onion and garlic. Stir to mix well. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours until meat is tender. Remove bay leaves before serving the pot roast with potatoes and vegetables if desired!
Local Chow: The Go-To Platform for Accessing Home-Cooked Meals
If you are not a big fan of cooking you can still access home-cooked meals and Local Chow is the go-to platform for accessing home-cooked meals within your environment.
Local Chow is a platform that connects users with local home cooks through the use of an app. The concept behind Local Chow is simple: if you want to eat home-cooked meals, visit https://thelocalchow.com/ to download the app and find a homemade food vendor from around your environment.
Once you’ve found a meal that works for you, all that’s left to do is purchase it! Selecting this option will notify the vendor and all that’s left for you to do is sit back and wait for your chef friend to deliver your delicious meal right at work or home.
Conclusion
We hope this post has helped you to see the benefits of eating home-cooked meals. Eating at home has many benefits, including reducing your carbon footprint and saving money. It also allows you to control what goes into your food so that it’s healthier for you and your family. You can save time cooking and ordering home-cooked meals from the Local Chow.
