Currently, there are several apps that allow people to order and get any meal in a matter of minutes. This makes it extremely hard to ignore the urge and the temptation of not preparing a home-cooked meal.
Restaurant food often is prepared and cooked with several unhealthy and sometimes unhygienic ingredients. Eating such takeout food may lead to very unhealthy habits and lifestyles. For example, I remember a period I was extremely busy at work swarmed with loads of undone tasks that I did not have time to cook. Takeouts were my only option, and I ended up gaining at least 50 pounds in less than six months. Shedding off all that weight was painful and it took me almost a year. This led me to the journey of eating healthy home-cooked food no matter the situation I am in, and here are the benefits I have observed over the years that I couldn’t get from takeout.
They Are Healthier
I have read a study that suggested that people who eat more home-cooked meals instead of takeouts generally have a healthier life, but this depends on what sort of take-outs you choose. For example if you took a look on different types of Woking takeaway, you’d find you can get very healthy options too which is convenient for those who don’t have the time to cook at home and are on a diet; it’s all about what sort of food you are choosing. However I also learned that many other restaurant foods have very high levels of sodium, total fats, a lot of saturated fats, and calories compared to home-cooked meals. When I get the ingredients I make my food with from the grocery store and personally prepare my meals, I will totally control what I am eating, and the calorie intake will be controlled. This significantly increased my overall health and helped me shed off a lot of weight that I had accumulated.
Helps Families Reconnect
Going grocery shopping together and coming back to prepare and cook a meal together with my family really brings us close. I recently read an article from a renowned psychologist that cooking helps our families bond. This is why my family and I strive to do it as often as possible.
Easy To Monitor Calories Intake
An average take out order has about 1000 to 1200 calories in total for a single meal. Let’s assume I have takeout for breakfast that has bacon sausages, some chips, and a cup of yogurt for breakfast; for lunch, I order a burger, fries, and some salad with mayonnaise, and for dinner, I order a pizza. All these meals for a single day will have at least 3600 calories in total. My recommended number of calories ranges between 1600 and 2400. This means that takeouts make me consume over 1200 excess calories in a single day, which is very unhealthy and can be life-threatening. Making my meal at home ensures I will consume the right portion to control the calories that I consume.
Saves Time
When I used to order takeouts, it would take a while to arrive, and sometimes I would be forced to drive and get the food myself. Some delivery people who are not good with the direction would miss my house, and the food would take a long time to reach me, and sometimes it would arrive cold. I figured that all this energy I used to give directions and rewarm food is more than the time I would have used to prepare myself a healthy meal at home. I also learned that companies could deliver pre-portioned meal ingredients in the exact amount I needed to whip up a quick and healthy meal.
Saves Money
Preparing my meals at home saves me much more money than when I used to order delivery. When I get my groceries from the store, they cost way cheaper than when I could have bought ready-made food from the restaurant that tends to be overpriced for no reason. I also figured that I could get more meals from a single recipe than what I would have gotten if I ordered takeout.
It’s Fun
When I make my meals from scratch and try to follow a recipe and experiment with several ingredients and seasonings, it’s always an incredible experience. I always try to include my family while cooking, and I enjoy very much spending time with them as we try new things and ideas in the kitchen every once in a while. Failing to hack a recipe and messing it really cracks us up, and this is always a great bonding moment that brings joy and fun to the entire family.