Why Is Eating At Home Healthier Than Eating Out?

With apps like Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Doordash, it's easy to order a delicious meal from the comfort of your own home without having to take time for cooking food yourself! But what can often go overlooked when you're eating out at a chain restaurant or fast-food places are all those unhealthy ingredients that have been added into restaurant meals just so they taste better on paper - but not in reality.

Whereas if you cook and eat your meal at home, it can save you time and money, and calories. When cooking for yourself instead of eating out or ordering "comfort food", you don't have to worry about the transportation costs of going to the restaurant, nor the time it would take to wait for your order, whether in a sit-down or having a delivery person bringing you your food. Also, in most restaurants, you don't know what ingredients (whether they're artificial ingredients or not) have been put in your food, nor if the food you're eating is chemically-processed, preservative-packed, high-sodium foods; whereas when you cook for yourself, you control how much of your meal's ingredients can be added, thus resulting in control of your calorie count!

If you'd like to learn more on how you can prepare your next home-cooked meal, or if you'd like to take a cooking class so that you may create some elaborate, adventurous multi-course meals, please feel free to check out our website here!

Benefits of Cooking and Eating at Home

Instead of traveling to eat or ordering out, consider the following benefits of cooking and eating at home instead:

  • When you and your loved ones come together in the kitchen, it can be an opportunity for connection. When we cook together, it's often that the love and care of one another shines through. For some couples or families, this can be an opportunity to reconnect with each other or think back on old memories from when they first met; but sometimes people enjoy cooking as a form of stress relief because you get lost in your own world while creating something new.

  • Whenever you cook your own meals or order in a dish that's been prepared by someone else with fresh ingredients for you to eat at home - there are many health benefits for cooking at home instead of eating out. When it comes to diet and cooking skills, most people know how important eating healthy can be, but sometimes the need becomes more pressing when they have children, who also require them to make sure that what their little bodies are ingesting matters as well.

    When compared with take-out or going out at fast food chains, a study showed those who cook more often had an overall more healthy diet and lower levels of cholesterol than people consuming restaurant food or unhealthy foods on occasion. The reason? They control what goes in their dishes, which is especially essential for people with health issues like high blood pressure, heart disease, common food allergies like gluten or peanuts, or even chronic disease. This kind of control can also improve your mental health, help with blood sugar levels and chronic disease prevention, and combat depression symptoms.

    Research published in the Public Health Nutrition and conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that when most people cook most of their meals at home and pursue healthier diets, they rely less on frozen foods or any processed foods; consume fewer carbs, less grams of sugar, and less grams of fat than those who cook less, or not at all; thus leading to a better quality of life overall.

  • When you order from fast food or restaurant chains, you risk consuming up to 1327 calories per meal, which is almost of a woman's recommended calorie intake (1600-2400 calories), and almost two-thirds for a man (2-3,000 calories).

    When you make your own meal, it can be easy to control the portions and calorie counts, leading to more healthy and balanced meals and ultimately leading to a better quality of life. Fortunately, recipes often come with nutritional information that lets you know how many calories are in each serving size!

  • While it's true that it would save people time and convenience by either ordering meals through an app or traveling to a restaurant, and time and financial constraints might be barriers to healthy cooking for some people, it would actually save you MORE time AND money by preparing healthy food at home and pursuing a consistently healthy, budget-friendly diet. Depending on where you live, when you order, and if your delivery driver knows the area or not, you risk sacrificing time and prepared foods potentially getting cold, when you could've used that time making that healthy meal at home!

    In the long run, preparing healthier options at home may also save you money. A group of basic foods and common ingredients often come in at a lower price tag than a single restaurant dish, and if one fails to please then there are always leftovers for another day or takeout that can be heated up later on when time does not permit cooking! You could see noticeable savings start piling up after just weeks into this new way of eating out less frequently while still enjoying tasty food every night as well as saving cash off your monthly grocery bill too!

  • People often think that the cooking process is an intimidating one, but it doesn't have to be. When you make your own meals, the possibilities are endless. When you make your own complete meals, it’s fun to experiment with different ingredients. You get the chance of discovering what they are and how they taste! There isn't any other way that feels better than being in control when cooking up something delicious, whether it be your own creation or foods made from beginner recipes or chef-designed recipes. In fact, the more time spent in your kitchen experimenting with different ingredients and cuisines will only make you better at creating fantastic meals! In fact, the fun you have in your cooking endeavors could lead to you attending a cooking class, host a team event, or even lead you to pursue cooking school!

If you'd like a place to attend a cooking class, host an event, or improve your cooking chops, Prep Cooking Classes has you covered. Feel free to check out all of our offerings here!

 
If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart.
— Cesar Chavez
 
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