Cook at home for a happy life!

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces, just good food from fresh ingredients. — Julia Child.

For many youngsters, eating/dining out has become a lifestyle choice. People don’t wait for special occasions to go out. The year 2020 has locked doors for many, but the food delivery services have blossomed. Binging on Netflix and fast food/ takeaways came as the latest entertainment and eating trend. 

While occasional indulgence is good to break the monotony; there are many reasons to go back to the basics. Here are a few of the multiple benefits of cooking at home:


1.     Easier life- Cooking is a life-skill. Make yourself, your spouse, and your kids aware of the importance of this skill. Plus, you can always use the additional help.


2.     Inclusive activity - The Indian patriarchal society puts the onus on the lady of the house to cook (including meal planning, grocery shopping, cutting, grinding, chopping, and prepping other ingredients). Don’t be that superwoman. Welcome your kids and spouse into the kitchen space. Let your kids roll the chapati, cut the salad, make raita, set up the table, or do the dishes. Never discourage them to try out new things or foods.


3.     Personalization of recipes - Home cooking allows you to make conscious decisions about your food (making a low-fat diet, high protein diet, keto diet, fasting recipes, or just a mix of everything). Cooking from scratch allows you to tweak recipes or dishes to your individual taste or needs (like allergies, tooth troubles, preferences, etc.). 

4.     Knowing food- You and your kids can learn the farm-to-table concept hands-on. They will also know real food and will be able to tell them apart from the processed junk.


5.     Avoiding additives- When you select your own ingredients, you eliminate a lot of industrial dangers like preservatives, emulsifiers, HFCS, extra salt, MSG, food colors, extra sugar, texturizers, flavor enhancers, etc.

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6.     Food safety- Most home cooks are cooking for family. They use clean water and pots for cooking, unlike the roadside eateries.

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7.     Preserving tradition- Cooking with your elders help you preserve the heirloom recipes. In India, most families have a few staple ones. 


8.     Enhance creativity- In catering to the needs of the family, you can harness your creativity and maybe come up with a new version of the family favorite! It really comes in handy when you have leftovers.

9.     Stress-busting- Many people find cooking to be a stressbuster. Activities like baking bread, pickling, etc. helps you focus and calm your nerves. 


10. Family bonding- Cooking together increases the bonding amongst the family members, and you can pass on your food stories to your children. So, call up your mum to get that recipe you like so much!


11. Saves money- One major factor is the economic advantages of cooking food from scratch. It also encourages you to buy and eat more seasonal veggies. The improved health will lead to less visits to the doctor's.


12. End to fussy eating- Kids who help in the kitchen to put a meal together, tend to eat more variety of veggies and acceptance comes easily to them. From peeling boiled potatoes to assembling their own sandwiches, even toddlers can get the hang of making food. 


13. Gratitude- Appreciation for the work done to put together a meal develops when you lend a hand in the kitchen. It makes you more forgiving of the things gone wrong like a burnt toast or an overcooked egg.


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14. Better health- Eating home-cooked meals has been associated with better diet quality and lower frequency of weight gain. (1) For people with diabetes, cooking skills help make foods healthy and enjoyable. You tend to make better food choices when you cook yourself.


15. Helping the planet: When you buy local and seasonal ingredients, you help the economy and reduce transportation costs. You also reduce the carbon footprint by avoiding canned and packaged foods.

With so many reasons to cook at home, go ahead and make health a priority by cooking together with family. Enjoy!


 

 


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