Cooking at home - HelpGuide.org (2023)

to eat healthy food

We all love ready meals, but one of the easiest ways to improve your health is to cook more homemade meals. Here's how to get started.

The benefits of cooking at home

Whether youlive aloneor a busy parent, finding the time and energy to prepare homemade meals can seem like a daunting task. At the end of a hectic day, perhaps the quickest and easiest option is to eat out or order something. But convenience and processed foods can have a significant impact on your mood and health.

Ready meals tend to be high in chemical additives, hormones, sugar, salt, unhealthy fats and calories, all of which can affect your brain and your outlook. It can make you feel tired, bloated, and irritable, and worsen symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety.

Restaurants often serve more food than you should be eating.Many restaurants serve portions two to three times larger than recommended dietary guidelines. This encourages you to eat more than you do at home, which is detrimental to your waistline.blood pressure, and risk of diabetes.

When you prepare your own meals, you have more control over the ingredients.By cooking for yourself, you can ensure that you and your family eat fresh, healthy meals. This can help you look and feel healthier, increase your energy, stabilize your weight and mood, and improve your sleep and stress resistance.

Cooking at home doesn't have to be complicated.The cornerstone of a healthy dietis to eat foods that are as close as possible to the way nature made them. That means replacing processed foods with real foods whenever possible, and eating plenty of vegetables and healthy sources of protein. That doesn't mean you have to spend hours in the kitchen combining hundreds of different ingredients or slavishly following elaborate recipes. In fact, simple meals are often the tastiest.

Cooking at home can take even less time than eating out.There are many quick, easy, and healthy meals you can make at home in less time than driving to a restaurant or waiting for a delivery.

Cooking at home is also a great way to spend time with others– and you don't have to be an accomplished chef. Regardless of your skill or experience as a chef, you can learn to prepare quick and healthy meals that can have real benefits for your mental and physical health.

Studies have also shown that if you cook home-cooked meals regularly, you're more likely to make healthier choices even on those occasions when you're eating out. In other words, eating healthy can become a habit.

The joys of sharing a home cooked meal

Food brings people together and cooking at home is a great way to unite your family around the dining table. Everyone loves a home-cooked meal - even cranky teenagers or picky eaters. And if you live alone, that doesn't mean you have to cook or eat by yourself. Sharing meals with others is a great way to expand your social network. Receiving appreciative feedback on a meal you have prepared for someone can also boost your self-esteem.

Make meals a social experience.Simply chatting with a friend or loved one around the dinner table can play a huge role in reducing stress and improving mood. Bring the family together and stay up to date on each other's everyday lives. If you live alone, invite a friend, colleague, or neighbor over.

Turn off screens. Take a break from the TV, turn off your phone, and avoid other distractions so you have a real chance to connect with the person you're sharing a meal with. By avoiding screens and eating with others, you also help avoid senseless overeating.

Cook with others.Invite your spouse, roommate, or friend to share the chores of shopping and cooking—for example, one person prepares the appetizer and the other person prepares dessert. Cooking with others can be a fun way to deepen relationships and share expensesmake cheaperfor the both of you.

Overcoming obstacles in cooking at home

Despite all the benefits, many of us still consider meal prep to be a chore, either something we don't have time for or something only for experienced cooks. Maybe you've tried cooking before and didn't like the end result, or maybe your kids just prefer take-out?

Overcoming obstacles in cooking at home often starts with changing the way you look at meal preparation or the time you spend in the kitchen. Some common reasons why we don't cook at home and what to do about it include:

Obstacle 1:"I don't have time to cook."

Sure, shopping, chopping ingredients, cooking, and then cleaning up afterwards can be time-consuming. But there are many ways to speed things up:

• Shop online and have all the ingredients delivered to your home.
• Get your family involved. Trade shopping and cleaning responsibilities with your spouse or a roommate.
• Do some of the preparation in advance. For example, chop veggies on weekends when you're under less pressure to reduce final cooking time.
• Use fresh ingredients. Salads and raw food recipes only take a few minutes to prepare.
• Think of cooking meals as an enjoyable, relaxing experience rather than a chore — it won't seem nearly as time-consuming.

2:"It's cheaper to eat fast food."

At first glance, it may seem that eating at a fast food restaurant is cheaper than a home-cooked meal. But that is seldom the case. A study by the University of Washington School of Public Health found that people who cook at home eat healthier foods overallwithouthigher meal costs. Another study found that frequent home cooks spend about $60 a monthless keen on food than those who ate outmore often.

3:"At the end of a busy day, I'm too tired to cook."

Preparing healthy meals doesn't have to be a big effort.

• By loading up a slow cooker with meat and veggies in the morning, you can have a piping-hot meal home by night with minimal prep and cleanup.
• Prepare meals in bulk and freeze leftovers in individual portions to eat when you don't have the time or energy to cook.
• By cooking your main protein once a week, such as B. a roast chicken or slow-cooked turkey breast, you can use the meat to prepare quick and easy meals during the week such as soups, salads, sandwiches, burritos or pasta dishes.

4:"I can not cook"

If you're intimidated by the prospect of preparing a homemade meal, it's important to remember that cooking isn't an exact science.

• It's usually perfectly fine to omit an ingredient or substitute one thing for another.
• Look online for easy recipe ideas or buy a basic cookbook.
• As with anything, the more you cook, the better you become. Even if you're a complete novice in the kitchen, you'll quickly master some quick, healthy meals.

5:"Even if I cook a healthy meal at home, I can't get my family to eat it."

Over time, you can wean your family (and yourself) off the taste of takeout and packaged foods.

• Start small and only cook once or twice a week so everyone's taste buds can adapt.
• Young children love to cook and find it fun to eat what they helped to prepare.
• The child's impulse to imitate is strong. The more often your children see you eat healthily, the more likely they are to follow your example.

Tips for getting started

Don't think it has to beeveryonemeal at home. Cooking at home just a few times a week can pay off when you start out. The more you cook your own meals, the better you become at it. At some point, you may find that eating out or ordering becomes more of an occasional indulgence than the norm. Here are some tips to get you started:

Start with fresh, healthy ingredients. Baking sugary treats like brownies, cakes, and cookies isn't going to help your health or your waistline. Also addingtoo much sugaror salt can turn a healthy homemade meal into an unhealthy one. To ensure your meals are both good for you and tasty, start with healthy ingredients and flavor them with spices rather than sugar or salt.

keep it simple. Steam or roast some vegetables, grill fish or chicken, add herbs, spices or a healthy sauce. Simple cooking can be tasty and quick.

Cook enough for leftovers. It's great to have leftovers to use for a quick and easy lunch or dinner the next day. If you're making things like rice or pasta, cook at least double the amount you need and store in the fridge to use with other meals. Freezing leftovers can also ensure you have a homemade meal on hand for when you don't feel like cooking.

Substitute healthier meals. Grill or bake instead of frying. Replace salt with garlic or onion powder. Reduce the sugar called for in most recipes by 1/3 to 1/2. Reduce meat and increase vegetables in stews and casseroles. Choose whole-wheat versions of pasta and bread, and substitute whole-wheat flour for bleached white flour when baking.

Get some staples. Ingredients like rice, pasta, olive oil, spices, flour, and bouillon cubes are staples you'll likely use on a regular basis. Having cans of tuna, beans, tomatoes, and bags of frozen veggies handy can be helpful for making quick meals when you're pressed for time.

Give yourself some leeway. It's okay to burn the rice or overcook the veggies. After a few tries it will be easier, faster and tastier!

Authors: Lawrence Robinson, Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Robert Segal, M.A.

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  (Video) Traditional Living ! Living and cooking every day at countryside , Natural place #cooking #short75

Last updated: December 5, 2022