I consider myself an amateur chef. I've gone from a rookie who mistakes 1/2 teaspoon of salt for 1/2 cup of salt in a crockpot recipe to finely grilling my own ribeye steaks. My journey with cooking hasn't been easy as there's nothing worse than screwing a recipe while you're hangry, but ultimately nothing can top the sense of satisfaction when you got the juice and you're eating well out of your own kitchen.
1. You can control what goes into the food.
A lot of restaurants use less than savory ingredients when it comes to their food. It's great to have control over the quality of ingredients you make your own food with especially since it's going into your body.
2. Cooking gives you the choice of exactly what you want to eat.
We are all limited to our location when it comes to restaurant choices. If there's only one Cajun place in town and it stinks then you won't be eating Cajun very much. Fortunately, if you can cook then you can make that dirty rice with andouille sausage from your own home.
3. You save time eating at home.
With the exception of drive-thru, which is terrible for you, most meals out take time. The chefs have many people to cook for whereas you'd only have yourself plus any guests. Factor in the amount of time it takes to get in the car and then drive out to the restaurant and even getting ready if it is a nicer place; these things take a lot of time. If you just stay home and cook then you don't have to put any clothes on plus you don't have to use gas driving.
4. You can be completely self-sufficient.
I don't speak for everybody but there's something about going out to a sit-down place by yourself that really sucks. On top of that, when picking a place to eat with your significant other or friends it can be almost impossible to decide on a place to eat. When you cook at home you don't have to get anybody together and you can what you want, when you want.
5. Diets are way easier to maintain.
Some of my friends are paleo, some are keto, and some are gluten free. None of those are very easy to follow when you go to common restaurants that just focus on tasting good. Diets can be quite restrictive and when you look on a menu there might not be anything you can eat. If you cook at home then you don't need to worry about breaking the rules.
6. Everybody loves a partner that can cook.
If you can cook well then you're instantly more attractive. For my ladies out there, the way to a man's hear is his stomach. For my guys out there on a diet of pizza and beer, if you aren't motivated enough to cook for yourself than at least you can cook for the ladies in hopes of scoring some action.
7. Last but not least, it saves a ton of $$$!
I shouldn't have to tell you to check your bank statement to realize that eating out is expensive! What you can buy at a restaurant for $10 and eat once I can make for $20 and eat all week. Given that the average meal costs around $10 you could be saving a ton of change if you just bought food in bulk from the grocery store and made it yourself. Case in point: 3 chicken breasts at Publix costs about $11 (sometimes they're even BOGO). A big bag of rice costs about $5. You get three meals for a little over $5 if you made chicken and rice at home rather than paying Chipotle double for it (give or take some extras like veggies, salsa, and cheese - which you can also buy at a grocery store for less money per meal).
- Top 5 reasons to cook at home more - Family Food on the Table ›
- 6 Reasons I Make Cooking at Home a Priority - Eating Made Easy ›
- What's So Great About Cooking? Four Reasons (and Resources) to ... ›
- 5 Great Reasons to Cook with Your Kids - HealthyChildren.org ›
- Learn to cook: 4 reasons why you should - CNN ›
- 10 Top Reasons to Cook at Home ›
- 10 Reasons Why You Should Know How to Cook | more.com ›
- 15 Reasons You Need To Learn How To Cook, Seriously | HuffPost ›
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