In this day and age of fast foods, fast stop stores, instant communication, online ordering, and just about anything you could imagine available at just a click away, making a home cooked meal seems to be a polar opposite. But there are many benefits to making your own home-cooked meals. These benefits are my own personal opinions and they may not apply to your own personal situation and you may even disagree with me. But that’s okay. Perhaps this article will give you a few new ideas and perspectives.

Here are 5 benefits of making your own home cooked meals:

1. Home cooked meals are often less expensive than take out foods. You can choose your ingredients to purchase and you can purchase them on sale. You don’t have to pay the middle man when you have fast food delivered to your door.

2. When you cook your own meals, the ingredients are often healthier. You can choose ingredients that are not highly processed or unhealthy. This can make you a healthier person.

3. You may eat fewer calories than take out meals if you cook at home. Take out foods may be high in processed fat and calories than if you cook your own meals. Choosing healthy ingredients can result in eating fewer calories.

4. You can socialize more with your family and loved ones by cooking at home. Cooking can be a leisurely activity where family members can stand around conversing as the food is being prepared and cooked and eaten as well. Grilling food in your backyard is an example of leisurely cooking and can be a prime time to socialize.

5. Cooking can stimulate creativity and higher level thinking skills. You will need to read directions if cooking from a recipe and also taste and tweak the seasoning as you go along.

Cooking at home may be a lost art these days but can hopefully be revived during times when you may not be as busy. Taking some time to cook a great meal at home can lead to self satisfaction and give you time to spend with family and loved ones. Who couldn’t use more of that? Best wishes!