Our team at AFC Urgent Care Hixson understands that life can be too crazy for cooking at home. It really is the healthiest option, though, since home-cooked meals tend to have 60 percent fewer calories than the takeout meal you usually order. Here are some additional benefits that may help change your mind and make you want to start cooking more meals at home.
Health Begins at Home
How many times have you run through a fast food drive-through or ordered takeout from your favorite restaurant only to bring it home and everyone disperse to their own area to eat? On the other hand, when you cook a meal at home, everyone has a tendency to eat at the dinner table. Home-cooked meals, while also healthier, help to improve the family dynamic and enhance communication between loved ones, which helps build stronger relationships.
Plus, when eating at home, your portion sizes tend to be way smaller than when eating out. And, because you spent the money on the takeout, you usually tend to eat it all. In addition, you’re more likely to indulge in baked or grilled foods when at home, rather than the sauce-laden, fried foods in a restaurant.
Don’t Leave Out the Environment!
Yes, cooking at home is good for our health. Our mental health reaps the benefits through the social interaction, and our physical health benefits from healthier meals at home with fewer carbohydrates and less sodium. Yet, there is one other benefit lurking “in the breeze” when it comes eating healthy at home—and that is the environment.
When you choose to cook at home, you are reducing the carbon footprint you leave behind. How? By reducing the amount of time you spend driving, for one. Because foods purchased at the grocery store and cooked at home often feature less plastic packaging, you’re also cutting down on the amount of plastic that needs to be recycled—or that’s tossed out. Finally, at home, you can choose your own ingredients. If you select locally produced foods, that further reduces the carbon footprint, since shipping of the product is minimized.
Did you try a recipe with a new ingredient that you feel is causing hives? Visit AFC Urgent Care Hixson to find out if you are suffering from a food allergy!
