Benefits of Cooking

Many people  struggle to find the time or motivation to cook with many competing priorities in their lives. In my view, cooking is one of the single best things you can do for your health. Here are a few reasons why cooking is so good for you. Use this as inspiration to get back in the kitchen!

•Encourages Creativity: Cooking offers you the chance to let  your creative juices flow! Creativity can come by way of deciding what flavors you want to combine, how you want to present the food on the plate, etc.

•Reduces Stress: If you keep it simple, cooking can serve to lower stress and anxiety. When you are focused on preparing a meal, it's hard to focus on everything else in your life that stresses you out...it's like a mini-escape, a mental break. And, you can be in control; it's your kitchen!

•Provides Instant Gratification: Nothing is more gratifying than serving yourself or others a delicious meal. You do the washing, chopping, salting, garnishing and in anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, a beautiful meal can be prepared. It's also gratifying to know that your meal was made with your own TLC and healthy ingredients. If you have anxiety about cooking, try cooking for yourself first then work your way up to cooking for others.

•Keeps you healthy: When using healthy ingredients, food prepared in your own home will almost always be healthier than eating a meal out. You control the ingredients and the portion sizes. Save yourself the calories for when you are dining out on weekends or special occasions.

•Saves Money. When well planned, cooking many of your meals at home will save you money. I save about 30-50% per meal by cooking at home and will admit I'm not the thriftiest shopper...I spend a premium for high quality ingredients (and this is in comparison to cheap take out food). It's not realistic, nor fun, to eat in every day, but try to migrate to cooking more meals at home gradually, starting with just once or twice a week if not everyday.