Fitday Editor
If you are leading a busy lifestyle and you are dining out frequently, you should make a point to eat at home more often. Eating at home requires more time and effort, but it can be beneficial to you in many ways. Here are six reasons why you should stop dining out.
- Save Money
One of the most important benefits of dining at home is that you can save money. Meat, vegetables and other ingredients from supermarkets or grocery stores are very affordable, and the total cost of a homemade meal is much less than the cost of a meal at a restaurant. If you dine at a moderately expensive restaurant, you may end up spending about $20.00 for a meal. With this amount of money, you can actually prepare up to three or four ordinary meals at home. Eating at home will bring about substantial savings in the long run.
- Healthy Lifestyle
Although restaurants are offering more nutritious food options these days, the choices are often limited. Most foods that are served in restaurants contain high amounts of fat and calories, and they can be detrimental to your health if they are consumed on a regular basis. If you eat at home, you can choose your own low-fat and low-calorie ingredients to prepare your meals. Eating at home is one of the best ways to promote a healthy lifestyle.
- Know What You Are Eating
Another disadvantage of dining out is that you cannot know exactly what you are eating. While you can see the meats and vegetables that are used to prepare your meal, you may not know what ingredients go into the sauces and seasoning. Also, chefs can make mistakes, and they may accidentally add some things that they should not into your food. If you prepare your own food at home, you will know exactly what you are eating. This is especially important if you are allergic to certain foods.
- Reduce Temptations
If you are going on a diet, eating at home can help you stay faithful to your diet plan. When you are dining out, you will be exposed to greater temptation to eat tasty but unhealthy food. Also, it is more likely that you will forget about your dietary restrictions if you are eating out with your friends. While it is possible to overcome the temptations, it is still better to stay away from such situations entirely.
- Increase Energy
Eating nutritious food and living a healthy lifestyle will give you more energy, and it enables you to perform your daily duties with ease. Doing chores such as cooking and washing dishes will also make you more active, and it can help you become a more responsible person.
- Family Time
Eating at home offers an excellent opportunity for family bonding. You can talk to your children about school or your spouse about his day at work over dinner. If you are always too busy to cook at home, you may not be able to spend quality time with your loved ones.
Why You Need to Stop Eating Out So Much
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplasheats out nearly every meal. It infuriates me. He’s constantly talking about wanting to eat healthier and stop spending so much yet, he continues to eat Chinese, barbecue, Mexican and various other fast-food ‘delicacies’.
I get it. Eating out is convenient, and sometimes even tastier. No cooking, no mess, no dishes — it’s understandable why people are skipping meal prep for something a little easier.
While dining out has become increasingly popular, cooking your meals remains the best method for preserving your body, your wallet, and your brain.
- Cheaper
It’s no secret that it costs more to eat out. Restaurants have to make money somehow, right? But eating out too much can become expensive. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American household spends about $3,400 a year dining out.
Let’s take a $13 restaurant meal. For about $4, you could cook the same meal yourself. Meaning, it’s about 325% more expensive to eat out.
If you opted to cook just 30% more meals at home, you could save more than $1,000 per year.
- Healthier
If you’re anything like me, the size of the plate doesn’t matter. I’m not done until my plate is clean. In restaurants, those plates are usually loaded with much more than a typical portion. Add in all the appetizers, sides, and bread, and you’re usually way over a normal-sized meal.
When you cook at home, you’re the chef and the waiter. You decide what’s on the menu and can easily control the portion sizes of your meals. No unnecessary add-ons, appetizers, or desserts. And, you can control exactly what goes into your meals.
It’s easy to include fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains and all the stuff we know to be good for us. We can even be sure there aren’t any unnecessary additives.
7 Ways Home Cooking Beats Ordering Takeout
With apps that allow you to order with just a few taps, it can be extremely tempting to forgo cooking dinner. But there are often trade-offs for convenience.
Restaurant meals can contain lots of unhealthy ingredients. There’s also a lot beyond what’s in the meal that you miss out on when you’re eating from a take-out box.
Here are seven reasons why you should consider cooking dinner for yourself tonight!
- It gives you a chance to reconnect
Cooking together can offer you an opportunity to reconnect with your partner and loved ones. Cooking has other benefits as well. The American Psychological Association says that trying new things together—like learning a new recipe—can help keep a couple connected and engaged in their relationship.
- It’s proven to be healthier
Some studiesTrusted Source suggest that people who cook more often, rather than get take-out, have an overall healthier diet. These studies also show that restaurant meals typically contain higher amounts of sodium, saturated fat, total fat, and overall calories than home-cooked meals.
When you put fresh ingredients together yourself, or get them shipped straight to your door with a service like Plated, you have total control over what is going in your food. That can make a world of difference to your overall health.
- It’s easier to watch your calories
The average fast food order ranges between 1,100 to 1,200 calories total – that’s almost all of a woman’s recommended daily calorie intake (1,600 to 2,400 calories) and almost two thirds of a man’s daily intake (2,000 to 3,000 calories). And if you thought independent restaurants and smaller chains do any better, think again. Those eateries pump in even more calories, with an average of 1,327 calories per meal.
Making a meal yourself means you can make sure the portion sizes and calorie counts are where you want them to be. Recipes often come with nutritional information and serving size suggestions, which makes that even easier.
- It’s a time saver
Part of ordering take-out means waiting for the food to arrive or driving to get it. Depending on where you live, what time you order, and whether or not the delivery person is good with directions, this could actually take more time than if you’d simply made a meal at home!
Cooking at home doesn’t have to take a lot of time if you don’t want it to. By using a service like Plated, you eliminate the need to look for recipes or grocery shop. Everything you need comes right to your door, in the exact pre-portioned amounts you’ll be using.
- It can be a money saver, too
In the long run, preparing meals at home may save you money. A group of basic ingredients often comes in at a lower price tag than a single restaurant dish. You can also end up getting more meals out of a recipe you make at home than if you order takeout, or have leftovers to take to work the next day. After just a few weeks, you could see noticeable savings start to pile up.
- It’s personalized
Cooking at home gives you the opportunity to eat the foods you love exactly how you enjoy eating them. For example, with Plated, if you like your meat more well-done, or dishes less spicy, the recipe includes suggested modifications.
- It’s fun!
When you’re making a meal from scratch, you get to discover and experiment with different ingredients, seasonings, and cuisines. Plated offers 11 options to choose from each week, many of which are globally inspired. Experiencing new foods on a Plated night can be a great way to engage with your loved ones or unwind after a long day at work.
And as with any activity, the more time you spend in the kitchen, the better you become at creating fantastic meals!
Try Plated
Ready to put down your smartphone and get cooking? Plated is a meal kit delivery service that provides all the positives listed above and more!
Choose from a weekly menu of chef-designed recipes and get everything you need delivered right to your door. Pre-portioned ingredients are only of the highest quality, and include local, seasonal, and organic produce, plus sustainably sourced seafood and hormone-free meat.
Recipes range from dishes that only take 30 minutes to prepare, to culinary experiences that are as challenging as they are rewarding. What they all have in common is that they make dinner a joy to eat and to prepare.
