Finding healthy food that you actually want to eat can be a bit of a challenge. There are many options available, but what fits best for you? I will have upcoming blog posts on this topic, including cookbook reviews. But let’s get started today with the advantages of cooking at home:
- You control the ingredients and amounts of each.
- You can edit the recipes to suit your tastes.
- There are no hidden calories, fats, carbs, or sodium unless you hide them yourself!
- Cooking at home is associated with consuming fewer calories, fat, and sugar, even if you are not dieting (1).
- You are able to eat a healthier diet, including fresh produce and meats, at a similar cost to eating lower quality foods out (2).
- Studies have found that those who consume home cooked meals at least five times weekly were 28% less likely to be overweight (3).
- Cooking at home seems to reduce appetite, based on anecdotal evidence.
- You will generally eat smaller portions (4).
- You can choose to use smaller or special dinnerware, flatware, and glasses which helps with portion control and overall enjoyment of your meals.
- You can easily store leftovers immediately, rather than taking a few bites more as you are waiting for a server to clear dishes.
- Cooking has been found to have psychologically therapeutic properties, which may also help decrease overeating (5).
I’m sure you have more ideas on this. What are the reasons you cook your own meals? How does sharing a home cooked meal add to your life? How can we remove the negative factors in our cooking experience – and there are a few of those too!
Let’s look at some cookbooks that may be helpful on our weight maintenance journey. I have collected quite a few that may interest you. Share what you’ve found as well. This is a long trip and new ideas will definitely be helpful!
(2). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5401643/
(3). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5561571/
(4). https://www.eatthis.com/eating-home-cooked-food/
(5). https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/home-cooking-good-for-the-soul/
Maintain Weight Loss 