Cooking Your Own Food - 10 Top Reasons to Love Doing It, a Checklist

[Preston Wilson]

A male relative once said to me "Oh, nobody cooks anymore", to which I
replied "Well I do, every night". I thought everyone did. Then I began
to find out that maybe he was nearer to the truth. Sure, we love
cookery shows on the TV and we read cookery magazines and recipe books
for entertainment - but do we actually make any of the dishes that
we've watched being cooked or that we've read about?
Probably not. Especially when it's so easy to sling a ready meal in
the microwave and wait for the ping. Or order up a takeaway. Or get
fast food from a drive-through restaurant.
Why make a big deal out of cooking?
Well, having a go in the kitchen could help us all to be healthier and
slimmer. Grab an apron, and read the checklist below to find 10 top
reasons why.
1. "You" time in the kitchen - enjoy a little quiet time to muse on
the day while you prepare the evening meal. 2. The feel-good factor -
everyone loves home cooking, but rarely get it, so just wait for the
complements! 3. It tastes great - of course it does, because you can
enjoy all of your favourite foods and none of the things you hate! 4.
Knowing what's in your food - you made it, so there are no nasty
hidden additives. 5. Eating more healthily - without even noticing,
mainly because fresher food is more nutritious AND it won't be bulked
up with fillers or fattening additives. 6. You have control - over
portion sizes (a BIG problem with takeaway foods), ingredients and
timing of dining. 7. Cheaper than takeaways or eating out - and better
quality food too! 8. Healthier than a takeaway or eating out -
definitely, and your body will thank you for it... 9. It's fun - just
try making bread if you don't believe me! All that clattering of pans
in the kitchen can be very relaxing too, it's a great stress buster.
10. Satisfaction - the sense of achievement you get from providing a
delicious meal really does produce a feeling of wellbeing, which lasts
all through the washing up (especially if you persuade someone else to
do it).
And don't worry if you think you can't cook. If you can work out the
instructions for heating up something in a packet, then you can easily
cook a simple meal from scratch. Cooking a chop is no more difficult
than toasting bread under the grill. Even raw vegetables have cooking
information on their bags - boil in water for a while!
So get down and dirty with the oven, or among the pots and pans, and
enjoy what my mother-in-law calls "playing about in the kitchen".