Cooking At Home Will Help Reduce Your Sugar Cravings, Your Food Bill, And Your Waist

ByGretchen Jack

I think that lots of people are turning to cooking at home rather than dining out or home deliveries. The reasons vary, but healthier foods at a lower cost seems to be the biggest reason why. Plus, when you are trying to control the amount of sugar you are consuming or want to lose some pounds, cooking at home can make a huge difference in your results.

Know Your Ingredients

When you are cooking at home, you know what's going into your food. Even if you don't crunch numbers, you can control the sodium, sugar, and caloric content when you cook your own food. Restaurant food often has all kinds of additives in it, not to mention astronomical amounts of sodium. And what is becoming even more worrisome, is where the food is coming from. I recently saw a canned vegetable from China. Ugh! We hear about their pollution problems all the time on TV. And what about Vietnam? Ever watch the Amazing Race show and see their filthy rivers?

And when you cook at home, you won't be fooled by clever names or labels that restaurants use to name a dish. For example: calling a dish "multi-grain" which makes it sound healthy, but could mean they just added a few sprinkles of various grains to a white-flour recipe. You don't know. And not know is the problem.

Its Not As Time Consuming As You Think

Not really when you factor everything in. All it takes, is a little planning. I know many people are daunted by the prospect of cooking at home because of the time. But think about it - the time it takes to get everyone into the car, drive to a restaurant, park, wait for a person to take your order, and then wait for your order is significant.

Most meals take from 30 to 60 minutes to prepare, and clean-up maybe 30 minutes. And you can share these tasks with other family members which decreases the total hours spent. Cooking and cleaning up can be family time, too. Or as I often do, I cook one night for three days worth of food. I advocate this all the time. It really works for me. Even draws me home to eat rather than tempted by greasy mall food.

Plan

Once you've recognized that eating out isn't necessarily a time saver, you can begin to plan your at-home meals to save even more time. When you plan, you can fit your home-cooked meal into your everyday life. Mapping out a weekly menu complete with estimated cooking times is a great way to take control of your home cooking efforts. If you're just "winging it" every night, it can get exhausting.

Healthier

There have been studies that show eating at home is healthier in many ways. Such as families tending to be closer if they eat together. I would think that parents learn more about their children's day in a relaxed atmosphere. Think about it. Would you be more apt to talk about how Johnnie bullied you after gym class when your belly is full and you are relaxed and in a safe environment. And isn't that a win- win?

There could be a lot of residual benefits from cooking at home. Why not try it for a month as a personal challenge and see what benefits you will get. You may even be interested in my eating plan, CiderBeneFIT where all the menu's and recipes are done for you for a month.

If you are ready to start your journey towards better health, I invite you to visit my blog: http://conquersugarcravings.com. Join me and others in the battle against sugar and weight and how we find healthy ways to cook and keep the weight off.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gretchen_Jack

Did you find this article helpful?00Get Involved0 commentsSuggest a topicArticle ToolsPrint this articleE-mail to a friendEzinePublisherReport this articleCite this articleStay InformedGet notified by email when new articles are added to this category or written by this author.Subscribe to New Article Alerts:

Health and Fitness: Weight-Loss
Gretchen Jack

Email Address:SubscribeWeight Loss Article FeedFind More ArticlesSearchSimilar ArticlesCan Food Prevent Disease? Even Cancers? Rules And Tips To Make It WorkFast Food Risks And Overcoming Your AddictionBecoming Supermarket SavvyTweaking Your Daily Diet to Become More HealthyBeginning on the Road to Healthy EatingEat Well and Lose WeightWeight Loss TipsTen Most Frequently Asked Questions About Weight LossEating to Live! How I Lost Over 140 Pounds All NaturallyThe Solution To Childhood Obesity - A Vegan DietRecent ArticlesShould I Weigh Myself? Three Tips For SuccessHow To Lose Weight Fast - Why Should You Exercise Less But With More IntensityDon't Diet, Change Your LifestyleHow to Get Rid of Muffin Top FatThe GERD Diet: Food and LifestyleWhat If You Can't Lose Weight? Try The FollowingSimple Steps to Get Rid of Your Excessive-Weight ProblemsSimple Ways to Transform the Belly Bulge Into Fine AbsCost Of Vegan Diet - May Be Worth It No Matter What The CostWhy You Can't Lose Weight: Is It "A Perfect Storm" or "The Diet Matrix"?Submitted On January 31, 2012. Viewed 4 times. Word count: 585.

Important Disclaimer: Articles provided are for general information purposes only and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychological, tax, accounting, legal, investment, or any other professional advice. EzineArticles.com expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed by any of our members or anywhere else within the site. Lastly, EzineArticles.com does not endorse any article. Use at your own risk.

MLA Style Citation:
Jack, Gretchen".".31 Jan. 2012EzineArticles.com.3 Feb. 2012 .APA Style Citation:
Jack, G. (2012, January 31). . Retrieved February 3, 2012, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Cooking-­At-­Home-­Will-­Help-­Reduce-­Your-­Sugar-­Cravings,-­Your-­Food-­Bill,-­And-­Your-­Waist&id=6852194Chicago Style Citation:
Jack, Gretchen "." EzineArticles.com. http://ezinearticles.com/?Cooking-­At-­Home-­Will-­Help-­Reduce-­Your-­Sugar-­Cravings,-­Your-­Food-­Bill,-­And-­Your-­Waist&id=6852194EzineArticles.com© 2012 EzineArticles.com
All Rights Reserved Worldwide

About UsFAQContact UsMember BenefitsPrivacy PolicyShopSite MapBlogTrainingVideo ArchiveAdvertisingAffiliatesCartoonsAuthorsSubmit ArticlesMembers LoginPremium MembershipExpert AuthorsEndorsementsEditorial GuidelinesTerms of ServicePublishersFollow UsTerms Of ServiceEzines / Email AlertsManage SubscriptionsEzineArticles RSS

View the Original article