Benefits of Home Cooking and How to Enjoy it!

Making my own meals (or my nutritimentation :D) has become a hobby of mine and has played an important role in living healthy.  Most people view cooking as intimidating and stressful…..well, it doesn’t have to be that way!

Simplicity is key.

You don’t have to put a million ingredients to make your meal flavorful. Most foods have their own natural flavors and simply roasting things like vegetables will bring them out. Stick to a few ingredients and your life will be a lot easier.

You are in control.

Controlling what goes into your meal and more importantly where your ingredients come from is so essential to healthy eating habits. Majority of packaged or frozen meals have additives and a bunch of added junk to preserve them. Also, a number of restaurants put a whole lot of unnecessary amounts of things like salt, butter, and oil into the meals. You may think your chicken sandwich, no bun is a healthy choice but it goes on a grill coated with oil or butter.

It is extremely hard to find a place to eat out that uses non-GMO and organic foods these days so buying your own organic goods and cooking at home allows you to feed your body the clean way.

*Here’s a list of produce highest in pesticide that you should buy organic

Make it fun!

            Turn on some of your favorite tunes or invite over a friend you haven’t seen in awhile. Make it an experience… create meaning with your cooking.

View it as a learning experience.

            Start following some healthy cooking blogs, websites, Twitter or Facebook pages… there are tons! Read about things like health benefits of the foods you are using so you can understand why you should eat them (or why you shouldn’t). Experiment with new recipes and don’t be afraid to make mistakes because you will and it’s O.K!

Add some love and care to your ingredient list.

Joshua Rosenthal, the author of Integrative Nutrition, discusses the idea of food omitting energy. Ever think about how hectic and stressful a restaurant kitchen is? All of this negative energy will reflect into your food. Not to mention the germs flying around that will make their way into your meal. At home you can create a peaceful environment and handle your food with care generating much more positive energy into your body and soul. This same energy can reside in the food you eat. For example, buying meat that comes from a factory where the animals are tortured and slaughtered compared to a farm where the animals are grass fed, roam free, and are treated humanely can make a huge difference in how you feel.

Take pride in cooking at home and keep it stress free.

            When you take that first bite and realize how delicious it tastes that sense of achievement takes over and it feels great! When your friend asks for the recipe because they loved it… take that moment to feel proud. Make the home cooking process your own and find what works for you. Maybe you need to prepare things beforehand to encourage yourself to cook. Everybody is different, embrace that. 

NOW.. begin your nutritimentation! Hope this helps :)