Fast Food Vs Home Cooked Meals

In today’s world, everything is fast-paced, mealtime for many families is a stressful event. In some cases, utilizing the convenience of options such as fast food or take-out meals can be a very popular way to diminish that stress, although not always the best solution for your health or pocketbook.

Fast Food may be an easier choice, however not all home cooked meals take large amounts of time or effort. Some great examples of this would include crockpot meals or one skillet meals, just combine the ingredients and let it cook. In the time you would spend driving to the restaurant, placing your order, waiting for the meal to be prepared, your home-cooked meal could already have been prepared and served. Statistically speaking, in most households the person that prepares the meals often does not want to prepare a meal that will take longer than twenty minutes. Another viable option for lowering the meal preparation time would be meal delivery services such as “Blue Apron”. Companies as such will send you everything needed to prepare a delicious meal in a timely manner. Grocery shopping can also be another added stress when planning to prepare meals. Using grocery pick up, delivery services, or simply hiring a third party to pick up your list of groceries would aid in reducing this stress immensely.

Even in the fast-paced world we live in, it is important to feed your body with quality ingredients and nourishment. Fast food items can be packed with large amounts of fats, sodium, and preservatives. Fast food also generally has a low and, in some cases, no nutritional value. Other negative thoughts regarding frequent or prolonged eating of fast foods are the possibilities of cardiac issues, weight gain, diabetes, and in some extreme cases even mortality. When choosing to prepare meals at home, you have the benefits of picking and controlling the ingredients going into your food. Another advantage is being able to cook the food in a precise manner that you prefer. Some examples of preparing home meals would be steaming, grilling, and baking. Cooking at home and controlling what is going into your body is safer and will ultimately make you healthier because of it.

Depending on where you shop for groceries home cooked meals are usually cheaper and can satisfy more persons per meal. Eating at home with a big family will save money and keep your pocketbook happy. By purchasing natural foods in the “bulk items” section of your local grocery store, can often offer a 30% to 50% savings versus purchasing fast foods or even pre-packaged foods. Another added benefit of bulk packaged items would be less packaging used, making it more environmentally friendly.

In conclusion, life may be busy, but it is still important to take the time to plan the meals that you choose to eat. Home cooked meals offer many benefits including saving money and having you feel satisfied for longer periods of time. They aren't always the fastest or cheapest option but, in the end, your health is more important. So, fast food cheeseburger and fries with many preservatives and fatty oils, or crockpot chuck roast and homemade mash potatoes. Which will you choose?          

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