Before we met, both Cornel and I used to eat out a fair amount of the time. Cornel limited his cooking skills to saucy stuff for the poochies, and I limited my lack of culinary skills to toast and scrambled egg dinners. (Look, to be honest, I think that very few people like cooking for one.) Now that we are together, things have changed dramatically:
A. We pretty much don't eat out (the exception is sushi)
B. We both cook! (surprise, surprise)
We both feel that this is a great way to live, and why? Here are some suggestions:
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CostIt is the cheaper option (if that is what you require). Of course it depends on what you are eating, but comparing like-with-like, your wallet is generally better off when you eat "in". There may well be cheaper "out" options, especially some of the takeaway stuff, but then you may be compromising the second point.
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HealthIf you are cooking the food, you are in control of the ingredients (and your diet). Less temptation perhaps? Less fat and oil, if you keep an eye on it. You can also purchase better quality food and fresher food. You can go organic if you want, or try to avoid genetically modified foods or excessive flavourants and preservatives etc.
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Changing BeliefsOK, so how many of you believe you "can't cook"? Well, I did (see my statement above about my "lack of culinary skills"). I grew up in a house where I hardly ever ventured into the kitchen. I grew up in a family where nobody believed that they could cook and where nobody believed that I could cook. So, I believed that I couldn't cook and that there wasn't any hope. Until I met Cornel. We started to cook together, he encouraged me and, hey, slowly I came out of my shell and started seeing that I could in fact cook "a proper dish". All by myself I cooked an entire meal for my parents. They were speechless. (I was nearly speechless). So, with no lessons, I can actually cook! The important thing about all of this, is that negative beliefs such as this are never good to harbor. One needs to break free of such limiting thoughts. Even if you don't want to cook, just the fact that you realize you can, may enlighten you as to other tasks that you can actually do although you believe you can't. My suggestion: if you believe you can't, give it a couple of tries in a supportive environment.
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CreativityLots of people feel that they don't have any creativity in their lives. They feel that they don't have any access to creative activities or the time to spend on them. Well, there is one creative activity that is sitting there waiting for you to bring it into bloom regularly - cooking. You have to eat, so why not turn it into a creative exercise and really enjoy the time both before and during your meals. (Yes, I'm suggesting that you don't eat in front of the TV, but savour and enjoy your efforts). You can even go so far as to bring creativity into your table-setting etc.
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ConnectionThis, for me, is the most important reason to cook and to eat at home. For many couples and families there is very little time that they can spend together and really connect. Life is busy and, for many, TV is busy. If you take the time out (away from work and studies and TV) to spend in the kitchen preparing food, you can build some real strength in your close relationships. It can be a time to do something that takes you away from the stressful focus, something relaxing and mindless. It can be a time to chat and catch up on things. It can be a time to have fun. These are some suggestions for the advantages of cooking and eating your own food in your own home with your own people.
Do you have some other suggestions? What have been your experiences?
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