Home cook meals Vs. Fast Food

In today’s modern world, fast food has taken over almost every household in America. Is that good for us? Many have asked themselves that and everyone knows what the answer is. Fast food and eating out is more convenient for every working households, home cook meals provide us more control over what we eat, we generally know what type of ingredients are going into our meal and where our raw ingredients are coming from.

According to an article that was written by Beth Hoffman for www.forbes.com, Americans eat most of their meals out. Beth talks about 4 reasons about why cooking your own meals will benefit a family. She stated that cooking at home is better for the environment due to the fact that cooking at home takes less energy and resources to cook at home. (Hoffman, 2013) Processed food are often frozen which leads to more energy consumption and then cooked again which uses more energy. With every purchase of frozen pizza or dinner, a household could be using up to twice as many resources to feed a family than it takes to cook at home.

Most households are watching their spending on food to cover other expenses. Spending the daily food allowance might be a smart way of saving on that particular part of the budget depending on what part of the menu one is buying from. Some may say that purchasing from the dollar menu will cut their cost or just simply ordering out pizzas using the daily specials like when purchasing 2 pizzas or more, they are $5.99, is not always good. Look at the big picture, one family can spend 5 times the money on groceries, but there is a high probability that the amount a family spend on groceries will last them a week depending on what they are cooking.

It is less expensive to cook your own meal at home is the second reason Hoffman states in her article. She states the facts that eating out is not cheap when considering of the time and gas spent driving back and forth. (Hoffman, 2013). Cooking at home does waste time and gas but a family can shop once a week for meals that can last a week. Third reason mention by Hoffman is food you cook is a lot healthier. Most people do not cook at home with a deep fat fryer and the majority of home recipes does not call for high fructose corn syrup. (Hoffman, 2013). The more food that are being processed, it becomes less nutritious. Food that are cooked at home are lost tastier is the last reasons Hoffman discussed in her article.

“Drying food, for example, can affect the nutritional value of foods up to 80 percent. Freezing loses 30 percent of food’s Vitamin C and 10 percent of its Potassium. And reheating already cooked food also decreases its Vitamin B12, Thiamin and Vitamin C by 45 percent.” (Hoffman, 2013).

Ingredients play a very important role in our eating habits and what our body can take. With cooking your own meal, you know what is going into your meal than ordering from a fast food restaurant. Most the additives are not good your body and can give you health issues. An example of this is the artificial sweetener that is put in diet sodas. Even though it is low in sugar or has no sugar added to it, but in the long wrong, this ingredient, aspartame can cause weight gain and other deadly disease. Yes they only $1.00 or half the regular price during happy hours, you are better off with water with a squeeze of lime or lemon.

Food allergies are an important factor considering on whether or not a family should cook at home. Preparing meals at home allows the cook to easily accommodate the family members or guests who may have food allergies. Gluten is a protein that can be found in wheat, rye and barely can cause a serious autoimmune response.

Preparing most meals at home is bound to improve considerably ways of cooking with flavorful and healthy ingredients and turn the tire on the obesity epidemic. Foods that are brought at the grocery store can be similarly contaminated. With cooking at home, proper food handling and cooking techniques may keep your family safer. Home cook meals provide opportunities and relaxing transition from busy activities. Children, who are brought up in households where meals are cook at home and eaten together, perform better in school and show fewer tendencies in risky behaviors.

Fast food has been in the media for decades now on nutritional facts, is it good for parents and kids? New York has put a ban on large size sodas due to the health issues that this Large size can damage your health even if you are drinking a diet soda. Before you decides that home cook meals are time consuming and fast food is more efficient with your time schedule, ask yourself is this budget efficient for your family, what ingredients are going in to your family’s meal and how is it being cooked.

Cooking for your family on a busy schedule night might be a typical answer you may have for yourself, but at least you know where and how your food was cooked on. Many of these fast food restaurants may have questionable sanitation issues. Rush hours require the restaurant to be on a steady pace or regular routine of they will have upset customers with their orders. Have you ever seen how the kitchen of a fast food restaurant look? If you haven’t, you might want to take a peek the next time you decide to order out. Many of these restaurants have many debris that are cover up by their kitchen wears from stove to fryer. Yes you might see them clean at night, but how often do you see them.

References
Fat and calorie content of fast food versus a home-cooked meal. (2007). Retrieved from Fat and calorie content of fast food versus a home-cooked meal read more: Fat & calorie content of fast food versus a home-cooked meal | infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/a0934642.html Hoffman, B. (2012, June 18). What’s so great about cooking? four reasons (and resources) to diy. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/bethhoffman/2012/06/18/whats-so-great-about-cooking-four-reasons-and-resources-to-diy/ Nelson, J. (2009, February 20). Nutrition and healthy eating. Retrieved from Roizman, T. (2013). The advantages of a home cooked meal. Retrieved from http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/advantages-home-cooked-meal-1930.html Pritchard, J. (2011, August 11). Homecooked meals vs. fast food meals. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/517636-homecooked-meals-vs-fast-food-meals/