Benefits of Cooking at Home – Healthier Foods & Saves Money
- Mar 21
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 31
How often do you dine out, instead of eating a homecooked meal?
What are the health benefits, and how much money can you save by cooking at home?

We enjoy someone waiting on us and cooking for us when dining out, especially the day-to-day "cook or chef" of the house. Dining out gives us the much, needed break, even if it is for only one day a week or once every other week. There is nothing wrong with being spoiled occasionally.
There are health dangers of dining out too many times. These dangers can affect your health, finances, and family in ways we take for granted, when we have cravings for specific types of foods or restaurants. Here are a few things to consider.
Unhealthy Foods:
Processed Foods, Greasy Foods, Fried Foods, Sweets, Sugary Beverages – All of these types of foods contribute to weight gain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, a fatty liver, stomach, and intestinal problems, and so on.
Cost of per dining experience:
An Individual:
Dining out each time costs between $7.00-$15.
A Couple:
Dining out each time costs between $15-$45.
A Family of (4):
Dining out each time will cost between $40-$65.
Average Monthly costs:
An Individual:
Dining out twice a week, for one meal every week costs $116/month.
Dining out daily, one meal per day will cost $406/month.
A Couple:
Dining out twice a week, every week will cost $300/month.
Dining out daily, one meal per day will cost $1,050/month.
A Family of (4):
Dining out twice a week, for one meal every week costs $420/month. Dining out daily, one meal per day will cost $1,470/month.
Dining out can be very costly and can cause financial hardships along the way, if not controlled. Eating more home-cooked meals, instead of dining out will help to control your spending. Think of dining out as a treat instead of a convenience. Eat out once or twice a month, instead of weekly or daily. Take your lunch to work and spend some quiet, peaceful time, along to relax or socialize with a friend in the breakroom. Spend more time with your family and friends eating a healthier meal at home. This will save money and make your life healthier.
Portion Control:
Fast food restaurants started a new wave of “Super Sizing” everything from French fries to drinks. They encouraged the concept of “More for Less Money,” and people loved it. Today we have obesity, health problems such as diabetes, cancer, weight gain and difficulty losing weight. Other restaurants saw the fast-food chains more than double their profits with this concept, so they increased their portions, prices, and offered discounts for bigger meals. This concept became a fad that continues today. Unfortunately, customers are paying the price with their health and money. The more they see the deals and discounts, their temptations grow.
For example:
Buy One and Get One for 50% off
Buy a sandwich and get the second for $1.
Buy a meal and get the second for $10 off.
These so-called deals are not deals at all. They are temptations that only benefit the businesses’ profit margin, while the customer pays an unhealthy price in a variety of ways.
Dining at home encourages mindful eating, saves money, you know what is in your food to keep your body healthy, and you can control the portions you serve. This is extremely important to live a longer life, to enjoy your family, grandchildren, and friends. Making home-cooked meals helps you to make better choices for you and your family.
Tips for Cooking at Home:
1. Don’t overthink your meals – Keep it Simple. Create a meal plan, in advance, along with a grocery list, if you don’t have the ingredients at home. Keeping things straightforward using simple recipes saves time and money.
2. Create simple, fun meals – Experiment with healthy foods, new recipes, themes, food art, and make your meals memorable. This will keep you entertained while cooking and will inspire you to cook more often. Don’t be afraid to make a borrowed recipe your own by adding to or changing the recipe.
3. Spend quality time with family and friends – We get distracted all too often with work, extracurricular activities, and our everyday life. Cooking at home provides a relaxing environment and an opportunity to spend more time with family and friends. Take advantage of these precious moments. Life is too short not to. Make as many memories as possible.
4. Safe Cooking: Many skillets, pots, and pans are not safe to use. Make sure you use cookware that does not have the following:
a. PFAS (Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances):
Many non-stick coatings include Teflon that contains PFAS, a group of chemicals. If the non-stick coatings flake off and into the prepared food, which will cause harmful health effects.
b. PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene):
This is commonly found in non-stick cookware, also known as Teflon.
c. PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid):
This is another chemical found in Teflon manufacturing, but it has phased out.
d. Aluminum:
This type of cookware can leach into food, which is a neurotoxin and can damage the brain and blood-brain barrier. Aluminum is also used for canned sodas and some drinking glasses. Even though you are not cooking by drinking out of aluminum containers, the aluminum will still leach out into the beverage, causing health problems.
e. Nickel and Chromium:
Stainless steel pans that are badly scratched can potentially expose a person to chromium and nickel, which in higher amounts can cause health issues such as dermatitis, especially in those with nickel sensitivity.
f. Copper:
Cookware that is uncoated can leach into food and cause health problems when consumed in large quantities such as kidney and liver damage. Ingesting excessive amounts of copper can cause vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, and/or diarrhea.
g. Lead:
Cookware can contain lead in the glaze such as ceramic cookware. Lead is known for causing developmental delays, learning disabilities, and behavior issues in children. It can also cause kidney problems, high blood pressure, and reproductive issues in adults.
Safe alternatives for cookware are:
Stainless Steel: Made with higher quality alloys, to avoid heavy metals.
Cast Iron: It is time-tested and proven safe to PFAS coatings.
Ceramic: Can be a good option but choose ceramic cookware that is free from harmful glazes and coatings.
Carbon Steel: It is durable and safe to use.
Glass: Durable glass cookware such as Pyrex is a safe option.

Utensils:
You might think utensils are all safe, but it’s not true. Some utensils are made with toxic chemicals, like cookware. Choose quality made utensils such as bamboo, finished without glues and lacquers, stainless steel, and silicone. Make sure the package states “made with non-toxic materials.” Quality-made utensils and cookware are extremely important when cooking and serving food for your family and friends.
Dinnerware:
Did you know that some dinner plates are made with lead, cadmium, BPA, phthalates, Melamine and VOC’s?
These are all harmful chemicals and cause health problems. You might think to yourself, “These are only dinner plates.” Remember you are serving food to your family and friends on toxic plates, which can leach into their food.
These chemicals are found in glazed terra cotta, worn, or excessively used dinnerware, hand-painted dinnerware, antique China or bone China, anything red, orange, or yellow (cadmium), and Melamine dinnerware also has cyanuric acid.
Safe dinnerware:
These include glass, bamboo, stainless steel, lead-free glazed (NLG) pottery or porcelain. Read the package and on the dinnerware itself to make sure it doesn’t include toxic chemicals that can leach out into the food you serve.
I personally enjoy cooking with cast iron such as Lodge cast iron pans. The cast iron cooks evenly and browns meat perfectly on a low heat. Most of all, cast iron heats up so hot that it kills any bacteria you may have missed when cleaning the pan.
Rule of Thumb to avoid chemicals leaching into foods we cook or serve:
Avoid putting hot food directly onto the dinnerware. Let the food sit for a few minutes to reduce the heat, before serving.
Avoid microwaving food on the dinnerware or in unsafe containers such as plastic or toxic containers.
Avoid putting high-fat content foods directly on the dinnerware. Place high-fat content foods on a paper towel first, to drain the fat, then serve on the dinnerware.
Avoid putting acid-rich foods such as spaghetti sauce, or citrus types on the dinnerware or in the microwave. Acid will leach into the dinnerware or microwavable container, leaving a stain, which can cause health problems.
It’s best to avoid these types of things to help prevent leaching. The way you cook and serve food is extremely important for the health and safety of you, your family, and guests.
Sanitation on the counter and around the area where you prepare food is necessary to prevent harmful bacteria that will make someone sick or worse. Be mindful of sanitation and chemicals. When sanitizing the areas, use all natural sanitizers like vinegar, soap and water, or Simple Green, which is food safe and biodegradable.
Have fun and be creative when cooking at home. You will find out that you enjoy eating at home, more than dining out, relaxation and time spent with family and friends.
I hope you have learned a lot about the costs of dining out and the safety of cooking at home. Please share this post with others that will benefit from what you have learned and return to learn more about cooking at home in a future post.
Thank you.
Comentarios