Day 2: The True Benefits of Eating At Home #eatathomechallenge

Although eating at home for 10 days straight may present you with difficulties at times, I assure you that this challenge will be well worth the effort.  And I’m not just talking about the quality of your diet here! In fact, eating foods more frequently from home can often have financial, relational, and emotional benefits as well. Of course, these aren’t a given, but with a little practice, say 10 days worth of practice, hopefully these benefits will not only become evident, but worth the extra effort it might take to implement them into your everyday life.

Day 2–> What are the true benefits of eating at home? 

Save Money.  Let’s start by focusing on the financial benefits that come from eating at home. Whether you go grocery shopping more than once a week or only once a month, the food you buy is just sitting there, waiting to be consumed. While it waits, you have two options; you can either come up with ways to utilize that food or let it sit until it goes bad. Unfortunately, each time you choose to eat a meal or snack away from home, you indirectly choose to let that food sit for a little bit longer. And if you’re not careful, it goes bad before you eventually get around to consuming it. Not only does this mean you spent extra money on your meal away from home, but you just lost money on the food you purchased and let waste away. Don’t let your hard earned money go to waste! Create a plan for the food you buy and stick to it. Not only will this help you prevent food waste, it will also give you a little extra money in your wallet that you can spend on other things you need or want.

Enjoy Family Time.  Let’s face it; a busy schedule is often a way of life.  Although ordering in may seem like a quicker and easier alternative, it can reduce the amount of time spent over a meal with a family member or friend.  Don’t miss out on the opportunity to catch up and hear about each person’s day or take the time to relax and unwind.

Try new foods (and know what you’re consuming.)  All of those fun recipes you hear about and tell yourself one day you’ll try, here is your opportunity!  Instead of deciding which restaurant to dine in, start deciding which recipe to create!  You can even get family and friends to help in the process.  Along with getting to try new foods and ingredients, you also don’t have to worry about any “surprise” ingredients going into the meals you are preparing. If you or someone you are eating with has certain food preferences or allergies, this can be really beneficial and sometimes crucial to an enjoyable meal.

Better nutrition! Last, but definitely not least, eating at home is often healthier.  Restaurants tend to serve larger portions than you’d normally consume elsewhere.  At home, you can put less on your plate and really know how many calories you eat.  Plus, since you are the chef, you can control the amount of added fat, salt, and sugar that goes into your food.  Trust me, less can be more! You also have the opportunity to prepare your meals with nutrient balance in mind. This is important because if a food group is missing from your plate, you can always scrounge around in the kitchen to add it back in or plan to incorporate it into the next meal or snack you are going to prepare. Basically, when you  eat from home you are in control of what food options, healthy or otherwise, you have to choose from. At many restaurants this choice is extremely limited by what they offer, how they cook, and how hungry you are before you sit down.

Day 2 homework –> Take a few moments today to identify which possible benefits of the eat at home challenge are most important to you. Write them down in a blog post, on a sticky note, or in the comments below. Once you have these written down, be sure to remind yourself throughout the week why these benefits are important to you.

Want to learn how to successfully eat more meals at home? Read all the Eat at Home 10 Day Challenge posts here.

An Intern Behind the Plate,
~Rayna