March
Cooking tends to be something that so many of us just don’t have time for and sometimes, the day just simply makes it another “to-do”. We’d like to take a moment and highlight the many benefits that cooking at home has for single individuals as well as family’s. I’ll try not to bore you with to many numbers, provide you with accurate information and hopefully simple solutions to help you save money while increasing your overall health. So, let’s dive right in….
According to a blog titled ‘How Much Should I Budget for Eating Out?’ written by Erin Lowell January 26th of 2022, the average American eats out 5.9 times a week. With an average household spending $3,500 a year, roughly $300 per month. That’s pretty intense considering the average household size recorded by the 2021 U.S. Census is only 3 people! In my household we have 6 people total, and as the kids grow, they eat more like us. We easily spend $50 when visiting a fast-food joint and closer to $70 (not including the tip) when we want more of the “fine dining” experience!
Just to quickly crunch the numbers if my family and I ate fast food 5X in a week for a month that’d be $1,000 a month. $1,400 a month for the “fine dining” experience not including the tip!
Ok, I promised I wouldn’t bore you with the numbers so let’s move past the overly simplified examples and into the additional benefits. We all know of processed foods, and I believe that most of us know that they’re not good for us but let’s dive a little deeper into what those health risks are and identifying what foods are heavily processed. Most foods we eat have been processed in some way or another by the time they reach our plate. The difference is how processed they are; for example a bagged salad counts as processed, but only minimally because its natural state hasn’t actually changed. However, a box of macaroni and cheese or Americas favorite microwavable dinner is heavily processed; chemically altered and packed with artificial flavors, additives, and other ingredients.
Have you ever heard the old saying “true wealth is found in your health”?, Americans tend to take the highest risk to their health even compared to their financial health!
It’s Estimated that more than half the calories in the average American diet come from ultra-processed foods.
Highly processed foods carry many potential health effects, including Increased Cancer Risk – According to Harvard Health Publishing, a five-year study of over 100,000 people found that with every 10% increase in highly processed food consumption, was associated with a 12% higher risk of getting cancer. Too much sugar, sodium and fat – Highly processed foods such as microwavable “goods”, chips and more often have unhealthy levels of added sugar, sodium and fat. This might make the food taste better but comes with to many serious health issues like; obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes!
When in doubt, just start with real food!
Now’s a good time to move into some solutions on how YOU and YOUR FAMILY can begin cooking at-home and enjoying it! Putting together an easy-to-follow menu is a great way to get your family set-up for success of at home cooking. Involving everyone in the family in the process of cooking whether prep, the actual cooking or clean-up will relieve the tension, stress and load of the actual cook in the house. Doing this will actually increase the likely hood of energy or “want”, to get your home cooking routine pumping!
Let’s not forget about making cooking fun for everyone. Bringing useful quality gadgets into your kitchen will do just that. The Merry Peddler carries a variety of kitchen supplies and gadgets that make cooking fun, simple, and easy! *Fun - being the keyword here.
We are a locally owned family business; that caters to the everyday kitchen.... Gourmet Style!
