We can understand why first timers are hesitant to start cooking. Food is important and none of us like to cook something only to  burn it. Even people that can cook often choose not to in favor of fast, cheap take out options. Whatever the reason is that you’re not cooking, here are 5 compelling reasons to get back in there and turn on the oven.

Knowing What You Digest

While we all love going to good restaurants and cafes, without being in their demanding kitchens to prepare our own food, we don’t 100% know what we are getting. Yes it might be a beautiful Eggs Florentine on toast but where did they source the ingredients from? Do the ingredients contain any preservatives? Did they use the right brand oil? By taking control of our meals, we can ensure we know exactly what we eat so we can look after our health.

Improves Health and Wellbeing

In addition to knowing what we digest, by being able to cook, we can consciously choose to eat healthier. Often there are days where we don’t know what to eat, or when we do know, we don’t know how to cook it. It’s those days where we choose the path of least resistance and opt for something quick and convenient – fast food restaurants. By taking the steps to cook, we can better avoid unhealthy foods and start eating healthier than before. It’s all about making a conscious choice to choose the healthy option and cooking helps with that choice, especially if there are no healthy restaurants nearby.

Helps Save You Money

If you’re always going out to eat, you’re likely putting a real strain on your wallet. Thankfully a time honored practice like cooking can save you money as you’re no longer spending it on lunches with colleagues or dinner dates with friends. Depending on how much you usually spend on food, it’s possible to save $1000-4000+ each year on eating out expenses alone. With that extra money you can save it or spend it on cooking lessons, new kitchen utensils, or purchase better quality and natural ingredients. You can even purchase hard-cover cookbooks if you want a change from cooking apps.

 Promotes Family Time

It can be hard to spend time with our family. With busy lives, overtime, children playing sport, or something exciting on TV, spending a moment together with the entire family can be challenging. By cooking, and most importantly eating together, the whole family can have time with one another. Not only that, but by encouraging kids or our partners to help cook, they help make the meal faster and learn a valuable skill. Of course if they are unable to assist you with cooking, they can just do the dishes.

Woo A Potential Partner

Nothing says “DATE ME” than being able to prepare a delicious meal for a potential partner. Fellas, if you’re serious about a girl, learn one or two killer dishes, pair them with an appropriate wine, and watch the sparks fly. She may even stay past dessert…