by Erin Yarrobino

Created on: May 30, 2008

I will always prefer home cooking to fast foods. Fast foods only offer you food which is served quickly. That is the only benefit you get from fast food. There are a lot of health problems which develop from fast food. Among them are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and even some cancers. These illnesses are formed from the combination of sodium, trans fats, saturated fats, heavy and fatty oils, and also the large portions which only cost a couple of more cents to add on. People do not realize how much fast food they are currently eating. I know we are all busy, but people should take more time to think about the aftereffects on their health from fast foods.

We have to realize the truth. Fast food has no benefits. The saying that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself definitely holds true here. How many times have you gone to a fast food restaurant and ordered something, (even if it was small like extra ketchup or sauce on a Big Mac, only to have the cashier not give you what you ask for? I would guess this happens sometimes, if not all times.

When you are home cooking, you are the person in charge of your health. When that choice is given to you, you are more likely to make better choices. We are so quick-minded these days that we do not care what things others are deciding for us. We have to take responsibility for our actions. This is the only body you get. You must take good care of it, and value it every day.

You have more control when you are home. You could add up your caloric intake more since most supermarket foods have nutrition labels. This is true of a select number of choices at fast food restaurants. When you are home, you add the amount of sodium you need to stay healthy, and you add the amount of food portions you need to stay in shape. A little bit of this, and a little bit of that. You have time to plan more when you cook home. Whenever we are standing on line at a fast food place, we decide what we are eating right that minute. I am sure that no person spends the whole morning or afternoon thinking about lunch or dinner and what they will order. It is always a spur-of-the-moment thing.

Good, healthy food cooked at home does not have to take that long to cook either. It may not be two minutes like in McDonald's, but it could be done in a reasonable amount of time. Things like frozen vegetables take about twelve to fourteen minutes to heat up. Even scallopine chicken cutlets (from Perdue) take less than a half hour. A veggie burger takes about thirty minutes as well. Good carbohydrates like pasta and brown rice only take twenty minutes to boil. what about soup? I never heard of any can of soup taking longer than five minutes heat up. If you are not full with only soup, add your own fillers with vegetables, pasta, or rice. Are we so busy when we are done with work that we cannot wait until we get home to eat healthy? If you have an extra long commute, have a snack before you leave work or on the way home. This way, you will have something that will tide you over until dinner is ready.

It may be hard to believe, but eating at home will save you less money in the long run. This goes for bringing lunch instead of buying it. There are some good sales for healthy food at the supermarket. It all just takes some research. This time for research is something I don't mind in order to stay, healthy, and no one else should mind, either.

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