Fast food is useful in an emergency or a during a bout of laziness but home cooking is best.

With food prepared at home you know what the ingredients are. This way you can control the freshness, the nutrient level and have food which tastes without artificially added flavor enhancers.

Bought food might indicate the calorific values, but with home cooking you can be sure that it is made of good fats, and not leaded with sugar and salt to give a flavor to hidden fillers.

Eating is a necessity. If we have to eat why not enjoy the process? The fact that we have taste buds and a sense of smell to help us distinguish good from bad food, means we can take pleasure in eating. Pleasure is not wrong and the calm enjoyed while sharing a good meal is beneficial.

Nowadays we are bombarded with nutritional information which changes frequently. If we maintain a diet of fresh foods, cooked with interest and care and take pleasure in the eating of the dish, this is beneficial for our physical body in supplying what it needs and for our emotional well being in the positive experience of pleasure.

For many, meals have become a rushed filler at the desk at work. It's the way the modern world often works. Even if that is essential because of circumstances, there is no reason why we should not enjoy a meal together as a family or with friends, taking our time to speak to each other while we enjoy the food. The French, Italians and the Spanish have this off to a fine art. They value the time spent at the table together.

A complaint about home cooking is that it takes time. While this is sometimes true, it is a time when you can listen to music, a story on the radio, chat to others, share the work and just enjoy the pleasure of turning raw ingredients into a delicious combination. It's more beneficial than being a couch potato. The resistance to cooking at home means such a loss of good things. A little effort in learning a few simple techniques means there are numerous delicious easily prepared meals which do not take much time to make.

Some people are anxious about preparing food at home because they feel they don't have the skills. If this is the case, a few cookery lessons, either from a professional or a friend who is trusted is useful. There is also some excellent advice in cook books and on line to help with ideas and techniques. Home cooking is as much a mental attitude as a physical activity.

Learn more about this author, Rosemary Redfern.
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