Why should we cook more?

In a world where dinner can be delivered with a few taps on your phone and entire meals appear in under 30 minutes (complete with plastic cutlery you didn’t ask for), it’s no surprise that home cooking often gets pushed aside. But here’s the thing: cooking at home is one of the most powerful habits you can adopt not just for your health, but for your wallet, your family, and your peace of mind. When you cook from scratch — especially with fresh, homegrown produce — you control what goes into your food. That means fewer additives, preservatives, and synthetic oils and more wholesome ingredients that actually fuel your body. A study published in Public Health Nutrition found that people who frequently cook at home consume significantly fewer calories, sugar, and fat compared to those who rely on takeout or restaurants and they’re also more likely to maintain a healthy weight. Portion control becomes second nature when you're the one dishing up the meal, not a restaurant trying to impress you with plate size. Plus, let’s be honest: cooking at home is much kinder on your bank account. You can plan meals, shop smart, and stretch ingredients across multiple dinners — something Uber Eats hasn’t quite figured out how to do. Beyond nutrition and savings, there’s a creative spark in cooking that’s downright therapeutic. It’s your chance to play with flavours, try new techniques, or recreate that dish you loved from your last holiday! And it’s not just solo magic — cooking with your partner, kids, or housemates creates shared moments, teaches lifelong skills and often results in something edible at the end.

Let’s not forget the environmental win either: Home cooks waste less, use up leftovers more efficiently and make smarter use of food in general. And while we’re on a roll, let’s talk food safety; you know exactly where your ingredients came from and who did or didn’t used the three seconds rule after dropping the onion on the floor! Cooking at home also builds awareness around what you're eating and why: suddenly labels matter, nutrient values become interesting and you're far more likely to reach for a carrot than a crumbed mystery nugget. For kids especially, involvement in the kitchen promotes healthier eating habits, reduces picky eating and helps develop a healthy relationship with food something they’ll carry for life. Remember when your Grandma baked fresh cookies or in my case Apfel strudel? Yes? Well you can create these lasting moments for your Offspring!

And yes, while takeout might seem more “convenient,” there’s something deeply comforting about cooking a meal in your own kitchen, surrounded by familiar spices and smells, maybe even with music on and a glass of wine in hand. At the end of the day, cooking at home is more than just feeding yourself, it’s an act of self-reliance, creativity, nourishment and care. So go ahead — roll up your sleeves, chop that onion (yes, even if it makes you cry, suck it up! and rediscover the joy of cooking at home. Your body, your budget, and probably your future dinner guests will thank you!