Cook for Your Life!

• By Beth Meirav
• My Blog

Do you have a kitchen?  Hopefully you answered "yes" to that question. If you have a kitchen, then use it! "Cook for your life" sounds a bit dramatic I know, but it is actually true that cooking supports a healthy and longer life. So in effect, "cook for your life" is accurate.

I know life gets busy. Believe me, I know first hand how busy life can be. It's so easy to pick up prepared meals or eat out. Not only do you not have to prepare the meal but you also don't have to clean it up! I get it.

That being said, what is actually in that meal that someone else prepared for you? How much fat? How much sugar? What preservatives were used to make it last? You truly don't know.

However, if you prepared your meal yourself you will know exactly what's in it. You will be the one to choose the fresh, whole foods that went into the recipe. Start simple. I love to roast vegetables. It's quick, easy and very hands-off.

If you are the one preparing the meal then you can also control portion size. Honestly, do you really not finish the takeout food you get or what was served to you in the restaurant? Do you put a healthy portion size on your plate and save the rest? Most of us do not do that (I too am guilty of finishing whatever they gave me). However, if you cook the meal yourself then you can divide it into portions that make sense for your body.

Cooking will add years to your life. A study published in 2011 in Cambridge University’s journal Public Health Nutrition followed 1,888 people age 65 and up and found that people who cooked at home about 5 times per week were 47% more likely to be alive after the 10-year study concluded.  That's HUGE people!

One more thing...cook with someone you care about. It's a great date night! Crank the tunes and boogie while you cook. Burn the calories while cooking and at the end of your date too (wink)!