10 Reasons to Turn on the Stove Instead of Grabbing the Keys

April 30, 2008

Sometimes I just don’t feel like cooking, whether I am getting home late, contemplating what I should pack for lunch, or just feeling lazy. It can be a hassle. I also like restaurants – greasy pizza, the perfect burger, a well crafted omelet. Convenience can be a strong temptation, so I came up with 10 reasons you should put the keys back on the rack and turn on your stove when you are standing there hungry, frozen between options – Chinese take-out or cook?

1. Cost – Restaurants are expensive! Beyond perhaps the McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger, whatever you get at a restaurant can be made cheaper at home. You are paying for convenience – rarely do I (and most) visit restaurants where a chef’s skills are actually required. I am not arguing that you should only eat beans and rice to save money, but if you want a delicious filet, a restaurant will charge over $20 while you could probably buy one at the supermarket for less than half of that. (Maybe I am wrong on this, I don’t really know the average price of filets, but the theory stands.)
   
2. Health – You know what you’re eating. Whether you’re into organic or not, you know the ingredients and how much oil, butter, etc. is going into everything you eat. I have no problem eating unhealthy foods – but odds are what you make at home will be healthier than what you get in a restaurant. Fat tastes good, and restaurants know this. They also know that you can’t see how much they are using.
3. Taste – I will admit that I love restaurant food – it is delicious. But everyone has those recipes that are just better than anything you’ll find in a restaurant. Not every recipe will be better, nor will you be able to duplicate everything you find eating out, but look to those recipes that you love. One of these for me is butter chicken. I don’t know why, but I love it and would gladly give up restaurant food for it.
4. Satisfaction – I don’t know if everyone else is like this, but I feel good after I make a tasty meal. I’ve accomplished something – a feeling you won’t get sitting in a restaurant.
5. Fun – Cooking is fun. I think I enjoy it because I like creating things, and on top of that you get to eat. It is a great combination and even more fun if you are cooking with someone else.
6. Time - I’ll admit that the fastest of fast food is a little bit quicker than making your own meal, but there are plenty of great foods that can easily be made within 30 minutes, and no, I am not referring to Rachel Ray (although her recipes are actually quite good). If you are going to sit down at a restaurant, you will probably save time by just cooking yourself.
7. Learning - I find that I learn something new every time I cook. Maybe this doesn’t happen for more experienced cooks, but this experience and education adds up the more you cook, making it even easier to throw together a meal the next time you are contemplating going out.
8. Leftovers - Although you sometimes have leftovers after eating out, you can plan for them when you cook. You can ensure that you have a delicious lunch of leftovers the next day by cooking more than you will eat. Kill two birds with one stone.
9. Convenience - I know this is an odd one, but going anywhere other than fast food is probably less convenient than just making something at home. When you include the driving and waiting, you could probably have been eating sooner had you not left.
10. Variety - This is a tough one to achieve when you cook regularly at home, but you are limited only by what you can find in the grocery store. There are many more options to what you can make than you’ll find in any nearby restaurants. (I recognize that this isn’t always the case based on what you actually have on hand, but in the long run I think it holds true.)

I don’t want sound like I am condemning people who eat at restaurants – I really like them – I just hope this can motivate me (and maybe others) to put the keys down the next time the urge to to go out kicks in.

photo credit: giovanniscanavino

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