When was the last time you ate a home-cooked meal? Did you cook it, or did someone else cook it for you?

Learning how to cook is an essential life skill because we all have to eat. Cooking at home has many benefits, and it can be a lot of fun. Here are just a few things to remember next time you’re trying to decide whether to eat out or cook at home:

Cooking saves you money

If you buy all of the ingredients yourself, you typically buy more than needed for just one recipe. Even if you don’t use all of the ingredients, you probably don’t eat it all at once.

This gives you multiple meals for roughly the same price as one from a restaurant.

Lots of college students tend to eat out more because of convenience, but that wastes so much money that could be spent elsewhere. They could be saving lots of money if they cooked their own food more often.

Cooking meals gives you more control

You can use fresher ingredients and prepare them the way you want when you cook your own meals.

In comparison to eating out, you give yourself all the control when you cook your meals, and this sometimes means the meals you consume end up being healthier for you.

Restaurants can add too much salt, sugar and/or fat, but at home you know exactly what you’re putting into your food. 

It’s also often difficult to find good food at restaurants if you have allergies. For example, one of my friends can’t have gluten, so sometimes it’s hard for her to find things to eat on a menu.

At home, we can buy gluten-free ingredients, so she’s guaranteed a good meal. She even told me once that I made the best gluten-free macaroni and cheese that she ever had.

It’s so much fun

Above all, the main reason why cooking at home is the best is because it’s fun for everyone involved.

You and your significant other get to hang out in the kitchen with good music while you prepare a meal that both of you are excited to eat. Cooking can be romantic, especially if you decide to just have fun and don’t worry about messing up recipes.

If you have all of your friends over, cooking is something everyone can help out with. You also learn new cooking techniques through your friends.

My friends and I have joked about starting our own restaurant. We all have special recipes that go well together, and a restaurant has always been a dream of ours.

We like watching TV shows about cooking to help get new recipes, too. Our favorite shows so far are “The Final Table” and Gordon Ramsay’s “Ultimate Home Cooking” because they introduce you to so many new cooking styles and recipes.

Cooking can be a lot of fun if you just enjoy it. Don’t worry about messing up recipes because you can always start over. Learn to cook as many dishes as you can, and don’t be afraid to try something new.

Jessica Stewart is a junior English major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at jrstewart3@eiu.edu.