While eating out in restaurants is a treat for many families, it has become a routine convenience for many other Americans. You receive benefits in the areas of nutrition, health and economics when you limit dining out and begin eating your very own homemade food.
Natural Ingredients
Eating at home allows you to control the ingredients in your food, so you can use natural ingredients instead of unhealthy processed foods. Processed foods, frequently served in restaurants or available in premade meals from the grocery store, tend to be high in sodium, fat and added sugars. According to the BBC, the World Health Organization recommends greatly reducing the intake of processed foods. Eating homemade foods lets you add in more fresh fruits and vegetables to your diets so that you can focus on all-natural ingredients.
Substitutions and Healthy Eating
You can use healthier cooking methods and substitutions for unhealthy ingredients when making your own meals. For example, when most restaurants would use butter or oils with trans fats, you can cook at home with nonfat cooking spray or healthy vegetable oils such as olive oil. In addition, at home you can substitute unhealthy ingredients for alternatives. For instance, the American Heart Association recommends substituting one cup of fat-free milk with one tablespoon of vegetable oil for one cup of whole milk.
Source: http://www.livestrong.com