Is Cooking a hobby or an essential life skill?

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Everyone enjoys delicious food. However, in the modern era, we have unprecedented access to ready-made meals. Many of us struggle to find time to cook due to long working hours, leading to a debate: is home cooking still an essential life skill, or has it become a mere hobby for those with time to spare?

Cooking: More than just a meal

Cooking for oneself offers distinct benefits.

¡ Creative outlet: provides space for personal expression and experimentation

¡ Nutritional control: It is a way to ensure a diet rich in nutrients and low in preservatives and sugar.

¡ Mental wellbeing: In an increasingly digital world, cooking serves as a vital break from high stress work day.

¡ Independence: Beyond health, cooking is a fundamental life skill that fosters independence and self-reliance.

¡ Vehicle for cultural preservation: Keeping family traditions and heritage alive

¡ Sustainability: Home cooking is more sustainable as it reduces plastic waste and carbon foot prints associated with delivery packaging.

¡ Economical: It is significantly more budget-friendly than eating out.

Convenience over cooking

Conversely, some argue that cooking is too time-consuming. With the rise of tiffin services, food delivery, and affordable eateries, cooking is no longer strictly necessary for survival. For those with high disposable income, getting prepared meals from outside can often be more ‘efficient’ than the labour of grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning. Outsourcing meals is seen as an “efficiency” rather than a loss of skill. An hour saved from kitchen is an hour that could be spent on getting rest, learning a new skill or spending quality time with the family.

What are your views on it? Are we sacrificing our self-reliance for the sake of convenience?

Does modern convenience truly outweigh the holistic benefits of cooking?

MBH/PS

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I truly believe that cooking is a life skill. We can eat from outside on special occasions or busy days but nothing beats the nutrition and overall benefits that we get from cooking at home.

Along with saving money, cooking at home allows us to meal prep so we know what ingredients are going into it and we also have enough food for the next few days. We should think less about convenience and consider all aspects!

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Completely agree with you @Prisha :+1: :slightly_smiling_face:

I too personally feel that cooking is an essential life skill, primarily giving me the power of self-reliance and autonomy. It gives me the feeling that I am an adult who very well knows how to take care of myself. It is indeed therapeutic. :heart:

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@PriyaRavichandran18 what I personally believe is now a days we usually prefer that in order save are time we prefer outside food and avoid home cooked food its not because we are lazy its because we are tired from 8hr work and travelling from office to home by our own vehicle and we do liver independently and alone . But in saving are time we fall in cost are health.

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Completely agree with you..that Cooking is life skill..Which everyone should have..it is not just for to overcome hunger or carvings but also essential for healthy body.And actually,Cooking is not just a making of food stuff but it’s a way to make your soul happy..Every human being even if they are twin they have distinct tastebuds..and by the eating of your taste’s food it can heal you rejuvenate you..

And that our own taste is mostly lacking in outside food..but it’s true that after a busy days and long hour of working..we being tired doesn’t want to cook food..And I believe it’s not because we being tired of process of food making but mostly we are tired of after process of food making..If You live with 2-3 people or family who can manage to help you in this after processes then mostly person manage to cook food even if he/she may tired.

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So true @rahimathnisha. After an 8-hour shift and a difficult commute, it kind of feels nearly impossible and tiring to cook a meal. I sometimes wonder how my mother used to do that all by herself and would never complain. But relying on outside food entirely definitely comes at the cost of nutritional compromise.

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I am completely on your side @Bansi. Cooking is therapeutic and fun. We can experiment with our choice of ingredients and be creative. But, having a helpful and supportive family definitely helps. Moreover, Cleaning up the mess after cooking is more of a hassle than cooking itself. Could not agree more.:heart:

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Cooking is a lifeskill…it’s not necessary to know how to cook complex dishes but when we cook a meal on our own we are sure of the quality of ingredients that went into and hygiene.

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Absolutely @PrernaKandpal !! Preparing a simple home-cooked meal is definitely more comforting and healthy any day.

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Cooking is absolutely a life skill and everyone should learn at least basic meals to sustain as daily consuming meals outside is not healthy and will surely lead to digestion issues and disorders.

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Could not agree more @Karuna18 :+1: :victory_hand:

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Cooking is vital for our well-being as well as our loved ones’; self-made food is the perfect blend of love, positivity, hygiene, and nutrition. It assures us that we are taking care of our family well, making us worry-free.

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Absolutely!!:+1:

Thanks for sharing your view.:slightly_smiling_face:

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Yes, cooking is truly an essential skill that builds confidence and ensures that we are not depended on others for our basic needs also it gives us control over what we eat making healthier choices and understanding nutrition better.

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Feeling of independence by a simple act of cooking cannot be conveyed in words. :slightly_smiling_face:
Could not agree more

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Home cooking is always the best. But it should not be restricted only to females.

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You took the words right out of my mouth :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: . Cooking isn’t just an essential life skill for women.

Thanks for commenting.:+1: :heart:

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Absolutely, Cooking is a life skill just like driving, cleaning, laundry. Lets not assign gender roles to household chores. Period.

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Today’s lifestyle made everyday cooking hard.Which is leading to outside food consumption. But alternative or smarter way of healthy food is necessary to maintain health.

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Basic cooking is essential skill, anything above and beyond is a hobby.

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