People eating at home generally consume more vegetables and are eating less fast food than those who normally eat out; they also end up consuming less sugar. ⁣ ⁣ Food is medicine, and it’s ready and waiting to transform your life. Cooking at home is one of your most valuable and accessible tools for long-lasting health and disease prevention. ⁣ ⁣ Cooking gets a bad rap. I’ve heard all the excuses: It’s time-consuming, inconvenient, or difficult. Who has hours to chop ingredients, monitor cooking times, and do all the other herculean work that preparing a meal can seemingly demand?⁣ ⁣ Here’s the reality: Americans spend more time watching cooking shows on television than actually cooking. We are raising a generation of Americans who don’t know their way around the kitchen, where 50 percent of meals are eaten outside the home, and the ones that are eaten at home are usually reheated, factory-made science projects that resemble food but aren’t.⁣ ⁣ Convenience is making us sicker.⁣ ⁣ Real food can be inexpensive. Choosing simple ingredients, cooking from scratch, shopping at discount club stores, and getting produce from community-supported agriculture associations (CSAs), community gardens, or co-ops all build health and community and save money. ⁣ ⁣ Europeans spend nearly 20 percent of their income on food, and Americans only about 9 percent. Food is the best investment in your health.⁣