Lunchtime arrives, and your stomach starts rumbling. Now you must decide if you will make an attempt to cook at home or simply order takeout. Each choice has its advantages and disadvantages.
When you cook something yourself, you get to express your inner chef. Getting creative in the kitchen may be really enjoyable. You have complete control over the fresh items used in your dish. Cooking from home is usually healthier than a lot of restaurant cuisine filled with salt, oil, and mysterious ingredients.
The disadvantage is that preparing your own lunch takes more time and effort. You must go through the entire process of discovering a recipe, gathering all of the necessary goods and utensils, preparing everything, cooking it, and cleaning up the mess afterwards. Some days, you simply lack the stamina and patience to complete all of those processes.
That's where takeout provides beautiful convenience and ease. You just place an order and bam - delicious food appears! No need to go through the whole production of cooking everything yourself. Takeout removes all the hassle and hard work.
Of course, getting takeout isn't always as cheap or healthy as a simple homemade meal could be. You're at the mercy of whatever ingredients the restaurant decides to use and how they prepare it. Lots of excess oil, butter, and oversized portions are common. And those costs can really add up by frequently getting takeout instead of cooking at home.
So what's the solution? For me, it often comes down to just how ravenously hungry I am at that moment. If my stomach is absolutely roaring with hunger pangs, I'll go for the quicker and easier takeout option. I need food in my belly ASAP, without having to wait an hour preparing it myself first.
However, if I'm just regular lunchtime hungry and have some time to spare, I prefer making a simple meal at home. That way I can control exactly what goes into it to align with my diet and health goals.
For example, I might cook some spaghetti with a quick stew to go with it . It doesn't have to be a gourmet elaborate meal, just something nutritious that satisfies my appetite without all the saturated fat, sodium and calories from takeout.
Where I live in Lagos, Nigeria, there are tons of nearby food spots offering all kinds of local cuisines super fast, which makes takeout very tempting. From little roadside barbeque joints to casual sit-down eateries, hot food is always readily available if I need it quickly.
At the same time, many traditional Nigerian dishes are labor intensive when made from scratch at home. Things like pounded yam, jollof rice, egusi soup and others involve lots of prep, cooking multiple items, and time. So in those cases, takeout helps scratch that ethnic food itch without spending hours toiling in the kitchen myself.
Ultimately, I try to balance getting takeout for convenience while still cooking healthy homemade meals on a regular basis. If I have a busy, chaotic day but still want a fresh home cooked dinner, I'll rely on my blender, rice cooker and other easy appliances to quickly whip up nutritious basics like rice, spag,stew and veggies.
I've realized I feel my best both physically and mentally when I'm making an effort to prepare meals at home most of the time. But I give myself grace to get takeout occasionally too when tiredness, cravings or time constraints make it necessary. No need to be extreme one way or the other.
The most important thing is developing kitchen skills and meals you enjoy making at home, while also being okay treating yourself to the luxury of takeout now and then. With some balance and moderation, you can satisfy your ravenous lunchtime hunger pangs in a variety of ways without going overboard.
