Home-made food is cheaper and healthier

Even if you're only catering for one or two, cooking is 5-10 times more expensive than buying takeaways or ready meals.* Yes, it takes a bit longer sometimes, but from a nutritional point of view, home made is best: you use fresh ingredients, control how much sugar, fat and salt you put in, and you don't add preservatives and additives. Keep it simple and it doesn't have to take hours either.  

- Mix tinned veg (beans, tomatoes, peas etc) with meat or fish, top with home-made cheese or bechamel sauce and pop in the oven to make a yummy home-made bake. So much better than something out of the microwave...   

- Mix tinned ingredients together to make filling salads: try tuna, kidney beans, tomatoes and gherkins.

- Make simple desserts with fresh fruit or fruit purée. Tinned or fresh fruit makes delicious and healthy desserts, either on its own, with yoghurt, or in home-made tarts, puddings and crumbles. And you can control the amount of sugar you put in.  

- Cook your fish and meat simply with herbs and veg. Heat chicken breasts or pieces of fish in a pan for a few minutes, then add a few tomatoes and mixed herbs and simmer until cooked. There's no need to over-complicate things.

* Source: Cerin.

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