A culinary student prepares stir fry for their class. Learning how to cook healthy meals is an important part of becoming an adult.

The importance of cooking is a very overlooked aspect in the modern world. People can just order online and have food delivered to them without the hard work of preparing a meal. However, growing up and learning how to cook can help a person financially and physically.

“It’s an essential life skill. Everybody needs to know how to properly cook. It helps with food safety, making sure you’re not making yourself sick,” culinary teacher Becky Samardzic said. “[Learning how to cook is important] so people can be adequate adults living on their own and not completely rely on the microwave and instant meals that are filled with sugars and sodium and who knows what else.”

Cooking at home is healthier and less expensive. According to Forbes magazine, cooking at home “is almost five times more expensive to order delivery from a restaurant  than it is to cook at home.”

Even if people don’t have a parent or mentor to teach them how to cook, people can learn from YouTube and/or other media outlets.

“You can learn a lot from the Food Network cooking channel as well. I would recommend teaching yourself by watching the Food Network,” cafe manager Justin Grassham said.

Yet, learning to cook with the right foods can be an annoyance within itself as some processed foods may not carry what you’ll need for the job. 

“I don’t believe in all of the processed junk that’s out there; [People should] make meals from scratch,” Samardzic said.

Consuming fast foods and overly processed foods often can lead to several health issues, such as obesity and heart attacks. People can prevent these problems from occurring by learning how to cook at an adolescent age. 

“It’s important to learn because having a nutritious meal for yourself or your family is important for your health. So it’s very important that everyone is trained and learns how to keep themselves nutritional,” Grassham said. 

A good healthy meal to start learning can be Stir Fry, as it is an easy meal and requires no prior experience. 

“A stir fry with lean protein and a whole bunch of variety of vegetables and then picking an appropriate scratch,” Samardzic said.

Cooking can vary from person to person down to their ingredients and preferences. But anyone looking for a skill to learn that will save them money, keep them healthy, and help out the household or who is just looking for fun, cooking might fit that alley. 

“Cooking can be fun and exciting, and it’s something that could be done as a hobby,” Grassham said. “It’s fun, and to challenge yourself to try new recipes and new styles of cooking because it can be fun and exciting.”