Entry #1: Cooking

Cooking is a very important skill to have when you are older, because food is something you need

to have in order to survive. Being able to learn how to cook is a very useful skill for everyone to have because it is healthier to have home cooked meals instead of eating fast food or take out. You are able to choose what you eat and you could make your favorite foods and also make sure that it's good for you. Also, cooking is a great skill to have because it can also help you if you are going to have people over and you want them to eat a good home cooked meal. According to Reporter Linker "More than one-third of Americans [36%] say they cook at home daily." I believe that more people should learn how to cook, it doesn't have to be complicated meals, it can be as easily as mac and cheese or even noodles.

    One of my favorite hobbies is cooking, because I like to cook for me and my family, I like to make

all kinds of food, from Seafood to Salads. I like how it brings my family closer together when we eat together as a family. I also like knowing and exploring different cultures through food, for example I learned about a West African recipe called Fufu. I love eating it, it's one of my favorite things to both cook and eat. I also learned that making food at home saves a lot of money because I like saving money since I have 4 kids. I also noticed that making food at home saves me about $150 a day from the people that live in my house.

    People that like to cook say that it helps with their anxiety and their time management skills, it makes sense that people like to cook because it has multiple pros to it, it also helps with people's mental health. According to National Library of Medicine "...inpatient and community-based cooking interventions yielded positive influences on socialization, self-esteem, quality of life, and affect." I believe that cooking can possibly help people's mental health because it's an activity that can be done with other people. And mental health can be helped by being with other people and talking and just being with other people. According to Mentalhealth.org "Friendship is a crucial element in protecting our mental health. Our friends can keep us grounded, help us get things in perspective, and help us manage life's problems." Mental health is something that everyone should be careful for and everyone should be taking care of themselves and I like to cook because it helps me feel good about being able to give my family what they want and need. And if they need food, then I'll give that to them. I'm sure other people feel the exact same way about their family members.

I also like to make home cooked meals, because some of my family members don't eat meat, are allergic to some foods, or have specific food preferences. So, I like to make a variety of foods for my entire family instead of driving around to get fast food from different places, or ordering from different places for my entire family to eat.

Cooking can also boost confidence; it can help make people feel better about being able to provide for others. Cooking is a useful tool that can help other people with their confidence by showing that you are

important and are able to contribute to the family or household. According to National Library of Medicine "Cooking confidence and healthy eating self-efficacy were positively associated with F&V intake. Perceived stress, healthy eating social support, and perceived food environment were not associated with F&V intake. When all the independent variables were analyzed simultaneously, only healthy eating self-efficacy remained positively associated with F&V intake." Which means that it helps people's confidence whether that be from feeling valid and important or even useful in your family or household to you just like to cook and be able to feel healthier by eating healthier and healthy food.

Overall, my favorite hobby is cooking, and I believe that people should cook at homes more because I believe that it's a useful tool to be anywhere. Like when you're at an Airbnb and you don't want to order food. Also, when you just feel like eating a home cooked meal because you are just tired of eating fast food or take out. In conclusion, try to eat as many home cooked meals, because it is better for your mental health and your body.