All products featured on Self are independently selected by our editors.
However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
For example: Just cook more.
Getty / Sergey Skleznev
But really its not that simple.
A lot is implied and expected in this call for more home cooking.
Boxed mac and cheese and white-bread-and-bologna sandwiches dont cut it.
And for many people, this is asking a lot.
But presenting it as an easy solution or even as a choice that everyone can make isnt helpful.
It might actually be harmful.
The message to cook more from scratch comes from a place of socio-economic privilege.
I heard the same thing when I moved to the U.S. from Colombia as a teenager.
But she says the reality of actually doing it wasnt easy.
This creates an unrealistic and culturally narrow expectation for what acceptable healthy home cooking looks like.
It ultimately makes home cooking a status symbol, Tamara Melton, M.S., R.D.
A lot of this food is very whitewashed, Melton says.
Its also expensive and often made by food professionals and influencers who are paid to cook and photograph it.
Of course not everyone feels pressure to eat the way they see people doing it on Instagram.
But even a less Instagrammable home-cooked meal isnt as attainable as mass media makes it out to be.
Cooking from scratch also isnt in fact budget-friendly for everyone or more affordable than how they’re already eating.
But, her research proves this wrong.
Its also pretty much impossible to prioritize healthy food and cooking when youre worried about having enough food.
But many experts see this as another oversimplification of a very complicated problem.
Cooking healthy food also takes time, a luxury that many dont have.
Brenton and her coauthors find that time is an issue for many.
Its true that people spend less time cooking than they used to.
But its not fair to assume that this is always a choice.
A lot of it has to do with work schedules, Brenton says.
And even time-saving hacks dont work for everyone.
But what if you work on weekends?
What if youre taking care of small children and sick parents?
What if youd rather spend what little free time you have doing something other than cook?
Assuming that everyone can make time to cook if they choose to just isnt fair.
Melton emphasizes how important it is that community-based solutions actually take each communitys unique needs into account.
Ultimately experts agree that just encouraging everyone to cook healthy food for be healthier isnt very helpful.
