1. Because I love food and take-out often is not nutritionally complete without paying an obscene amount of money. Money isn't a direct factor for why I cook at

1. Because I love food and take-out often is not nutritionally complete without paying an obscene amount of money. Money isn't a direct factor for why I cook at home, its a definite bonus of everything since I can get a delicious and balanced meal for <$10 that would be $25+ eating out. Additionally, eating out often gets repetitive, what easy breakfast options are there out there? After you've had your fill of muffins and breakfast sandwiches you don't see many options 2. I plan what types of meals I want to eat the following week while at the grocery store. This week I wanted Pulled Pork, Quiche, and Chili so I worked around that. I'm hankering Butter Chicken and a solid steak so that'll likely happen next week. Side dishes like the vegetables are often just whatever I want and try to keep things original; there's much less planning in this aspect. 3. My diet staples will always be Chicken, Eggs, Greek Yogurt, Stir Fry, and Bananas. The rest sort of comes and goes as I get cravings or need variety. 4. No brand-name diets. I just track calories and adjust for what I'm shooting for at any moment. Currently cutting weight at ~1lb/week (TDEE-500cal) 5. My only time-saver tip is really to have your counters clean before you start and clean as you go so there isn't a giant pile of dishes at the end.