I've spent the last decade counseling families on meal planning, and the most common mistake I see isn't overeating or food waste—it's the assumption that cooking from scratch is always healthier and cheaper than buying prepared meals. In reality, a frozen vegetable stir-fry with pre-cooked chicken can cost less per serving and have similar nutrition to a homemade version, once you factor in time and ingredients that spoil. But does that mean we should ditch home cooking entirely, or is the ritual of preparing meals worth more than the numbers on a receipt?