The path to diabetes prevention may lead to your stove, your oven and your pantry.

When researchers from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed data on nearly 100,000 men and women who were followed for up to 36 years, for each lunch eaten at home each week, the risk of developing diabetes went down 2%. For every weekly dinner, it dropped 4%. Those who ate 11 to 14 lunches or dinners at home each week compared with those who ate only six meals, for example, were 13% less likely to get diabetes.

Why? Many studies have found that home cooking tends to be lower in fat, sugar and calories than restaurant fare, especially fast food, so it’s no surprise that the eat-at-home folks in the study weighed less than those who more frequently ate out. They also drank fewer sugar-sweetened beverages.

Ready to get inspired? Try spicy chicken stir-fry for long life, cancer-fighting purple potatoes, a lentil dish you just can’t stop eating, a Thai oatmeal dinner, a memory-boosting dinner, fabulous fish recipes, quick autumn recipes and just about anything Mediterranean. And don’t forget lunch.