COOK!

Frequently eating foods prepared away from home is associated with obesity, higher body fat and a higher BMI. It makes sense, doesn't it? Restaurant owners don’t’ care about your pant size or blood pressure, they just want their food to taste delicious and ensure you come back for more. It’s all about that salt, sugar, and fat. Ahh the brain orgasm, or what Michael Moss calls the “bliss point” in his great book.

When you cook at home, it’s your hand that’s shaking that salt shaker, putting oil in the pan before you sauté, or sprinkling in that bit of sugar to cut the tartness of your dish. When you cook at home, you control the calories and the flavor. So why don’t we do it more often?

Some studies show that the lack of cooking knowledge, confidence, and skills can limit at-home meal preparation. Others explicate our lack of time. Another theory is the drudgery of cooking as many people cook alone, which is a historical exception. Currently we spend an average of 55 minutes per day preparing meals (prepping, cooking, cleaning), down almost 50% since 1965. All the while, most Americans spend up to 5 hours watching TV each day. As Michael Pollan suggests, cooking has become a spectator sport with many of us spending more time watching the Food Network than standing behind our cutting boards. Pollan's new books Cooked by the way is amazing - what a revelation to think that cooking, not nutrient or calorie intake, can quash the epidemic of preventable chronic disease we face.

So how do we get folks back into the kitchen? Or at least spending more time cooking meals from scratch rather than relying heavily on packaged and convenience foods (e.g., boxed flavored rice, pasta sauce jars, frozen pizzas), which are faster to prepare yet higher in fat, calories, salt and sugar?

PLAN AHEAD. Simplify mealtime by prepping as much as possible ahead of time:

• Take a few minutes each week to sit down and plan your weekly meals to develop your shopping list
• Schedule a date to visit your farmers market and/or grocery store each week. Make it a family affair or weekly date with your friends, family or lover
  
• On your days off pre-chop your veggies so that weeknight stir-fry, salad or casserole are only a few steps away
  
• Buy meats in bulk and cut desired pieces into strips or bite-sized pieces and package into zip locks (when on sale buy in bulk and freeze!); take meat out of freezer the day of so it’s defrosted and ready once you are
  
• Make double or triple the amount the recipe calls for, and freeze the extra for future use (Be sure to label and date each item)

KEEP IT SIMPLE. Go to your local library and pick up a few simple, user-friendly cookbooks. Some quick go-to meals include:

• Stir fry: Fix brown rice and serve with your pre-cut protein stir-fried with vegetables and your favorite spices
  
• One-pot meals
• Pasta: Cook whole wheat pasta and serve with marinara. Round out the meal with a salad or steamed veggies
  
• Crockpot it up!
  
• Sandwiches: serve along side a green salad
  
• Beans and rice
  
• Soup

                
STOCK YOUR KITCHEN: Healthy cooking starts with filling your cupboards. Keep these basics on hand, and you'll be able to whip up delicious meals in less than the time it takes for pizza to be delivered.
Basic healthy cooking tools:

• Good set of pots and pans
• Sharp knives and vegetable peeler
• Vegetable steamer/rice cooker
• Food processor
• Crock pot

Basic healthy cooking ingredients:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables (only enough you'll be able to use before spoilage)
• Frozen vegetables
• Tomato sauces (watch out for the sugar on the nutrition label)
• Canned chopped tomatoes and paste
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Protein (lean beef, chicken, pork, and/or sustainable seafood - both fresh and frozen)
• Canned fish (herring and sardines are rich in heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids and because they're near the bottom of the food chain they don't  accumulate the contaminants like mercury)
• Beans, beans, beans! (pinto, black, red, white, lentils, etc., both dried and canned)
• Rice (brown, red, black and mixed rice varieties)
• Pasta (preferably whole grain), bulger, quinoa
• Whole grain bread and/or pita
• Vegetable and chicken/beef stock
• Aromatics (garlic, onions, shallots)
• Oils (olive, peanut, coconut)
• Vinegar
• Herbs and spices

USE THE TACO BELL APPROACH: Learn to recombine a few basic ingredients into multiple tasty dishes.

PAPER PLATES? If dirty dishes are tempting you to eat out, use paper plates. While I don’t recommend using them for every meal, less cleanup time is a common barrier these help eliminate.

I'll leave you with a cute little video where Michael Pollan explains how cooking can change your life.

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