Cooking at home is one of the most rewarding things a family can do together for a number of reasons. Not only is it an incredible way to bond and inspire creativity, it allows you to control what your family consumes, decide where your ingredients come from, and determine how best to nourish your children.
Let's face it, just because a meal is home cooked doesn't always mean it is healthy for you. I've made my fair share of meals that have gone overboard on butter, cream, bacon, sugar and salt. Sometimes my heavy hand use of rich ingredients was done to “wow” my dinner guests with flavors. Other times it's been accidental, the result of following a recipe only to discover the nutritional value is pretty low after all the added “flavor.”
In the case of the latter, I would venture to guess that most of us look forward to indulging in delicious, satisfying and quick-to-assemble meals each night. Following a recipe and considering healthy ingredients and portion size is probably the least of your concerns.
Thankfully, First Lady Michelle Obama has made this her mission to address this issue occurring in home all across America. Whether you follow politics or not, you've likely heard about the beautiful vegetable garden she's planted at The White House or her get healthy initiatives to get America's children more active and eating better.
Just last week, the First Lady launched a new initiative intended to help families across the country identify healthier recipes that meet the Department of Agriculture's MyPlate program standards for healthy eating. The USA Today story says:
“Five media companies—Condé Nast Magazines, Hearst Magazines, Meredith, Food Network and Time Inc. with 18 cooking websites, from AllRecipes.com to FoodNetwork.com to GoodHousekeeping.com—are working with the First Lady's Let's Move! campaign to identify the MyPlate-worthy recipes. More than 3,000 recipes will be featured on a new Pinterest page.”
"This partnership takes the guesswork out of finding healthy recipes and gives parents the information and the tools they need to make healthy choices for their families every day," Mrs. Obama said in a statement.
As a parent who enjoys cooking and eating a home cooked meal over going to a restaurant, I hope this initiative takes off and gives people the knowledge and courage to turn on their stoves and make healthy meals. Home cooks will now have access to thousands of healthy recipes, including easy meals that can be prepared quickly.
Here's to spending more time in the kitchen at home and to the fight against childhood obesity!
Nathan Kam is a Honolulu public-relations executive, husband and a proud daddy of two incredible kids, Ensen (5) and Avery (2). He enjoys cooking, gardening, traveling, blogging and golfing. You can reach him via email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or via his personal Kam Family Blog.
