DestinationSpaVacations Into the Kitchen

From DestinationSpaVacations

Health
Into the Kitchen
By
May 11, 2010 - 1:32:12 PM

Canyon Ranch (Massachusetts)

Nutritionists and foodies are going around these days quoting the latest New York Times bestselling book by writer Michael Pollan, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual (Penguin, 2009).

It's a considerable (but still-concise) expansion of Pollan's super-laconic, seven-word rule for healthy eating from In Defense of Food (Penguin, 2009) - "Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much." Food Rules is great because it gathers a tremendous amount of practical wisdom about eating well into 64 sensible rules and one short, accessible little book.

Rule 49 is "Eat slowly," 58 is "Do all your eating at a table" and 59 is "Try not to eat alone." Combined, these add up to leisurely meals shared with family and friends. Hear, hear!

This picture of a meal well-eaten is reinforced by Rule 51, "Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it." As Pollan explains, this honors the cook in addition to reminding you to slow down and savor every bite.

The shortest rule in the book is the next-to-last one: "Cook." All the research points to a clear connection between the decline of home cooking and the rise of obesity in the U.S.

When you cook your own food, you know what's in it. And while cooking every meal from scratch is just not practical for most people, there's much to be gained by making the effort to get into the kitchen more often.

Share it with the kids
Cooking is most satisfying when the preparation of the meal, as well as the enjoyment of it, is shared - and particularly when it's shared with children. Kids love to help in the kitchen, and there's no better way to teach them about the basics of healthy eating - as well as the very valuable basics of cooking - than to let them join in. And it's good to let them help with more than cookies - they'll learn that cooking is about more than making sugary treats.

Some rainy Sunday afternoon, why not try a new recipe with lots of preparation that small hands can help with? The tiniest child can help scrub vegetables, crank a salad spinner and push the "on" button of the food processor - and get a kick out of all of it. And are kids more likely to try new things - and like them - when they've helped create what's being served?
You bet.