Research shows that people who prepare and cook meals at home are more likely to eat the recommended fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains needed in a balanced diet. Building cooking skills and knowledge increases the likelihood that people choose to prepare homecooked meals. To encourage more home-prepared meals, the Daviess County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent collaborated with the Green River Area Health Department Health Education Director/Registered Dietitian to present Savor the Flavor, Cooking with Herbs to a group of fifteen adults. 

The Savor the Flavor program focused on various cooking methods and flavoring techniques. Extension developed this program as a way to teach people how to make home-prepared meals that are flavorful and exciting. These methods are easy to incorporate into home cooking, yet people commonly say they are intimidated by cooking and don’t always know how to expand their skills in the kitchen to create flavorful meals. The goal of this program is to increase knowledge about cooking methods and ways to add flavor to food. Fifteen people participated in the workshop and received a cookbook with Diabetes friendly recipes, cooking utensils and extension publications on growing, harvesting, using and storing herbs. A post evaluation was given to the participants, 100% indicated they learned new ways to incorporate herbs into their cooking and common pairings of herbs with various dishes. Another 100% reported they increased their knowledge on herbs and spices.