People who frequently cook meals at home eat healthier and consume fewer calories than those who cook less, according to the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research.   Tufts University agrees, “restaurant meals, whether fast food or not, tend to be higher in calories and lower in nutritional quality than foods prepared at home.”

The Kenton and Boone County Cooperative Extension Agents addressed this topic in coordination with the Family Mealtime initiative by holding a series of classes on cooking beef, chicken, and fish at home. High protein meat and fish were selected, as they continue to be considered first when families are planning for home meals. Topics were taught by Family and Consumer Sciences Agents, along with experts from The Kentucky Beef Council and a local fish market owner.

A total of 5 learning sessions were taught at the Boone and Kenton County Extension offices, with over 140 attending.  These lecture/demonstration classes were targeted to adult family members who are involved in family meal planning and preparation.  Immediate class evaluations found that:

            93% planned to purchase and prepare more fresh fish at home
           91% planned to try new techniques to prepare beef and use a thermometer to check beef cooking temperatures for safety
           56% planned to cook more chicken, and learned not to wash chicken before cooking, plus how to clean and sanitize the preparation area

   3 month follow up evaluations yielded the following:

            -84% purchased and cooked more fresh fish, and tried new preparation methods
           -80% were preparing more chicken for their family at home
           -76% tried new preparation methods for beef
          -71% were using a meat thermometer to check on safe cooking temperatures
          -48% were preparing more beef at home

The research from Johns Hopkins concludes, “….people who cook infrequently may benefit from cooking classes, menu preparation coaching….” These food preparation classes provided important base information for families to prepare more meals at home, and gain all its benefits.