Healthy Home Cooking

Chef Mark Allison tells us how we can benefit from cooking our own meals

I’ve been a passionate chef for 37 years and have enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve traveled the world, seen amazing things and met amazing people along the way. Now at Dole, I use my expertise to come up with delicious healthy recipes and meals that can be made at home in very little time. All the recipes on the Dole website are geared to be easy for everyone and to get everyone involved no matter how young or old. From children to grandparents, it really is a family affair to work or play (as I like to call it) in the kitchen together then sit around the table to eat and converse.

This month’s Good Ol’ Fashioned Home Cooking article reinforces that it can be healthier and cheaper to prepare your own food rather than eating out. When you make it yourself, you decide what is going into your breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hopefully, no preservatives, colorants or additives, just fresh wholesome foods with plenty of fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds, nuts, whole grains and lean proteins. Plus, it costs less to buy the ingredients and make your own meals. Truth is, if you are eating out often, you are paying someone to prepare and serve the food and you don’t know what has gone into that dish like too much fat, salt and sugar.

Cooking at home is cheaper and healthier and brings the family together. Try a recipe off the Dole website and see for yourself how easy and enjoyable it can be – remember have fun in the kitchen!

These five simple changes have made a dynamic impact on the health of my family and can do the same for yours:

• Cook at home; it’s fun, it’s family time and you know what you are eating.
• Start cooking at a young age. Cooking teaches skills you will carry for a lifetime.
• Stop eating processed packaged foods that are full of preservatives, additives and colorants and loaded with fat, sugar and salt.
• Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts, beans and lean meats.

Enjoy life, it’s too short not to!

Published October 1, 2017