The Secret to Great Home Cooking—

Child labor.

Seriously…

Sophia Loren said the secret to all good home cooking is love for those you are cooking for.

Who better than to do what they consider an art project rather than a chore?

Practically speaking, if they never learn how, what will they eat? The answer is obvious and the consequences are becoming even more so.

So why not let them cook? Of course they’ll need a teacher and that’s the tricky part these days but there are ways.

Three excellent resources to begin with:

Grandma—a wealth of knowledge. Some recipes may need a little tweaking for less fat or those 50’s recipes that used canned goods, but there’s really no need to worry about the butter or anything else if you can buy a high quality version of it.

A friend who loves to cook—get together for Sunday dinner and cook together. Ask your friend to teach your kids how to use a knife safely, then delegate as much as possible

A culinary student—if you live anywhere near a culinary school, It doesn’t need to be the CIA, some city colleges have a program, post an ad and set up a series of classes for your kids. Home made veggie soups are a great place to start.

Bottom line—they learn the joy of sharing and preparing a meal together. This valuable life skill not only guarantees a better quality of life—physically and socially—it builds self esteem. They feel good knowing they are making a contribution to their families well-being.

Other great reasons for cooking from scratch—

Studies show that when something like fresh baked garlic bread is on the table, the number of positive interactions between family members increases significantly.

While preparing your own meal, all of your senses get stimulated, not just your taste buds. With all of your senses being satiated you actually eat less.

Finally, and this one may not be proven yet scientifically but I’ve seen it enough times to know its true: real food doesn’t just please our taste buds; it nourishes our souls.

When we get what we came to the table for—the energy in a home cooked meal—we are truly satisfied. We get what we are truly craving—a connection that can only come when we are so drawn into the present moment there is no where else we would rather be. That’s the power of home cooking.

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