How are your food skills? Do they influence your food security?
Some of us were lucky enough to have a family member who taught us to cook from scratch, preserve food, plan meals in a budget and enjoy a meal in good company. Others may have taken a home economics class, and a few may still use some food skills at home.
Busy lives and the temptation of “convenience”, however, have made nowadays kitchens a place where the microwave is king. Food comes in containers, bags and packages that make it barely recognizable, detaching ourselves from its source and any process that went into its making. There is also a growing prevalence of large scale and fast food retail outlets, along with the modernization of the global food system , which have altered the food supply with respect to food availability, affordability, and quality (Food Literacy for Life Call for Action Report)
Food skills, however, are listed as the second most important attribute for food literacy by the Food Literacy For Life study and report, they also add: “there has been a decline in domestic food preparation skills (known as ‘deskilling’ in the literature) due to a lack of introduction to and opportunity for the acquisition of cooking skills from parents, grandparents, and/or school environments. Independent of preparation skills, there are also several factors that drive an individual’s food selection including physiology, food availability, taste, price, marketing, convenience, social norms and cues. The foods people cook and the food preparation skills they utilize are all influenced by social, economic, and cultural contexts that are constantly changing.”
According to PROOF, Food Insecurity Policy Research: “Canadian adults in food insecure households do not have poorer food skills than those in food secure households. There is no indication that food insecurity is rooted in a lack of food skills or that gardening for food protects households from food insecurity. While interventions designed to increase food skills and promote gardening for food are important in reaching other public health goals like increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, the findings here suggest that such interventions are unlikely to impact food insecurity rates in Canada.”
While the studies above seem to contradict each other, they may be talking about the same (food skills) in different ways: people may have the knowledge and report they do what’s needed at the cognitive level, but may behave differently in the day-to-day reality…sounds familiar?
If so many have good food skills, we may wonder why the growing incidence of type two diabetes, obesity and other lifestyle and food-related health issues…why is so difficult to find fresh and whole foods in certain neighbourhoods and why we continue to see parents of small children feeding them with chips and sweets instead of fruits and veggies.
Many of us “know better” when it comes to food choices. Why, then, we make poor choices that affect our and our families’ budgets, health, other people and the environment?
The reasons may be complex, but I will risk some ideas:
- Being too busy: how many times have you ate in a rush, bought something in a fast-food chain or bagged something with low nutritional content because of being “too busy” (work, studies, commuting, life commitments, etc.)
- Marketing: we are all bombarded by messages to buy this or that. They appeal sometimes to our cravings (fast food chains) and sometimes to our trust (like when food advertisers promote things with inaccurate or misleading information to make something sound “natural”, “organic”, etc.)
- Information overload: are eggs good or bad? Should you go vegetarian? What about sugar? People are overwhelmed with too much and sometimes contradictory information and too much to choose from.
- False comfort and old patterns: we tend to buy what we know and have tasted, ignoring the rest.
- We do lack some food skills, after all: do we really know how to interpret food labels? Plan meals that are healthy and tasty while in a budget? Buy wisely and not following old patterns or paying attention to marketers? Preparing food from scratch, as well as snacks and bagged foods for work and school? Using leftovers wisely?
For this week’s challenge I suggest:
- Create a meal plan for a week, using the Canadian Food Guide (see resources to prepare a meal plan at the bottom of this post).
- Slow down a meal at a time: be mindful of what you are eating, savour it, if possible in good company and zero electronic widgets.
- Unplug the TV, computer or cellphone: don’t allow others to control your cravings!
- Learn a new recipe and try a new food item that is on season or sale: (male sure you read the label for nutrition facts!)
- Make breakfast worth repeating: don’t skip them! Make sure you eat a mix of fruits, protein, fibre and good fats and carbohydrates.
- Cook more vegetarian meals: Animal proteins are usually more expensive than vegetarian proteins. Find a small handful of vegetarian recipes that utilize beans, lentils, tofu, and whole grains together that the whole family will enjoy, and you’re sure to see savings on your grocery bill. Plus, eating more vegetarian meals is just better for the environment since raising animals is very resource intensive.
- Learn how to use left-overs safely: did you know that you can make a rich broth with the bones of a baked bird (chicken or turkey) and/or with parts of vegetables you usually discard? Or that you can make vinegar from fruit parts you don’t eat? Here is a guide to use some left-overs: https://www.cooksmarts.com/articles/guide-repurposing-leftovers/
- Take a Food Safe course if you haven’t done so: knowing how to handle food allows you to storage, prepare and eat safely and ensure your family is food-safe
- Follow the guidelines for a healthy eating plate:
Resources:
Harvard Healthy Eating Plate and Healthy Eating Pyramid: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/
7-Day Budget Meal Plan & Shopping List: http://www.eatingwell.com/article/126017/7-day-budget-meal-plan-shopping-list/
Food Skills Guides: https://www.cooksmarts.com/cooking-guides/
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