The dying art of cooking is creating a dog's dinner in kitchens, a study has found.
Health experts say parents need to make more of an effort to learn basic skills, and blaming lack of time is just a cop-out.
The warning comes as spending on takeaway food smashes records and McDonald's is criticized over the promotion of new family dinner boxes as no-hassle, no-dishes alternative to making meals from scratch.
Appalled nutritionists say the bulk purchase deals (BOGOF or 3 for 2), heavily aimed at households trying to save money, fly in the face of efforts to fight the nation's obesity problem. This plays into the feeling that cooking for ourselves is simply too hard. "Offering a cheap meal with virtually no nutritional benefit and some limp lettuce sends the wrong message." A poll of 16,500 mothers nationwide has revealed, half believe serving nutritious, balanced meals is a challenge. Hundreds confessed their kids refused to eat "healthy stuff". And one in three were worried their children were not getting enough exercise.
The research for Nestle found 11 per cent of mums felt guilty that they cut corners when preparing food for kids and caved in to convenience.
Dr Broad said traditional cooking skills were evaporating as consumers were seduced by fast food and instant solutions on supermarket shelves. "Everywhere you look is a microwave packet or a 'just add water' solution, from gravies to pasta sauces, pies and lasagnes," she said. "Growing numbers of people just haven't had the training from their own parents or school to cook from scratch."
Food Matters - You are what you Eat
Many healthy meals such as stir-fry, salads, oven baked or slow cooked meals could be completed for the same or less cost than fast food. In the view of many, people no longer cooking has contributed to an overall decay in personal well-being, too, and that includes our obesity epidemic. It’s not merely just the individual who’s to blame, though.
In many urban areas of the country, there are more fast food restaurants than there are shops to purchase whole and fresh foods; grocery shops are dwindling in numbers to the point where many people have no fresh food within reasonable walking distance. Around schools and colleges, fast-food and other convenience eateries have set up shop in the hopes of steering students away from the comparably more healthy cafeteria food choices. Many of those students are taking the bait, and eating fast food every day, as was lamented by a public school teacher who raised his hand to ask a question after a sneak-preview screening for Food Inc
Here are a few quotes from other concerned voices on the “Death” of Home Cooking and its repercussions.
“Unfortunately for the last few generations, cooking has been left by the wayside in exchange for cheap, convenient substitutes as people became increasingly squeezed for time and energy.” — Rob Smart, in the Huffington Post.
“As we lost our skills at the stove, we also lost something less tangible but no less important: the opportunity to spend time together in the kitchen, talking and cooking.” — Amanda Hesser, in The New York Times
People hate inconvenience.” — Joel Salatin, at a panel discussion after a screening of Fresh
“In the last depression, we didn’t have McDonald’s,” alluding to the fact that the fast food chain’s sales have been climbing ever since the recession began. Frozen food like pot pies and TV dinners are on the rise, too.
I think this goes to show that cooking for everyday consumption is already out the window for many people.
Fast Food Nation
But that doesn’t mean that it can’t enjoy a little play for novelty’s sake, does it? So rather than overwhelm oneself with make-ahead meals, weekly grocery shopping and recipe-hunting, perhaps all those non-cookers out there might want to think of preparing a meal as a fun recreation. For the sake of preserving an archaic tradition. They might just find it rewarding enough to keep it alive.
