Kitchen Gadgets and Food Facts

Is cooking a dying art? Home cooking in American households might be a thing of the past. The obsession we have with cooking shows stops right then and there in front of the TV.  We like watching fancy meals being prepared by chefs in a cooking show, but would rather just be spectators than participants. An article( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3639863/ ) published in the United States National Library of Medicine analyzes the trend in the United States home preparation and consumption from 1965-1966 and then again from 2007-2008.  

The conclusion is simple: Regardless of your socioeconomic status,  Americans are spending less time than before cooking.  Home prepared meals are a rarity, and the average household in the United States spends over $3,000 dollars eating out. (http://www.businessinsider.com/americans-spending-food-bls-2017-2), that’s almost half the budget they have for food for a year.

According to research done by Marketing Charts(http://www.marketingcharts.com/television-13719) 8 in 10 US adults watch a cooking show, and 36% of those adults have purchased a kitchen gadget as a result of viewing the show. Why? To store the gadget, forget they own it and rebuy it again when they watch the rerun of the show.

But seriously, It is true that cooking is not for everyone, it is also true that a huge majority of women work outside the home. The time they want to spend at the kitchen is minimum, and the research has shown it. Home cooked meals are a thing of the past.  But, if your health and the health of your children is in jeopardy, most Americans would probably try to get back to the kitchen.  

Before you make a decision about cooking or not, here is a statistic for you.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (cdc.gov), More than one-third (36.5%) of U.S. adults have obesity. And 1 in 6 children are obese in the United States.  The various diseases link to obesity are many and scary.  Cooking your meals at home and making sure you use the best possible ingredients- and we do not mean expensive ingredients-can give your family a life full of health benefits.

If you are decided and want to tackle the dying art of cooking, where do you start? First, you need to have essential kitchen gadgets to help you navigate the journey of cooking. Most of us, whether we cook or not, have them. Here is a list:

1. A cutting board 
2. Knives
3. Spoons, spatulas, whisks, potato masher and measuring cups
4. Pots and pans of various sizes
5. Blender
6. Pressure cooker
7. Slow cooker
8. Baking dishes
9. Can opener
10. Wine opener to celebrate your first home cooked meal.

Personally, I love the pressure cooker and a garlic masher, but some of the things here are essentially in every kitchen, and you do not need a garlic masher if you are just starting.  Cooking a meal can be a family affair.  Children DO LOVE to cook and help prepare meals. Make it fun and eventually a home prepared meal will become easy for you, and will become a necessity for your family.