28% of Americans Can't or Won't Cook

If you asked me if I could mow the lawn, I would admit I did not have the know how. But the truth of the matter is I don't want to know how. I was told ages ago in my early 20's that if I knew how to mow, I would be stuck performing that task forever. If instead I was told that mowing the lawn was a physically and mentally rewarding excercise that improved my health and saved me thousands of dollars a year, and was a benefit to my family, I could learn. In a recent survey, Impulse Research found that 28% of Americans say they do not know how to cook. Others avoid cooking because they hate cleaning up the kitchen, say they do not have time, and/or see grocery shopping as a time-consuming vacuum to their day. Alice Lichtenstein, DSc, directorof Tufts' HNRCA Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory, believes, "The results of this survey highlight what we have known for some time: the importance of incorporating food preparation and purchasing skills into the school curriculum. Food shopping, preparation and clean-up do not have to be time-consuming if you plan ahead and know some simple facts. This is the message we need to propagate and we need to back it up with examples of how to achieve it." This is EXACTLY why I have this web site, put together a 15 minute DVD, and blog about the importance of banning together with your spouse, friends, neighbors to form your own "Team of Cooks" to put dinner on your own table!!! My night 2 cook means you find a way to cook one night a week in quantity, then share the planning, cooking, cleaning-up , and shopping with others. Yahoo finance cited "Cooking Co-Op" as the #1 best way to save big bucks( they estimate a family of 4 could save $3-4,000/ per year- maybe more with the high cost of gas). The beauty of cooking yourself is you can always learn new recipes. This week-end I had the most delicious dinner eating out which included a sweet potato- black bean cake with a cilantro sauce- so I will be searching the internet to find that recipe. Where there is a will, there is a way. Don't tell an American they no can do- yes we can!