Preparing more meals yourself at home is one of the surest ways to start eating more healthily, but a new survey finds that Americans have plenty of excuses for eating out or grabbing takeout instead. Among the most startling findings is that 28% say they dont know how to cook. More than half of the 1,087 people surveyed by Impulse Research dont cook because a spouse or partner does that duty. But 25% said they avoid cooking because they hate cleaning up the kitchen afterward, while 21% claim they dont have time to cook. The chore of grocery shopping also keeps people from making meals at home, with 66% citing supermarket visits as more time-consuming than any other household task.
Alice Lichtenstein, DSc, director of Tufts HNRCA Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory, comments, 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.