Cooking Ability Research Articles

Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a skill-based lifestyle intervention for enhancing cooking abilities and physical fitness in young adults with intellectual disabilities.

Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a skill-based lifestyle intervention for enhancing cooking abilities and physical fitness in young adults with intellectual disabilities.

Development of a frailty prevention program including nutrition and exercise interventions for older adults in senior daycare centers in South Korea using a mixed methods research design.

The growing aging population has led to an increased utilization of senior daycare centers. This study was conducted to design a program to enhance the health of older adults in senior daycare centers in Chuncheon City, South Korea. The study explored the health conditions and dietary patterns of older adults in senior daycare centers. Participants included staff and older adults from senior daycare centers in Chuncheon City. A mixed methods research design was used to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative insights were obtained through in-depth interviews with 26 staff members and older adults, coupled with observations made at 10 senior daycare centers. The quantitative component comprised structured questionnaires and physical measurements of 204 older adults at these centers. Many of the older adults relied on the meals provided by the center due to their limited cooking abilities. Dental health issues and dysphagia were common. Interviews highlighted the budgetary constraints of the centers in providing wholesome meals and the need for government support to alleviate meal expenses and enhance quality. A structured survey of older adults showed that the average age was 83.3 yrs, with an average of 2 chronic conditions per participant. Frailty analysis of the participants revealed that 56.2% were prefrail and 32.0% were frail. Almost half of the participants (47.0%) used dentures. Based on these findings, a preventive intervention program was proposed, addressing the specific needs and challenges of older adults while promoting overall well-being and preventing frailty. Tailored health promotion strategies are crucial in senior daycare centers. Recommended interventions include staff nutrition education, improved dietary plans, and cost-effective strength training programs. These interventions aim to reduce frailty and enhance the quality of life of older adults in the community via interventions in daycare centers.

The importance of enjoyment, sensory properties and perceived cooking abilities in legume and pulse consumption: a questionnaire study.

Legume and pulse consumption is currently recommended for health and sustainability purposes, but barriers to consumption can include low enjoyment and poor sensory properties. This work aimed to investigate the relative importance of a number of barriers and facilitators towards legume, including pulse, consumption with a specific focus on enjoyment, sensory properties and a possible role for perceived cooking abilities in these relationships. A cross-sectional questionnaire study assessed legume and pulse consumption, agreement and disagreement with statements relating to enjoyment, sensory properties, cooking abilities, practical aspects, healthiness, upbringing, social influences and quality issues, and four demographic characteristics. Complete responses were gained from 633 respondents with a mix of genders, ages, usual cooking responsibilities and usual eating habits. UK, March 2021 - September 2022. General UK adult population. Using multiple regression analyses, enjoyment and cooking abilities were found to be important for both legume and pulse consumption (smallest beta = 0·165, P < 0·01), and the sensory properties of these foods were also important for the consumption of pulses (beta = 0·099, P = 0·04). Perceived cooking abilities also reduced the importance of enjoyment and sensory properties for consumption, mitigated effects due to upbringing and practical aspects and increased the value of perceived health benefits (smallest beta = 0·094, P = 0·04). These findings demonstrate a clear role for enjoyment, sensory properties and perceived cooking abilities in legume and pulse consumption and suggest benefits for increasing cooking abilities for improved legume and pulse consumption, as result of both direct and indirect effects.

Does cooking ability affect consumer perception and appreciation of plant-based protein in Bolognese sauces?

Encouraging consumers to reduce their meat consumption is imperative in mitigating climate change effects related to the food industry. For some, transitioning away from meat may be facilitated by meat substitutes. However, these are not always accepted as suitable alternatives to meat due to a combination of psychological, situational, and sensorial aspects. The influence of factors such as cooking ability on hedonics and sensory discrimination of meat and meat substitutes is currently under-researched. The present study investigated such effects. Consumers (N = 101) of varying cooking ability and food neophobia (measured using questionnaires) tasted and evaluated six mince products (one beef and five meat substitutes – three soybean-based, one mycoprotein-based, and one oat-based) prepared in a Bolognese sauce. They rated liking for overall, appearance, aroma, taste/flavour, and texture, and profiled the products sensorially using check-all-that-apply (CATA). It was found that meat substitutes can be liked just as much as, if not more than, beef in the application of Bolognese sauce. No main effects of cooking ability were found for any modality of liking, though an interaction between cooking ability and sample was found for liking of flavour/taste. Consumers’ ability to sensorially discriminate between the Bolognese sauces was not dependent on their cooking ability. Several attributes that contributed to (dis)liking were identified. An additional online sample (N = 288) completed only the cooking ability and food neophobia questionnaires. A negative relationship was detected between cooking ability and food neophobia for the combined consumer and online datasets (total N = 389).

Dietary patterns of university students in the UK: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundUniversity represents a key transition into adulthood for many adolescents but there are associated concerns about health and behaviours. One important aspect relates to diet and there is emerging evidence that university students may consume poor quality diets, with potential implications for body weight and long-term health. This research aimed to characterise dietary patterns of university students in the UK and their sociodemographic and lifestyle antecedents.MethodsAn online, cross-sectional survey was undertaken with a convenience sample of 1448 university students from five UK universities (King’s College London, Universities of St Andrews, Southampton and Sheffield, and Ulster University). The survey comprised a validated food frequency questionnaire alongside lifestyle and sociodemographic questions. Dietary patterns were generated from food frequency intake data using principal components analysis. Nutrient intakes were estimated to characterise the nutrient profile of each dietary pattern. Associations with sociodemographic variables were assessed through general linear modelling.ResultsDietary analyses revealed four major dietary patterns: ‘vegetarian’; ‘snacking’; ‘health-conscious’; and ‘convenience, red meat & alcohol’. The ‘health-conscious’ pattern had the most favourable micronutrient profile. Students’ gender, age, year of study, geographical location and cooking ability were associated with differences in pattern behaviour. Female students favoured the ‘vegetarian’ pattern, whilst male students preferred the ‘convenience, red meat & alcohol’ pattern. Less healthful dietary patterns were positively associated with lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, low physical activity and take-away consumption. The health-conscious pattern had greatest nutrient density. The ‘convenience, red meat & alcohol’ pattern was associated with higher weekly food spending; this pattern was also identified most consistently across universities. Students reporting greater cooking ability tended towards the ‘vegetarian’ and ‘health-conscious’ patterns.ConclusionsFood intake varied amongst university students. A substantial proportion of students followed health-promoting diets, which had good nutrient profiles obviating a need for dietary intervention. However, some students consumed poor diets, incurred greater food costs and practised unfavourable lifestyle behaviours, which may have long-term health effects. University policy to improve students’ diets should incorporate efforts to promote student engagement in cooking and food preparation, and increased availability of low cost healthier food items.

Farmers\u2019 practices, utilization, conservation and marketing of Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) in Dosso Region, Western Niger

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) is one of the important legume crop grown in marginal soils of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite its importance in food security and income generation for small scale farmers, it remains as a neglected and underutilized crop and the productivity is very low in the field due to the lack of improved varieties and lack adequate farming practices. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate all aspects related to its production including source of seeds supply and farmers management practices, utilization, conservation and marketing. The results revealed that in this Region of Western Niger Bambara groundnut was mainly produced by female (95%) compared to male (5%). Farmers use their own recycled seed (80%) which is the main source followed by provision of recycled seeds by relatives (5%) and purchasing from the local market (15%). Also, this finding shows that there is a lack of adequate farming practices and the crop is mostly produced on inherited land without any inputs as reported by 80% of the respondents. Mono-cropping is mainly practiced by 97% of farmers while a few of them do rotation (2%) and most of pre and postharvest handling technologies are traditional. The most important traits preferred by Bambara farmers is seed colour (cream color), followed by high grain yield, early maturity and cooking ability according to the respondents with 98, 92, 88 and 72% respectively. Several features have to be taking into account in order to promote Bambara nut including its ability to do well in harsh conditions, its nutritional benefits, and its ability to fix nitrogen, thereby increasing soil fertility in mixed cropping systems.

P165 - Effect of Cooking Classes on Healthy Eating Behavior Among College Students

Background (Background, Rationale, Prior Research, and/or Theory): Many college students do not understand how to prepare healthy meals accounting for food safety, which can prompt students to consume convenient, often unhealthy foods. Objective: To determine if cooking classes tailored to college students would improve knowledge and behavior to eat healthfully and practice food safety. Study Design, Setting, Participants, Intervention: A one-group, pre- and post-test model was used. Three cooking-classes were developed with parameters of limited cooking skills, limited access to kitchen equipment, and shelf-stable ingredients that are readily available on campuses (i.e. convenience stores and salad bars). Participants (n = 38) were recruited using tabling, posters, email, and social media. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Pre- and post- surveys assessed nutrition knowledge, frequency of healthy eating, cooking confidence, cooking ability, cooking frequency, and food safety knowledge. Participants were also queried on their perception of the cooking classes and their dietary behaviors post-intervention. Results: Scores for nutrition knowledge (P = .000), cooking confidence (P = .026), ability to put together ready-made ingredients to make a complete meal (P = .016), and preparing dishes from basic ingredients (P = .006) increased. There were no changes in ability to cook convenience foods, cooking frequency, food safety knowledge, nor frequency of healthy food consumption. However, 83% of participants perceived that they were consuming healthier diets because of the cooking classes. Conclusions and Implications: Cooking classes tailored to college students with limited access to cooking facilities, equipment, and ingredients that can be purchased on campus were effective in improving nutrition knowledge, cooking confidence, the ability to put together ready-made ingredients to make a complete meal, and the ability to prepare dishes from basic ingredients. Despite participants' reports that their diets were healthier after the cooking classes; there was no significant change in the frequency of choosing healthier foods detected via survey assessments. Cooking classes tailored to the college student population can be used to educate about nutrition and food safety and improve confidence and cooking ability. Funding: USDA. The following is the supplementary data to this article: Download .pdf (.49 MB) Help with pdf files Poster

P10 - Adolescent Self-Assessment of Cooking and Kitchen Skills

Background (Background, Rationale, Prior Research, and/or Theory): The Netter Center for Community Partnerships, Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative (AUNI) provides summer high school programming and job development focusing on peer nutrition education. This study examines self-assessments of adolescents at the conclusion of the program compared to a control group of Philadelphia high school students who did not participate in the program. Objective: To assess and compare adolescent confidence in cooking skills at the end of a six week nutrition education program. Study Design, Setting, Participants, Intervention: The AUNI Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) summer program engaged 36 primarily African-American adolescents for six weeks, 20 hours per week, in cooking, nutrition education, and peer education and community outreach activities. Evidence-based nutrition curriculums were used along with Career and College Readiness training. At the program conclusion, students were given a survey to self-assess their cooking skills and knowledge. Outcome Measures and Analysis: The survey was constructed with a chef who determined cooking skills necessary for home and professional settings. Three questions were asked about skills regarding working with community members. Adolescents were asked to rate their skills on a scale of zero (no knowledge) to five (expert). The same survey, with the omission of one program specific question, was administered to students who did not participate in the program. Results were averaged for each question and each group. Results: For eight of the nine questions, program students (n = 32) average rating of their skills were statistically significantly higher (P < .01) than the averages of non-program students (n = 35). For all questions, program students averaged above four, demonstrating a high level of skill confidence. Conclusions and Implications: Nutrition education programs that include a skill building and community outreach component could increase students' confidence in their own cooking abilities. Based on existing research, this could have an impact on improved nutrition related behaviors. Funding: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—Education. The following is the supplementary data to this article: Download .pdf (.54 MB) Help with pdf files Poster

Canadians’ Family Meal Status: A Comparison between Anglophones and Francophones

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;In this paper, we studied Anglophones and Francophones’ family meal such as, frequency of family meals, shopping for groceries, selecting foods based on nutrition labels, personal cooking abilities, and types of foods used when preparing meals. We also investigated the association between the amounts of minutes eating meals at home and some socio-demographic characteristics. Data from Canadian Community Health Survey: Food Skill 1 on 2012 and General Social Survey: Time Use was analyzed. A decreasing trend was found for the more amount of time spent on meals at home for Anglophones and Francophones in the last two decades. However, Francophones still spent more amounts of time on meals at home compared to their Anglophone counterparts.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Exploring the Concern about Food Allergies among Secondary School and University Students in Ontario, Canada: A Descriptive Analysis.

Our objective was to explore the perceived risk of food allergies among students in Ontario, Canada. We analyzed blinding questions (“I am concerned about food allergies”; “food allergies are currently a big threat to my health”) from three existing food safety surveys, given to high school and university undergraduate students (n = 3,451) circa February 2015, using descriptive analysis, and explored how concern related to demographics and self-reported cooking ability using linear regression. Overall, high school students were neutral in their concern, although Food and Nutrition students specifically were significantly less concerned (p = 0.002) than high school students overall. University undergraduates were moderately unconcerned about food allergies. Concern was highest in younger students, decreasing between 13 and 18 years of age and plateauing between 19 and 23 years. Among students aged 13–18 years, concern was higher among those who worked or volunteered in a daycare and who had previously taken a food preparation course. Among students aged 19–23 years, concern was higher among females and those with less advanced cooking abilities. Concern was significantly correlated with perceiving food allergies as a personal threat. This study offers a first exploration of perceived risk of food allergies among this demographic and can guide future, more rigorous assessments.

Food safety knowledge of undergraduate students at a Canadian university: results of an online survey.

BackgroundFoodborne diseases are an important public health issue, and young adults are an important demographic to target with food safety education. Our objective was to assess the food safety knowledge of undergraduate students at a Canadian university, to identify potential areas for such education.MethodsIn February 2015, we conducted an online survey of 485 undergraduate students at a university in Ontario, Canada. We assessed various food-related factors, including cooking frequency and prior food handling or preparation education. We then modeled the relationship between ‘overall knowledge score’ and the demographic and food skills/cooking experience predictors using multivariable log-binomial regression, to determine factors associated with relatively higher proportions of correct responses.ResultsRespondents were, on average, 20.5 years old, and the majority (64.8 %) lived off campus. Students cooked from basic ingredients infrequently, with 3 in 4 doing so a few times a year to never. Students averaged 6.2 correct answers to the 11 knowledge questions. Adjusting for other important covariates, older age and being a current food handler were associated with relatively higher knowledge, whereas working/volunteering in a hospital and infrequent cooking were associated with relatively lower knowledge. Males in the Faculty of Science had relatively higher knowledge than females in the Faculty of Science, both of whom had relatively higher knowledge than all students in other Faculties. Among students who had never taken a food preparation course, knowledge increased with self-reported cooking ability; however, among students who had taken such a course, knowledge was highest among those with low self-reported cooking ability.ConclusionsConsistent with other similar studies, students in Faculties outside of the Faculty of Science, younger students, and those who cook infrequently could benefit from food safety education. Supporting improved hand hygiene, in particular clarifying hand washing versus hand sanitizing messages, may also be important. Universities can play a role in such education, including as part of preparing students for work or volunteer placements, or as general support for student health and success.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3818-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Adults' food skills and use of gardens are not associated with household food insecurity in Canada.

To determine the extent to which Canadian adults' food preparation and cooking skills and use of home or community gardens relate to their household food insecurity status; and to compare the food shopping and cooking behaviours of adults in food-secure and food-insecure households. Data were drawn from two Rapid Response Modules appended to the Canadian Community Health Survey in 2012 and 2013. The analytic sample comprised 16,496 respondents 18 years and older. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between food insecurity and adults' self-rated cooking abilities, food preparation skills score, use of gardens, food shopping behaviours, and cooking behaviours, while adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics. Adults in food-insecure households did not differ significantly from others with respect to their food preparation skills or cooking ability, and neither variable predicted the odds of household food insecurity when socio-demographic characteristics were taken into account. Adults in food-insecure households were less likely to use a garden for food, but gardening was unrelated to the odds of food insecurity. Shopping with a budget was more common among adults in food-insecure households, but no other differences in food shopping behaviours were observed after adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics. Adults in food-insecure households were as likely as others to adjust recipes to make them healthier, but they had higher odds of adjusting recipes to reduce their fat content. Our findings suggest that household food insecurity in Canada is not a problem of insufficient food skills.

Barriers and facilitators to cooking from ‘scratch’ using basic or raw ingredients: A qualitative interview study

BackgroundPrevious research has highlighted an ambiguity in understanding cooking related terminology and a number of barriers and facilitators to home meal preparation. However, meals prepared in the home still include convenience products (typically high in sugars, fats and sodium) which can have negative effects on health. Therefore, this study aimed to qualitatively explore: (1) how individuals define cooking from ‘scratch’, and (2) their barriers and facilitators to cooking with basic ingredients. Methods27 semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants (aged 18–58 years) living on the island of Ireland, eliciting definitions of ‘cooking from scratch’ and exploring the reasons participants cook in a particular way. The interviews were professionally transcribed verbatim and Nvivo 10 was used for an inductive thematic analysis. ResultsOur results highlighted that although cooking from ‘scratch’ lacks a single definition, participants viewed it as optimal cooking. Barriers to cooking with raw ingredients included: 1) time pressures; (2) desire to save money; (3) desire for effortless meals; (4) family food preferences; and (5) effect of kitchen disasters. Facilitators included: 1) desire to eat for health and well-being; (2) creative inspiration; (3) ability to plan and prepare meals ahead of time; and (4) greater self-efficacy in one's cooking ability. ConclusionsOur findings contribute to understanding how individuals define cooking from ‘scratch’, and barriers and facilitators to cooking with raw ingredients. Interventions should focus on practical sessions to increase cooking self-efficacy; highlight the importance of planning ahead and teach methods such as batch cooking and freezing to facilitate cooking from scratch.

Complexity and Similarity of Recipes based on Entropy Measurement

Background/Objective: New cuisines are being constantly created by people and shared on the internet. Cooking is usually classified and evaluated by subjective factors such as the personal cooking ability. Methods/Statistical Analysis: In this paper, we define the objective method for measuring the recipe complexity using the probabilistic entropy measurement. Through the cooking ingredients and cooking verbs in a recipe, we measure the recipe complexity in terms of the recipe preparation and the recipe procedure. And we calculate the recipe similarity by the entropy of common ingredients and construct the social network of recipes that observes the whole correlation between recipes. Findings: As a result, the most difficult recipe in the cooking preparation is ‘Braised Dongtae Seafood’ that needs 27 ingredients. And the easiest recipe is ‘Boiled Potato’ that only needs 3 ingredients: ‘Potato’, Salt’ and ‘Sugar’. In the cooking procedure, ‘Jeolla-Province Mosi-Songpyeon’ is the most difficult recipe that uses 18 verb types and 28 verbs. The easiest recipe is ‘Healthy Silk-Fowl Soup’ that only uses ‘Boil’ to cook. Through the recipe network, we can measure the distance of the recipes and minimize the effort in ingredient preparation and cooking procedure when we planed the cooking schedule to prepare for many dishes. Application/Improvements: If we plan to cook a schedule, the easy path to cook could be indicated by the shortest path between the recipes in the network.

Adolescent Cooking Abilities and Behaviors: Associations With Nutrition and Emotional Well-Being

ObjectiveTo determine the relationship between cooking and selected indicators of diet quality, mental well-being, and family relationships. DesignData were collected as part of Youth’12, a nationally representative health and well-being survey. SettingSecondary schools in New Zealand. ParticipantsA total of 8,500 students. Main Outcome MeasuresCooking ability and frequency of cooking, nutritional behaviors, mental well-being, depressive symptoms, and family connections. AnalysisMultiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between cooking ability/frequency and indicators of health and well-being, controlling for the sociodemographic characteristics of students. ResultsApproximately 80% of students reported that they can cook a meal from basic ingredients either fairly or very easily. Reported cooking ability was positively associated with better nutritional indicators, better mental health indicators, and stronger family connections (P = .01). For example, adolescents reporting the greatest cooking abilities were approximately twice as likely to meet the recommendations for fruits and vegetables (odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.6–2.8). Likewise, adolescents reporting the greatest cooking abilities also reported lower levels of depressive symptoms (P < .01) and greater mental well-being (P < .01) than those with less cooking ability. However, greater cooking ability was also associated with higher body mass index (P < .01). Overall, similar statistically significant relationships were observed with frequency of cooking, although not for young people who cook most days. Conclusions and ImplicationsLearning to cook and having the opportunity to cook may provide a unique means for adolescents to develop life skills and contribute positively to their families. Future research examining the relationships between cooking and health may include measures beyond nutrition, such as social relationships and emotional well-being.

Assessment of key food skills among Canadians; results from the Canadian Community Health Survey rapid response modules on food skills (LB380)

Food skills contribute to healthier eating; yet, some studies suggest that these skills are declining. This project aims to strengthen our understanding of food skills in Canada and to provide baseline data for monitoring population trends.Two Canadian Community Health Survey modules on food skills were conducted in Nov‐Dec 2012 (n=9559) and Jan‐Feb 2013 (n=10156) among a representative sample of Canadians aged 12 years and older. Questions focused on measuring cooking ability, the transference of skills to children, meal planning, shopping practices and mechanical cooking skills.With regards to cooking skills, most Canadians reported that they can prepare most meals (39%) or cook most dishes with a recipe (24%). Approximately 15% of Canadians do not participate in meal preparation. Most adults living with children share a family meal, sitting at the table together either every day (48%) or almost every day (25%). Further, children make suggestions for family meals (67%), help prepare meals (60%) and participate in shopping for groceries (68%) in most households with children. When shopping for groceries, most Canadians plan their meals (62%) and use a grocery list (74%) and nutrition labels (63%). While most Canadians reported being very good at peeling, choping or slicing (63%) and cooking raw meat/chicken/fish (61%), many reported basic to no skills in canning (63%) and freezing (31%).These findings will help inform the development of intervention and promotion programs focused on improving foods skills in Canada.

Tasting but not Tasting: MasterChef Australia and Vicarious Consumption

This article explores how people “taste” food media in order to develop cultural taste. It examines the vicarious consumption practices of three households of the popular reality television talent quest, MasterChef Australia (MCA). Vicarious consumption is the enjoyment of something, in this case gourmet food, through a third party (Veblen). The paper argues that the audience’s use of vicarious consumption is an empowering practice. As such, the article challenges Veblen’s negative view of vicarious consumption – the sentiment of which continues to underpin contemporary reality television and food media discourse (see Rousseau). Furthermore, this article expands upon Adema’s exploration of the practice in relation to food television in which she highlights that households gain more pleasure from watching food television rather than cooking and eating. Each audience member engaged in vicarious consumption and used MCA in conjunction with other food media for different reasons. For instance, one viewer used vicarious consumption to control her food intake, while another gained nostalgic pleasure from food media. These approaches to vicarious consumption allow the MCA viewers to negotiate conflicting discourses of cultural taste to construct a positive identity for themselves as "everyday foodies." "Everyday foodies" are individuals who embrace and incorporate an appreciation of gourmet food culture into their busy lifestyles, but are limited by time, money, health or confidence.

Bleaching ability of pre-hydrolyzed pulps in the context of a biorefinery mill

Autohydrolysis and acid hydrolysis treatments were applied on mixed softwood chips. The cooking ability was studied by varying the alkali and duration of the cook. Pulps with kappa numbers varying from 30 to 70 were obtained. The bleaching ability of these pulps was studied and compared to control kraft pulps. The prehydrolyzed pulps were shown to be more efficiently delignified by oxygen than the control kraft pulps starting from the same kappa number. Furthermore, the final bleaching was also easier for these pulps. It was also shown that extensive oxygen delignification applied on high-kappa pre-hydrolyzed pulps could be a way to improve the overall yield, which is a prerequisite for the development of such biorefinery concepts. Lignin was isolated from the control kraft and the two pre-hydrolyzed kraft pulps and analyzed by 13C NMR. Lignins from pre-hydrolyzed kraft pulps had similar free phenolic groups content to the control kraft lignin, but their aliphatic hydroxyl groups and β-O-4 content were lower than for the control lignin. The quaternary carbon content was the same for all the samples.

School Pantry and Meals (SPAM): A Pilot Study of Individualized Meal Planning and Food Preparation Instruction

To provide high school students with individualized meal planning and food preparation skills so they can better provide nutritious family meals using foods available from their School Food Pantry Program. Food insecure high school students participating in the new, bi-monthly School Food Pantry Program that is sponsored by the regional foodbank. Based on research using the Stage-Environment Fit Theory, increasing decision making opportunities for adolescents within the home, such as preparing food, will result in higher self-esteem and confidence. The Behavior Capability construct of the Social Cognitive Theory was also applied. A pilot test of the SPAM nutrition education program, which includes meal planning, food preparation, food safety practices, and tips for selecting more nutritious food was designed and implemented. Students prepared four different meals using foods received from the school food pantry and combined written recipes to fulfil the “MyPlate” recommendations. The students ate the meal together, taking remaining food home to their families. Based on pre- and post- questionnaires, students’ ability to correctly identify MyPlate food groups increased 30% with a high level of satisfaction and a desire for future classes noted. Students improved basic nutrition knowledge during this pilot program and enjoyed the individualized cooking instruction, finding it useful in their lives. The interest in future classes provides the opportunity for students to develop their cooking abilities and build confidence in meal planning to get them moving from good to great!

Preventing game over

PurposeAn effective means to promote optimal nutrition for any group of consumers is to expand nutrition professionals' understanding of the cohort's food choice processes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the situated food choice influences of the videogames subculture; a known consumption enclave for calorie dense low nutrient foods. The investigation is conducted by application of an abbreviated version of Furstet al.'s model of the food choice process as a conceptual framework.Design/methodology/approachThis investigation uses an interpretive research strategy and adopts a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. In total, 14 purposively sampled semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews were carried out with members of the videogames subculture.FindingsInformants' food choices and preferences during social gameplay were strongly influenced by beliefs related to appropriate food behaviour and ideal characteristics of foods suitable for grazing. All informants described some constraints imposed by the physical surroundings and environmental nature of gameplay such as issues of messiness and inability to eat with utensils while gaming. Social structure played an important role in informants' food choices, and much of this structure was built around the hedonic intersection of food and gameplay. Informants' food choices were also influenced by poor cooking abilities and unwillingness to devote much effort to meal preparation during gameplay.Practical implicationsUsed in conjunction with theories of behavioural change, the insights gathered here should help inform interventions and communications strategies. Both commercial and social marketing domains have a role to play in positively influencing gamers' diets.Originality/valueThe paper offers social marketers insight into the influences that underpin unhealthful food choices within the videogames subculture and how to positively bring about change.