Healthy eating is an infinitely complex topic that is often summarized in sound bites – a short guideline that offers a simple solution to a myriad of problems. For example: just cook more. These days, home cooking is touted as the holy grail of healthy eating and the way to achieve all the dietary ideals we’re supposed to strive for – whether it’s what we should eat less of ( salt, sugar, calories, processed foods). ) or what we should eat more of (vegetables, fiber, whole foods, vitamins and minerals).
Food reformers and celebrity chefs are propagating this gospel message loud and clear, and it is ubiquitous in public health messaging and food media. Heck, I’ve written my fair share of very easy weekday recipes in an effort to encourage apathetic cooks, and I’m guilty of implying that time-saving kitchen appliances, like slow cookers, are easy solutions for cooking on a tight schedule.
But in reality, it’s not that simple. Much is implicit and expected in this call for more home cooking. The message is: cook more from scratch, with mostly unprocessed foods like fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Boxed macaroni and cheese and white bread and bologna sandwiches aren’t enough. And for many people, that takes a lot.
To be clear, nutritious home cooking is not bad Thing: Experts generally agree that eating mostly unprocessed foods can lead to better health outcomes, and that it’s easier to control what you eat if you cook at home. But presenting it as an easy solution or even as a choice that everyone can make is not helpful. This could actually be harmful.
The message of cooking more from scratch comes from a socioeconomic place of privilege. “People who make these kinds of recommendations often underestimate and overlook the privilege they have,” Melissa Carmona, MS, a clinical mental health counselor who works primarily with immigrant communities, tells SELF. “When my clients consult doctors or other health professionals, they are often told: ‘You should cook more, eat better, change your lifestyle to improve your health.’ I heard the same thing when I moved to the United States from Colombia as a teenager. But she says the reality hasn’t been easy doing it. She couldn’t necessarily afford the recommended foods, and she also found that many of the cultural foods she was used to eating were not included in the Americanized image of healthy eating and home cooking.
I’ve been writing about food for seven years and I feel comfortable saying that extolling the virtues of healthy home cooking is a staple in the repertoire of a lot of Instagram influencers who are white and if the rest of their flow is a relatively good indication. disabled. This creates an unrealistic and culturally narrow expectation of what healthy and acceptable home cooking looks like. Ultimately, this makes home cooking a status symbol, says Tamara Melton, MS, RD, registered dietitian and co-founder of Diversify Dietetics, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the dietetics profession.
