Learning to Cook for Healthy Weight Loss

Here's a bit of weight loss information you might already know about: The research is pretty clear -- those of us who eat out more often seem to be destined to have a harder time maintaining a healthy weight. And when it comes to healthy weight loss -- fuhgeddaboutit! (Okay, so the Sopranos are over, but some things just won't go away.)

So if we want to keep our healthy lifestyles intact, whether it be for healthy eating in general or specific problems like maintaining a type 2 diabetes program, it's also clear that we need to make food at home. That's a challenge for many reasons, not the least of which is that many of us just don't know how to cook. So Green Mountain has two solutions.

First, we're sponsoring a series of healthy cooking workshops this fall with our executive chef Jon Gatewood and sous chef Lisa Fennimore. Both are seriously talented in not just making good food, but also in teaching others how to do it themselves, even within time and financial budgets. Plus, fall is a great time to come to Green Mountain. The season is changing to winter, and it offers a special feeling that you don't find other times of the year. What's more, our rates drop. :-)

The second solution is more likely for most of us, I suspect. It only involves buying the new First Kitchen Cooks DVD and popping it into your computer to quickly learn how to make some basic dishes that you can then expand on. Alta Engstrom, RD, our communications director, has formed her own company to produce this valuable tool. It's targeted at young people -- her niece Allison stars in it, and being a 20-something, talks to her peers in it -- but it's really useful for anyone who doesn't know their way around the kitchen. Check it out on Alta's website First Kitchen Cooks; you can see a video clip of it there.

So do you already know how to cook? Then consider the DVD as a holiday gift for the young person/people in your life. Chances are they're still kitchen novices, and who knows, you might get a dinner invitation out of it!

Tags: healthy eating , healthy weight loss program , type 2 diabetes program , weight loss information