Developing the right taste buds and attitudes to food

Balanced, varied meals created with fresh ingredients help us maintain a healthy body.  Wholesome nutritious food prepared from our own domestic kitchens rather than in some industrial kitchen helps us cut down on fats, salt and sugars and increase fibre. Home-cooking also helps family members develop positive attitudes towards freshly cooked or traditional food as well as developing taste buds that will accept this kind of cuisine rather than acquire a preference for processed, packaged fast food. 
Children develop attitudes or barriers and taste preferences to food and drink early on in life and it is important they develop healthy food behaviours.  These are largely influenced by our immediate environment:  our families and the kind of food we have available.

Using fresh foods when in season

Our choices are important and knowing the basic techniques and healthy cooking methods helps.  When planning our weekly menu for the family we need to create dishes with the ingredients which are available locally and in season.  These will also have additional nutritional, economic and sustainable value.  Nutritionally food is at its best when harvested at the right time and not prematurely as is done nowadays when agricultural produce has to travel to different countries.  The taste is also best when food is left to ripen on its own tree and not in boxes.  It is economical also because when food is bought when at its peak and in its season, it is cheaper than the food which may be imported and not in season.  Although the recent trends indicate that people are finding it convenient to find any kind of produce available all the year round, this can be much more expensive and not sustainable.  When food has to travel from different countries until it gets to our table, it is accumulating food miles which in turn add pollution from harmful emissions caused by transportation.  Traditional food preparation practices show that in the past it was all about choosing the best food options available for the budget of that family and consuming it in ways which made wholesome family meals.  Food preparation involved very little packaging and processed foods which are so readily available today.  Items served depended on the availability of the ingredients of the day often making use of the left overs in different recipes.