What Is UnBox Your Kitchen?

What is in your kitchen cabinets?

Do you consider what you're eating to be healthy because of the manufacturer’s claim on the front of the box?

When you go to the grocery store, are you shopping the center aisles or are your purchases from around the outside perimeter?

The foods we eat affect our sleep, skin condition, mood, weight, organ function, blood sugar level, breathing, focus, and so much more.

When I worked in a corporate office, the women in their twenties believed they were making nutritious food choices. Most of them did not know how to cook chicken, make brownies from scratch, or attempt to make mashed potatoes.

I was astounded. They did not know, what I consider, basic kitchen techniques and cooking skills I learned when I was growing up. I remember, as a young child, standing in both of my grandmother's kitchens wanting to help and learn how to make what they were cooking and baking. As a teenager, I was quite the pro at making macaroni and cheese, heating up hot dogs on the stove and 'nuking' a bowl of corn in the microwave. Since then, I’ve learned plenty about processed foods and don’t really think of boxed macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, or canned corn as “food” (the topic of an entirely different article!). My point is, from a young age, I was involved in and interested in knowing how to feed myself.

In my young adult years of starting a family, it was important to me that I didn't serve my sons preservatives and the chemicals I couldn't pronounce (found in so many processed foods). I collected recipe books I'd find at yard sales, on sale at the bookstore and in second-hand stores. There was a level of satisfaction that was addicting to know I could make homemade cookies that everyone devoured, and begged for more.

There is a growing number of women and men that do not know how to prepare home-cooked meals. The UnBox Your Kitchen cookbook series I am publishing will offer simple instructions, and recipes to prepare meals, desserts, beverages and more from scratch. Individuals unfamiliar with cooking homemade meals will gain insight of the benefits of preparing healthy food.

My mission is to share basic kitchen instruction on how to prepare a variety of meals, beverages, snacks, desserts and more. I am currently working on a publication series encouraging individuals to prepare home-cooked foods versus reaching for manufactured food products.

Providing healthy food choices to prepare from scratch has played an important role since the conception of Elements For A Healthier Life Magazine. I encourage you to join me on this quest.  Here's how:

• Subscribe to the UnBox Your Kitchen Newsletter
• Submit a healthy recipe with article or story
• Submit a helpful kitchen tip
• Submit information regarding a particular herb, fruit, vegetable and etc.
• Share the posts that resonate with you with your friends and family

Together we can explore the joys of a good home-cooking.