What the dietitian wants for the holidays

Heidi Bates cooks up a wish for families and neighbours to come together in the kitchen.

Who

Heidi Bates, registered dietitian

What she wants

A collective kitchen at the family level: "I want people to come back to the kitchen and cook."

Why she wants it

"It's easier to eat well if you know how to cook, and we are losing that in our world. We've become a society of buyers of prepared food and when we do that, the control over what we eat goes away a bit."

Collective kitchens, where everyone brings an ingredient and then works together to cook a big batch of meals, exist at the community level-including at the University of Alberta, where students are leading the way with Healthnuts and the nutrition education program Speaking of Healthy Eating.

Group kitchens can also be a great fit for friends, families and neighbours, Bates noted.

"People can teach each other and get a sense of community connectedness, and it's great for kids to learn about too. Let's come back to the kitchen and have some fun!"

PREVIOUS: What the computing scientist wants for the holidays