Making healthy, home-cooked meals: How do you get started?

Compared with people who eat out frequently, people who eat meals made at home tend to weigh less, have healthier cholesterol and blood sugar values, and are less likely to develop diabetes. Lack of time, not lack of skills, may be the biggest barrier. Tips for creating healthy, home-cooked meals include smart ways to stock a pantry, fridge, and freezer with legumes and whole grains. For example, people can use an electric pressure cooker to make a dozen or more half-cup servings of brown rice that can then be stored in the freezer. This technique, called batch cooking, can be used with dried beans as well as with flavor enhancers such as minced garlic and ginger.