Health is the most valuable thing we have in life; that’s a no-brainer. But how many people forget that? Way too many, even myself to be honest. It is the thing that keeps us going and is a way to connect with the ones you love. Sadly, we tend to forget about health until we lose it. Today we are living longer than ever before, but we spend the majority of our time in pain when we get older. More pain mean less energy that could have been spent with family and friends. So scientists, nutritionists, health advisers and chefs  are trying to shift the attention of the community from optimizing lifespan to healthspan; the part of our lives that we’re disease free.

My family taught me this when I was a kid and it stuck with me ever since. I think it’s kind of obvious, but it’s so easy to forget about it. 90% of all my family members know how to cook (the 10% is my sister) and I’m so blessed to have that. Sadly, today families only have 1-2 people that know how to cook in a family of 4-5 people. Most of it is their mom and maybe their dad, but what about the younger generation?

We’re surrounded with hundreds and thousands of fast food brands to help feed our hunger. But we should know that it is killing us slowly. What we’ve been eating in those frozen pizzas and Mr. Noodles, God knows what is inside. All those artificial chemicals and processed shit are harming our bodies and is slowly decreasing our healthspan. I know what you guys all are telling me, “I have no time to cook because of my busy schedule”. I totally get it. But if you love your family you should spend an extra hour making home cooked foods. It’s the excuse we’re all using but it’s going to haunt us later.

Most people are afraid to say that they can’t cook. Now, if you’re under the age of 16, I understand. But to everyone else, it is crucial to learn how to cook. It’s a lifestyle that we all need to follow; 3 times a day, everyday for the rest of our lives. Sadly, my generation has little to no knowledge of how to cook. A third of them can’t even boil an egg! And it keeps getting worse, if my generation doesn’t know how to cook, then the next one won’t, and then the next. We have to break this cycle before we lose the ones we love. WE have to get back into the cooking routine!

Through all this I don’t want you to tear you apart. I want you guys to be more aware of the things we eat. We have to teach our loved ones how to cook. If we teach just one person how to cook, then, they’ll teach other people how to cook, and then more and more. The snowball continues. There’s no magic wand to help this mess and it’s not rocket science.

Finally, I know it’s weird to read this blog/mini rant about me talking about our situation. All I can say is that I care. I’m not a doctor or a scientist. I’m just a chef that cares about my family and friends so much and I want them to live 10 years longer just because they’re eating properly. I wish for everyone to help create a strong, sustainable movement to educate our love ones about cooking,  to inspire them to cook again and empower them so that we can not only have a longer lifespan, but a longer healthspan.