Shopping and Cooking

Find tips on planning, shopping, and preparing meals to support health, the community, and the environment.

Food literacy

Food literacy is a broad term that involves:

• Making food choices for better health.
• How to shop for, prepare and eat food safely.
• Eating for enjoyment, culture, and tradition.
• Understanding where and how food grows.
• Supportive food systems and environments.

Cooking at home is an important part of food literacy planning and cooking nourishing meals at home is good for your health. It allows children to explore food and build important life skills. Making meals at home can also help save money.

The key ingredients every cook needs to get started are:

• Meal planning
• Grocery shopping
• Storing food properly
• Using leftovers
• Recipes and cooking skills

Meal planning

Menu planning before you head to the grocery store helps save money and reduce food waste. Planning meals ahead makes it easier to balance your eating with a variety of healthy foods.

Here are some tips to help meal planning:

• Make a shopping list.
• Check if you have food items that need to be used. Build your menu around these items.
• Plan around foods that are on sale. Look at store flyers or use apps that search for savings at stores near you.
• Start small. Planning for even a few days ahead can help save time and money!

Check out these resources to help you plan meals: Quick and easy menu planning, 10 tips for planning meals, and Sample menu plan.

Grocery shopping

The cost of foods is going up. To help save money when shopping:

• See which store has the best sales on your grocery list items and shop there if possible.
• Eat before you go shopping.
• Look at items on the top and bottom shelves. Sometimes the more expensive brands are at eye-level.
• Compare unit prices.
• Stock up on items on sale if you can.

For more tips at the grocery store…. 20 ways to save money on your groceries

Food storage and leftovers

Proper food storage is important to keep foods fresh and safe.

Storing foods in the right way also prevents food waste and helps save you money. Planned leftovers can often be turned into another meal. Try:

• Making soup with leftover chicken and vegetables from the fridge.
• Mixing vegetables and rice left from dinner with beans to make a wrap for lunch the next day.
• Turning leftover vegetables into an omelette, frittata, or egg bhurji.

Check out these tips for proper food storage to reduce food waste or watch videos to learn how to reduce food waste at home.

Recipes and cooking videos

Interested in cooking more at home? 

Visit the following resources and quick and easy meal ideas that the whole family can be involved in.

• How to make a healthy soup, stir-fry, and casserole.
• You Can Cook (Windsor-Essex County Health Unit)

Canada's Food Guide

• Cook more often
• Involve kids in planning and preparing meals
• Search recipes

Check out the featured recipes.

Cooking in the community

Durham Region Health Department offers free train-the-trainer workshops to community groups who want to start a cooking program.  For more information call Durham Health Connection Line at 905-668-2020 or 1-800-841-2729.