by Chef John Panza, Owner, BiGA
Almost every adult, at some point in their life, has promised themselves to exercise more, eat better, go on a diet or live a healthier life in some way.
Often promises get forgotten and many fall back into easier lifestyle habits and choices. Why is it so hard to live a healthy lifestyle? Immediately my mind goes to food and what we put into our bodies.
It’s easy to fall back on a processed, unhealthy food diet. If food and diet are your main concern for being healthy, though, I urge you to start with one change: eat more food made from scratch.
At BiGA, we pride ourselves in operating a 100% from-scratch kitchen with as little processed food as possible. That means everything we offer is made entirely in our kitchen.
I recently received a package in the mail that reminded me how important it is to eat good, clean, nonprocessed food on a regular basis. My parents put together a Panza Family Cookbook, compiled of recipes our family grew up on.
I come from a family of six with a strong Lebanese and Italian background; naturally food was the center of attention for most gatherings and events. Food made at home was the center of the majority of our dinners growing up. It wasn’t about counting calories, or watching fat percentages, but it was good, clean, nonprocessed food that nourished four kids for several years.
The benefits of cooking and eating from scratch go beyond physical health, it can bring families closer together and teach young kids essential cooking techniques and healthy eating habits. You’ll find that you stay full longer when eating a from-scratch diet; quick processed foods tend to burn through your system causing you to eat more than necessary.
Eating less means gaining less weight and spending less money. Once you can get creative with leftovers, the cost of food drops even more.
I encourage you to pick two or three from-scratch recipes to try at home. Look for some of our from-scratch recipes in future editions of Prescott Healthy Living.
Photo: Chef John Panza & son Carter courtesy of Chef John Panza