Research shows that cooking at home versus eating out is associated with better overall diet quality among adults.

Restaurant meals typically contain more sodium, saturated fats, and calories than meals prepared at home. And cooking at home allows for greater control to choose fresher, high-quality ingredients. Eating at home is also proven to make it easier to stick to healthy nutrition plans such as the Mediterranean Diet.

Most people lead busy lives, which can mean getting out of the habit of preparing meals at home, said MIIA Wellness Manager Courtney Hernandez.

“Cooking from scratch is somewhat of a lost skill, with people opting more for convenience foods like frozen pizza,” she said. “It’s hard to eat healthy when you can’t cook for yourself.”

To help its health insurance subscribers get more comfortable in the kitchen, MIIA recently launched a cook-along wellness pilot program, where participants join a weekly video call to walk through a healthy cooking tutorial.

The eight-week course is taught by Barb Stacy, a board-certified health and wellness coach and Culinary Health Education Fundamentals (CHEF) educator. Each week, participants receive a recipe and shopping list ahead of time, and by the end of each class, dinner is ready.

Hernandez said the CHEF program encourages participants to learn basic kitchen and knife skills, and to incorporate more plant-based foods and Mediterranean Diet ingredients such as olive oil, nuts, and legumes.

“Following this style of eating, using healthy fats instead of restricting them, is more filling and satisfying, plus it brings a range of health benefits related to brain and heart health,” she said.

About 40 municipal employees from around the Commonwealth are participating in MIIA’s inaugural CHEF course, which began in March. MIIA plans to expand the offering as part of its Well Aware program, which aims to help municipal insurance members build a thriving workforce by promoting a culture of health and well-being.