Overheard in a crowded restaurant: "Now," said the mother, "you just eat your broccoli. It will put color on your cheeks." The boy replied, "But Mum! Who wants green cheeks?" People may laugh at the joke but it does drive a point about how the way a certain food looks matters most on its being appetizing. Whenever friends gather for a good night out, they are willing to shell out some extra cash from their payday advance, just to spend on a fancy restaurant or club, with drinks costing $40 or more. That is why food is cooked places an important role in the dining habits of most people, whether they eat out or cook their own food at home.

First of all, before starting some healthy cooking, it is best to purchase healthy food. Nowadays, many are more health conscious and watch what they eat. People want to eat "fresh" produce, like fruits and vegetables, all the time. Although, organic food is gaining popularity around the world, not many can sustain eating fresh, organic produce all the time. Most of the food found in supermarkets and even community groceries are laden with additives, like preservatives (either chemical or natural), emulsifiers, food colorings, and edible acids to name a few. With this scenario, it is advisable to read food labels and packaging when buying food for cooking and consumption.

After buying, and even studying, the necessary ingredients to be cooked, the next step is to decide how to cook certain types of food. In grilling, boiling, and baking food, heat is the only medium used. To some extent, these are the healthiest cooking options as compared to frying. Frying generates excessive fats when cooking meats, poultry, or fish. Aside from the natural fat stored in the fresh produce, frying needs edible oils in its cooking process, thus it adds more fat to the food. Examples of edible oils are olive, corn, vegetable, coconut, palm, and canola. In the absence of these healthier products, butter and animal fats or lard are replacements. Another healthy and palatable cooking method is the use of sauces and creams. French and Italian cuisines have food preparations that are nutritional. Tomato-based food, using the cancer buster red tomatoes, or Neapolitan Italian cuisine, from Southern Italy, is a popular one around the globe.

Like grilling and frying, sauces and creams are only as healthy or unhealthy depending on what ingredients are used. For instance, dairy-based creams can be made from "half-half" (low fat) or even skimmed milk because it has less fat. Soymilk can also be used as a good substitute. The thing to remember is that cooking healthy equals eating healthy.