RFK Jr. to host traveling food show focused on healthy eating: ‘Let’s get cooking!’

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will host a new cooking show while he travels around the country to teach Americans about how to eat healthy at an affordable price.The new YouTube video series, called The Real Food Show, is heavily inspired by Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again initiative.“Thanks to President Trump, we flipped the food pyramid and put real food back where it belongs — at the center of the American plate,” Kennedy said in a brief video introducing the show. “I’m traveling across America, connecting with renowned chefs to show families how to cook delicious, nutritious meals with real ingredients, all at affordable prices. America, it’s time to eat real food.” “Let’s get cooking!” he concluded.The inaugural episode premiered on Thursday, featuring Kennedy chatting with celebrity chef and self-described “seafood junkie” Andrew Gruel as he cooked salmon cakes with a side of an apple, white bean, and greens salad. At the end of the video, Gruel said the seafood dish cost less than $4.91 per serving. For a family of four, the recipe would cost $19.64.“Amazing,” Kennedy said with a thumbs up after he dug into the meal. Gruel replied, “Thank you. First time I’ve cooked for a dignitary.”The traveling food show is a manifestation of the revised Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a policy document on nutrition guidance released by the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services in January. The guidelines emphasize whole foods and protein over processed products and sugar. Now, The Real Food Show intends to bring those guidelines to life.“Every episode is packed with affordable, budget-friendly recipes and easy cooking techniques designed to save you time and money,” HHS said on its website. “Plus, you’ll get practical nutrition advice to help fuel your family, all while watching incredible special guests whip up their favorite healthy signature dishes right alongside Secretary Kennedy.”RFK JR. PRESSURES HOSPITALS TO MAKE MEALS HEALTHIERAhead of the first episode’s release, Kennedy said “there was immediately sort of a good reaction” from the public after the dietary guidelines were published earlier this year. However, he noted there was “also a little trepidation” over the perception that healthier food costs a lot more money than ultra-processed food. He disagrees with that view.“Fast food is not less expensive,” Kennedy told USA Today on Thursday. “That meal costs $12 to $14. People can eat a lot cheaper at home and a lot better food. But many Americans have forgotten how to cook. It’s becoming a lost art.”