So Americans don’t cook anymore? That used to be true. The current economic climate has wrought good news for publishers of consumer cookbooks as U.S. households eat more meals at home, reports NPD.

U.S. families are more likely to be eating meals at home today, and the use of recipes is growing as a result, according to Port Washington, N.Y.-based The NPD Group, a leading market research company. A recently released NPD recipe-usage report finds the use of a recipe(s) once a week or more has increased from 37% of households in 2005 to 42% in 2011.

Two-thirds of all homemakers (67%) have used a recipe within the past month, and two in five (42%) use recipes even more often, according to the NPD report, entitled “Recipes are Cooking!” Dinner is the dominant recipe-using occasion. Nearly 38 million U.S. households have used a recipe while preparing dinner in the past week, and on a typical evening, 11 million households used a recipe to cook dinner.

One-third of the nation’s population 19 years old and younger is expected to be Latino by 2015. A Dallas-based pizza chain is already preparing for the slew of new customers.

In 2010, the Census Bureau reported that for every nine births among Hispanics, there was one death, compared to a roughly 1-1 ratio among whites. Experts have predicted that today’s young and expanding Hispanic population is a precursor of what mainstream America will look like tomorrow. With this continuing cultural shift, Dallas-based Pizza Patrón projects a doubling of its store count over the next three years.

When is a food “heirloom,” and when is it “heritage”? And is buying “local” more or less beneficial to the planet than buying “organic”? Here’s a briefing on teaching the meaning of popular food buzzwords to students.

By G. Allen Akmon, CEC, CHE

Accept the fact that when you decided on an exciting career within the foodservice industry, you were headed on a journey of lifelong learning. In order to help you solidify that notion, you are likely attempting to keep up a steady diet of the latest menu-enhancing buzzwords and current trends that rely in large part on historical and/or sustainable products. The verbiage can be overwhelming or even mystical in the fact that many seem to be using the terminology in a slightly different fashion.

Now consider the fact that if you are in the field of educating future generations of culinarians, it is not quite enough just to be familiar with terms like heirloom, antique and heritage.

New confections and snacks offer a reliable barometer of consumers’ evolving flavor demands and food choices, as revealed at the 2012 Sweets & Snacks Expo.

Fun fruits and shared sweets, foreign flavors and healthy snacks are emerging as the trends to meet the ever-evolving appetites of consumers. The 2012 Sweets & Snacks Expo, which began on the last day of this year’s NRA Show in Chicago, featured new products from more than 560 companies leading the industry with the new flavors that meet consumers’ tastes.

It’s barbecue season, after all. Here are 10 tips from an educator and registered dietitian to make dishes served at the time-honored American backyard celebration both delicious and more healthful.

By Renee Zonka, RD, CEC, CHE

At the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts in Chicago, one of the biggest trends we see in healthy eating among Americans is a desire for “better for you” dishes. Foods can be mouth-watering and satisfying, yet with lower saturated fat, calories or sodium or more dietary fiber—or all of these.

Barbecuing is an excellent opportunity to serve more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, leaner meats and antioxidant-rich seafoods—because virtually everything tastes better when cooked outdoors.

Here are 10 easy, delicious ideas for “Building a Better-for-You Barbecue”: