Today, I want to celebrate my mother because she taught me something so essential and enduring that it has become my greatest passion: cooking. The closer we can get to the food we eat, the shorter the link between field and fork, the better off we will all be.

By Keri Gans for U.S. News Health With Mother's Day approaching, I got to thinking about the many things I learned from my mom. As a nutritionist, ...

Lovingly preparing food and cooking for yourself will increase feelings of self-worth, inner security, grounding and be a ritual to receive the love you give yourself -- the most important love in the world.

In this post, we're looking at one fat habit you may not even be aware of -- how your kitchen may be sabotaging your diet.

When you're the conscious captain in your kitchen, you'll feel better mentally and physically. That means less garbage (and excuses), and more love in your belly. You feel centered and grounded because you're ahead of the game at home.

People remembered that salt is just a single "spice" on the rack -- that, actually, there are a lot of other ways to flavor foods. And when you remove the salt, it makes room for exciting new flavor combinations and creative versions of classic recipes.

Essentially, the experience made me neurotic and anxious about food (one of my great pleasures!) without making me especially healthy.

What we eat really does matter. Studies show that real, whole, plant-based foods are best for fueling our bodies, preventing the likes of heart disease, diabetes -- and, yes, even cancer.

I wish I could stay I'd stayed equally stalwart in my dedication to the plan all week, but that wouldn't be quite true. I sort of lost enthusiasm and dedication, unsurprisingly, just as the weekend hit.

I refused to eat bland food or feel like a second-class culinary citizen because of my diet. And in a world where salt sits on a flavor pedestal, I decided that it was time to rewrite the low-sodium rules (uninspiring) and prove that salt-free dishes could keep up (exciting).