129: Teen Cooking Skills That Build Confidence, Leadership & Healthy Habits
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The Value of Cooking Beyond a Single Meal
Getting in the kitchen could be the key to healthier eating, greater confidence, and real-world independence for teens and young adults in college or living on their own. In this episode, Leslie is joined by Lynn Fredericks, founder and CEO of Family Cook Products and the Teen Battle Chef program—a hands-on experience that teaches cooking skills for teens while fostering teamwork, leadership, and healthy nutrition choices. Learn how cooking can improve self-esteem, weight management, and lifelong wellness habits. Whether a beginner in the kitchen or a future chef, this episode is packed with insights for parents, young adults, and teens looking to make food fun, empowering, and nutritious.
In This Episode :
04:05 Teen Battle Chef Program
06:41 Cooking for Youth Development
13:12 Transforming Family Dynamics
15:57 Engaging Teens in Cooking
22:08 Long-Term Benefits of Cooking & Behavior Change
39:47 Families Cooking Together
50:55 Bringing Teen Battle Chef to Schools & Community Groups
Lynn Fredericks is an award-winning leader in obesity prevention and family nutrition through teaching kitchens. As the founder of FamilyCook Productions, a non-profit organization, she has championed the power of fresh, affordable food to improve health and bring people together.
Since 1995, Lynn has created hands-on culinary nutrition programs that have impacted over 370,000 parents and children across over 300 sites in 30+ states. Her innovative train-the-trainer model embeds these programs in schools, community centers, WIC clinics, and hospitals, driving sustainable healthy behavior changes.
FamilyCook Productions offers programs tailored to all age groups, including:
Nibble with Willow (ages 3-7)
Look Who’s Cooking (ages 8-11)
Teen Battle Chef (ages 12-18)
Deliciously Healthy for adults.
Background Information
In addition to founding FamilyCook Productions, Lynn is an award-winning author of Cooking Time Is Family Time and Get Your Family Eating Right. Her work has been recognized for its sustained outcomes and impressive weight loss results, leading to FamilyCook Productions being selected as the New York State Public Health Association’s 2017 Public Health Leadership awardee.
In 2020, Lynn and her Teen Battle Chef program were honored by the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior with the Program Impact Award. That same year, her original research on 10 Experiential Drivers of Behavior Change for Teaching Kitchen practitioners, a culmination of 25 years studying the best practices for achieving new healthy food habits, was published in a peer-reviewed journal.
She has served as Chair of the American Public Health Association's Food & Nutrition Section and as a co-leader within the Children’s Division of the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior and the Best Practices Committee of the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative. Lynn has presented over 30 scientific abstracts and published over 24 peer-reviewed articles, half as lead author. She continues to drive impactful, evidence-based solutions to foster healthier, more empowered communities.
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