7 Healthcast: Cooking healthy leads to healthy lifestyle

A big-name local chef thinks making a healthy change in the kitchen is simple.

They say you are what you eat and for Chef Bernard Kinsella of Boston, healthy eating is a way of life.

“First thing we’re going to do is knock out some of the prep,” said Kinsella.

He shares his passion by teaching others the art of cooking.

“Always cook with love,” said Kinsella.

His class is all about lentils, grains and beans.

“We're doing a white bean salad, we’re actually going to incorporate black beans into quinoa - which is a beautiful seed,” said Kinsella.

Bella Freytsis, 28, a physical therapist from Boston is taking the class. She says cooking with healthy ingredients is very important to her.

“I work in health care, so I see obesity, and diabetes and heart disease,” said Freytsis. “Growing up with a diabetic mother it was kind of instilled in me.”

When it comes to cost, Chef Bernard says prepping is key - you can save money by using one item for several delicious dishes.

“I’ll take this and set it aside for tonight, this one here is for stir fry and this I can add this to my tomato sauce and now I have three different meals,” said Bernard.

He offers tips on how to get the most from your food.

“With the all the nutrients are right there under the skin,” said Bernard.

Chef Bernard says healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle go hand in hand.

“Sometimes when you cook with some of these ingredient they really help stimulate your body to a better level of energy,” said Bernard.

After dicing, chopping, boiling and sautéing, Bernard says, "You can start putting everything together... let's go a little crazy right”

The class has created a few beautiful and healthy meals.

“If you cook something that you look forward to eating, much more enjoyable process to cook it,” said Freytsis.

(Copyright (c) 2011 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,rewritten or redistributed.)