The Walmart Foundation and the American Heart Association have launched a program that encourages Americans to cook low-cost, heart-healthy meals at home. "Simple Cooking with Heart" is teaching Americans how to cook more at home by giving them tools, basic skills and techniques to get started and inspired - and have fun. Program components include online how-to videos, tips, recipes and free downloadable "Host Kits" that encourage people to host in-home cooking parties with family, friends and neighbors.

"We know that meals prepared at home tend to be more nutritious than restaurant meals, but many American families lack the fundamental skills to prepare healthy, home-cooked meals," said Rachel K. Johnson, Ph.D., R.D., an AHA spokesperson and the Bickford Professor of Nutrition at the University of Vermont. "We must equip American families with basic culinary skills along with nutrition knowledge so they can know how to cook and eat at home."

To download a Simple Cooking with Heart Host Kit or for more program information, visit the Simple Cooking with Heart website.