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This year Dietitians of Canada has taken on a new challenge in Nutrition Month - March 2014. Registered Dietitians from across the country are helping Canadians get back in the kitchen cooking.

There is growing concern about a potential lack of home cooking and loss of cooking skills among Canadians of all ages. Shifting values, time constraints and availability of, and reliance on, prepared meals are just a few of the factors that translate into diminishing food preparation skills. Here are some tips to help you get cooking.

Tip No. 1: Time crunched? Good for you meals can take less time than take out.

Take out meals might seem like a simple solution, but they can be more expensive and less healthy than homemade meals. Try these tasty meal ideas, ready in 20 minutes or less:

Quesadillas filled with black beans, diced sweet pepper, salsa and Monterey Jack Shrimp or tofu saut茅ed with broccoli, garlic, ginger and a pinch of hot pepper flakes, served over whole wheat couscous

Whole grain pita pizzas topped with mushrooms, spinach, leftover grilled chicken and mozzarella.

Tip No. 2: Make your food dollar go farther. Put more plant-based protein in your pot.

Cooking with protein rich choices, such as lentils, black beans or chickpeas, is a healthy way to lower the cost per serving of your meals. Extend ground meat or go meatless with these ideas/

Stir up yummy minestrone soup with black beans, chickpeas or lentils - no meat needed.

Make a quick chickpea curry for a totally meatless option.

Add a couple of cooked lentils to ground beef for luscious lasagna.

Drain and rinse a can of black beans. Add to ground turkey for tasty tacos.

TIP 3: Your kitchen doubles as a classroom that equips kids with life skills galore. Cooking with kids is a great way to teach important life skills. Learning to cook now prepares them to cook for themselves when they grow up. It's also a fun hands on activity that teaches literacy, science and math. It doesn't have to be complicated - start simply and build skills. Younger kids can help measure ingredients and stir. Older kids can help peel and chop vegetables. Once they're confident, they can help bake, broil or saut茅. It might be messy. That's okay! Your kids can also help clean up.

TIP No. 4: Get social. Host a cooking party.

The party always ends up in the kitchen anyway, so why not start there? Invite your friends, and instead of cooking for them, cook with them. Have guests bring ingredients and share the tasks. Start simply with trusted favourite recipes. Or experiment with a new cuisine or ingredient and learn new skills. Make it a taste adventure with a theme like "Canadiana Cuisine" or "Mexican Fiesta." Once the cooking is done, relax and enjoy a delicious meal together.

TIP No. 5: Savour the flavour. Small amounts of nutrient rich ingredients boost taste.

Nutrient rich, higher fat ingredients can be part of healthy cooking. When you use high quality foods, you only need a little for great flavour. Here are just a few examples:

Cheese - just a sprinkle of strong tasting cheese such as Parmesan, Asiago or aged cheddar fills your food with flavour. ?

Pesto - it's bursting with basil, so you just need a spoonful to turn plain pasta into a gourmet meal.

Nuts - toasting nutrient rich nuts brings out their rich flavour, so a handful will do.

This March get cooking by keeping it simple. Every day this March, Dietitians of Canada is dishing up a new cooking tip designed to help get you cooking. You can access the tips from eaTipster, our new free iPhone and iPad app, or visit our site to view the tips at www.dietitians.ca.

For the details on the tips and more information about Nutrition Month 2014, visit www.dietitians.ca/nutritionmonth.

- Dietitians of Canada (DC) is the national professional association for dietitians, representing about 6,000 members at the local, provincial and national levels. DC has led the Nutrition Month Campaign for more than 30 year.