Table 2.

Questions used to measure home food preparation skills and behaviours

Measure of home food preparation skills and behaviours	Questions	Response options
Confidence in using eight cooking techniques	Which, if any, of the following cooking techniques do you feel confident about using?	Boiling, steaming or poaching, frying, stir frying, grilling, oven-baking or roasting, stewing, braising, or casseroling, microwaving
Confidence in cooking ten foods	Which, if any, of the following foods do you feel confident about cooking?	Red meat, chicken, white fish (cod, haddock, plaice), oily fish (herring mackerel, salmon), pulses (such as split peas and lentils), dry pasta, rice (savoury), potatoes (not chips), green vegetables (cabbage, spinach, broccoli), root vegetables (carrots, parsnips)
Ability to prepare four different types of dish	Would you be able to make the following foods and dishes from beginning to end: convenience foods and ready meals (e.g. frozen pizza, pre-packaged curry & rice), a complete meal from ready-made ingredients (e.g. ready-made sauces and pasta to make spaghetti Bolognese), a main dish from basic ingredients (raw potatoes, raw meat, onions etc.), possibly following a recipe (e.g. shepherd’s pie, curry), a cake or biscuits from basic ingredients (flour, milk, eggs, etc.), possibly following a recipe	No, not at all, Yes, with a lot of help, Yes, with a little help, Yes, with no help at all
Frequency of preparing main meals	How often do you prepare a main meal for yourself or others?	Never, only for special occasions, less than once a week, one or two days a week, some days (3–4 a week), most days (5–6 a week), every day