What We Eat: The Midwest's Favorite Cooked Meals
Posted by Tyler Nall on
It’s impossible to separate our mission at Cooked from the larger discussion about human health and wellness. It’s no secret nor surprise that what we eat has a huge impact on how we feel. Food is, after all, human fuel. 
Sharecare, a company built to help centralize management of a person’s health and wellness, conducts a far-reaching survey about the state of health and wellness of each region in the United States in partnership with Gallup. From Sharecare:
“The Community Well-being Index merges decades of clinical research, health care leadership and behavioral economics expertise to track and understand the key factors that drive greater well-being for individuals and populations – providing an in-depth, nearly real-time view of Americans’ well-being. Having an awareness of U.S. residents’ well-being provides unmatched insights into people at the community, state, and national levels.”
The research is fascinating and, if you haven’t had the opportunity to check it out, we suggest doing so. You can find the full report through their website, here. Even more interesting is the immensely positive public health outcomes achieved in Atlanta (Sharecare founder Jeff Arnold's hometown) after Sharecare, Georgia’s government and several other organizations decided to partner up (including the education community, the Atlanta Falcons, Walmart). Sharecare and Gallup’s data helped act as a catalyst to drive real, meaningful change.
Sharecare’s research got us thinking about what we could learn with our own data here at Cooked. After all, we provide fully prepared meals to thousands of people throughout the midwest and eastern United States every year. We reviewed order information across some of our top volume states from January 1st, 2019 to July 31, 2019.
The results were surprising - some states are loving steak, others are all over the whole30 game. Some are early risers and others are buying for their kids.
Here’s what we found to be each state’s favorite Cooked meal.
Illinois: Ancho Coffee Steak With Mashed Potatoes
Minnesota: Grilled Buffalo Bay Shrimp With Smashed Cauliflower Puree
The Close Second: Buffalo Chicken Unburger
Iowa: Kids Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders
The Close Second: W30 Veggie Omelette
Wisconsin: Kids Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders
The Close Second: Ancho Coffee Steak With Mashed Potatoes
Indiana: Breakfast Scramble
The Close Second: Ancho Coffee Steak With Mashed Potatoes
Ohio: Whole30 Veggie Omelette
The Close Second: Broiled Salmon With Potatoes And Roasted Broccoli
Michigan: Grilled Buffalo Bay Shrimp With Smashed Cauliflower Puree
The Close Second: Ancho Coffee Steak With Mashed Potatoes
Pennsylvania: Ginger Peach Pork Ribs
The Close Second: Whole30 Chipotle Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potato
New York: Grilled Buffalo Bay Shrimp With Smashed Cauliflower Puree
The Close Second: W30 Veggie Omelette
P.S. It’s fun to note that Sharecare's founder, Jeff Arnold, whom founded WebMD way back in 1996. Yes, you can thank him for thinking every headache, sunburn and rash you’ve ever had was stage 35 cancer. Dr. Oz and a slew of other heavy hitters are also co-founders.