News
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — I stumbled across a very impressive event the other evening. I was asked to help out at the first in a series of six “Cooking Matters” sessions for patient-families of Western Colorado Pediatric Associates.
The grant-funded program, available through the Mesa County Health Department, has been offered at a number of spots around the county; benefiting income-qualifying families looking for the “how-to's” of cooking balanced, low-cost meals. (Sadly, one in five children in Colorado suffers from hunger or malnutrition!)
Local nutritionist, Pat Stiles, gave a short course on a make-sense approach to balanced eating. Wayne Smith, culinary professor at Western Colorado Community College, followed by donning his white chef's coat to demonstrate to parents and kids the techniques of slicing and dicing, pressing out pizza dough, and sautéing veggies.
Those who showed up were clearly there to learn something about eating well and saving money. They didn't leave disappointed. (All of the dishes prepared during the series are less than $1.50 per serving)
Parents and children got to try slicing techniques at their tables, using those new ceramic kitchen knives that are so much safer than stainless steel “sharps.”
As Smith worked at his station, he taught.
For instance, we learned that it's better to buy block cheese rather than shredded, the benefits of cooking with grape seed oil, how to work with pizza dough, and the best way to slice Romaine lettuce.
The lettuce was the foundation for a very tasty salad, tossed with orange wedges, black olives, and a sprinkling of slivers of red onion.
The nugget for me was the dressing.
Smith shaved some of the orange peel into a sauté pan and heated it along with about a quarter cup of olive oil. Once heated, he drizzled it over the salad, minus the peelings.
As he explained it, if the dressing is added to the salad before it's served, it can then be more of a seasoning than a slathering. When we get a hold of that bottle of salad dressing at the table, typically the savory taste of the greens gets lost in a drenching of chemical “goo.” (Not Smith's words here — I'm clearly airing my own sentiments now!)
Maybe one of the more valuable lessons tonight was that there are much healthier alternatives to Ranch dressing!
Not only did everyone enjoy tasting samples of Smith's delicious pizza and salad, each family left with a bag packed with fresh ingredients to recreate the same things in their own kitchens.
Everyone seemed enthused about what they learned, and excited for what the rest of the series might offer. The smiles at the end said it all!
For all the hand-wringing about the American diet and the worries about the increasing rate of obesity and diabetes, it was refreshing to see the rubber really hitting the road with Cooking Matters.
Curbing this national health crisis is an enormous challenge, and meeting it will take a lot more than a blast of brochures, pamphlets or media ads. Based on the response the other night, I truly believe it can be done — one family at a time.
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Paula M. Anderson is a local writer who has done presentations on Eating Well throughout the community. She has just published “Eat Well, Be Well,” a booklet for forming a healthy relationship with food. Contact her at aapma46@bresnan.net.
The grant-funded program, available through the Mesa County Health Department, has been offered at a number of spots around the county; benefiting income-qualifying families looking for the “how-to's” of cooking balanced, low-cost meals. (Sadly, one in five children in Colorado suffers from hunger or malnutrition!)
Local nutritionist, Pat Stiles, gave a short course on a make-sense approach to balanced eating. Wayne Smith, culinary professor at Western Colorado Community College, followed by donning his white chef's coat to demonstrate to parents and kids the techniques of slicing and dicing, pressing out pizza dough, and sautéing veggies.
Those who showed up were clearly there to learn something about eating well and saving money. They didn't leave disappointed. (All of the dishes prepared during the series are less than $1.50 per serving)
Parents and children got to try slicing techniques at their tables, using those new ceramic kitchen knives that are so much safer than stainless steel “sharps.”
As Smith worked at his station, he taught.
For instance, we learned that it's better to buy block cheese rather than shredded, the benefits of cooking with grape seed oil, how to work with pizza dough, and the best way to slice Romaine lettuce.
The lettuce was the foundation for a very tasty salad, tossed with orange wedges, black olives, and a sprinkling of slivers of red onion.
The nugget for me was the dressing.
Smith shaved some of the orange peel into a sauté pan and heated it along with about a quarter cup of olive oil. Once heated, he drizzled it over the salad, minus the peelings.
As he explained it, if the dressing is added to the salad before it's served, it can then be more of a seasoning than a slathering. When we get a hold of that bottle of salad dressing at the table, typically the savory taste of the greens gets lost in a drenching of chemical “goo.” (Not Smith's words here — I'm clearly airing my own sentiments now!)
Maybe one of the more valuable lessons tonight was that there are much healthier alternatives to Ranch dressing!
Not only did everyone enjoy tasting samples of Smith's delicious pizza and salad, each family left with a bag packed with fresh ingredients to recreate the same things in their own kitchens.
Everyone seemed enthused about what they learned, and excited for what the rest of the series might offer. The smiles at the end said it all!
For all the hand-wringing about the American diet and the worries about the increasing rate of obesity and diabetes, it was refreshing to see the rubber really hitting the road with Cooking Matters.
Curbing this national health crisis is an enormous challenge, and meeting it will take a lot more than a blast of brochures, pamphlets or media ads. Based on the response the other night, I truly believe it can be done — one family at a time.
---------------------
Paula M. Anderson is a local writer who has done presentations on Eating Well throughout the community. She has just published “Eat Well, Be Well,” a booklet for forming a healthy relationship with food. Contact her at aapma46@bresnan.net.
SPEAKERS SOUGHT
Maran Parry, who coordinates the local program, says she welcomes anyone with culinary or nutritional expertise to volunteer. Contact her at 248-6904.
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