Tuesday, June 10, 2014
A Cookin' Education
11:19 PM | 
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
Peanut Butter Cookies. Horrible tasting,
baking soda overloaded, peanut butter cookies. That is the first food item I
remember making on my own. What was yours? Pizza! Angel food cake! Lasagna! Julia
Child’s Beef Bourguignon? Oui! Whatever it was I am sure you felt proud
of your accomplishment and that everyone said how tasty it was, regardless of
how it actually tasted! But, no doubt, it was fabulous!
Do
you still enjoy cooking? Oh, I hope you do! It is such an important part of
health and wellness!
In
one of my previous jobs, I ran a health and wellness program for college
students. We talked about good nutrition and exercise and I helped them create
goals and lay out steps for achieving their goals. Through this process I
became extremely frustrated because the students didn’t know how to cook. Most of them didn’t know how to boil water. We
changed our whole agenda that semester and instead I had everyone over to my
house for basic cooking lessons. From that point on, that is where we started
each semester.
We
started with cooking lessons because one of the main barriers to consuming a
healthy diet is a lack of cooking skills. According to a recent survey (Huffington Post, 2011),
almost 30% of Americans say they don’t know how to cook. As we discussed
earlier eating healthy doesn’t have to be less convenient or expensive but
in order for it to be comparable in price the individual must know how to
cook. Perhaps the lack of cooking skills is the result of no longer providing
home economic classes in high school?
In your work in the health and wellness field you may find yourself counseling individuals who have no idea how to cook. Where would you start? What would you recommend? Of course, the exact approach will depend on the client, but it is always good to do a little research and preparation. Find some great cookbooks, online videos and even local cooking classes that you could recommend to clients!
Some
of my favorite cookbooks involve education. Of course, the classic Julia Child’s:
Mastering the Art of French Cooking is wonderful. Even though it is about
French Cooking, her book really is about education. Want to know about sex
organs of lobsters? She will tell you! In great detail! Anyone can learn
something in these books. Another great author is Deborah Madison. She gained
her initial cooking education at Chez Panisse. Chez Panisse was founded by
Alice Waters and she is credited with starting the local, organic and fresh
food movement. Deborah Madison has published many cookbooks and of course her
focus is on using local, fresh foods. She is a great resource to learn how to
use fresh fruits and vegetables in the best possible way. She teaches you how
to let the produce shine!
What
cookbooks and other resources can you recommend?
Emily Boldrin PhD, RD
Huffington
Post. (2011).
Cooking Survey Reveals 28% of Americans Can’t Cook. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/cooking-survey_n_955600.html.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I was reading your article and wondered if you had considered creating an ebook on this subject. Your writing would sell it fast. You have a lot of writing talent. keto diet for weight loss
I admire this article for the well-researched content and excellent wording. I got so involved in this material that I couldn’t stop reading. I am impressed with your work and skill. Thank you so much. weight loss supplements
Nice to read your article! I am looking forward to sharing your adventures and experiences. free weight loss pills with free shipping and handling
Post a Comment