Of all the reasons to eat healthy, 11-year-old Gentry Dennison’s logic is hard to dispute.
“If you just eat ice cream and cookies all the time, you won’t get taller,” Gentry said.
Michael Strickland/KANSAN
Children ages 6 to 13 learn how to make chili from 2013 University graduates Hannah Temple and Leah Charles as part of a cooking course designed for families.
He was one of ten children, ranging from ages 6 to 13, and seven parents from the Lawrence area who attended the first cooking class organized by Hannah Temple and Leah Charles, 2013 graduates of the University and Americorps members.
Temple and Charles are offering a series of cooking classes to families interested in expanding their knowledge on healthy eating. The program is a five-class course that will take place until July 2014.
During the first class on Tuesday night, Charles took half of the group to the kitchen, while Temple gave the other half a lesson on nutrition. Halfway through, the groups switched.
In the kitchen, before any of the food preparation began, Charles discussed the importance of taking precautions, both for safety and for cleanliness, while working in the kitchen.
Next, she began to lead the class in making a healthy version of chili that used turkey meat and lots of veggies.
At first, the children hesitated when she asked for volunteers and quietly stood a safe distance away from the kitchen counters.
But as they began to add the ingredients to the pot one by one, their excitement grew and they began to shoot their arms in the air when a volunteer was needed, shouting eagerly, “Let me do it!”
In between adding ingredients, Charles explained how to measure ingredients and use various cooking utensils. The children carefully opened cans, mixed ingredients and leveled off measurements of spices. They politely offered each other turns at adding ingredients.
As Charles held out a measurement tool for one student, Austin, to measure chili powder into, she said, “Don’t be shy. You can make a little bit of a mess.”
He shook the container harder, and extra chili powder poured over the counter.
“Or a lot of a mess,” Charles laughed.
As the smell of warm, comforting chili filled the kitchen, the students smiled and they crowded around the pot on the stove, observing their creation.
Temple’s nutrition lesson included an explanation of “My Plate,” which covers the main food groups. She explained examples of foods in each category and how the kids could reach each group of food throughout the day.
Temple and Charles explained that through the classes, they hope to make kids more familiar with the idea of eating a healthy, balanced diet, more comfortable cooking in the kitchen at home and more open to new foods. They added that the contact with cooking in a fun way may make the nutrition lessons resonate more.
“You can send home a pamphlet in their backpack that says, ‘Eat this, it’s healthy,’ but if they’re interacting with the food and cooking it themselves, they’re going to eat it,” Temple said.
Temple and Charles also stressed that eating healthy is possible on a budget and one benefit of having the parents attend the class is for them to see that nutritious and filling meals can be done inexpensively.
They added that it was important to them to motivate families to connect and bond at home over cooking and eating.
“It’s good to have the families come in and interact together,” Charles said.
Gentry said he likes to cook grilled cheese sandwiches and cakes with his mom. Tuesday’s lesson and the ones to follow will introduce him to many more meals he can create at home.
The course will take place at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. Temple and Charles are currently seeking volunteers to assist with the classes. Those interested in learning more, signing up kids or helping volunteer should contact Hannah Temple at htemps@gmail.com.
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