The healthier food we make in our classes drives most of our participants’ attendance. Nutritious tasty recipes and word of mouth can make a class with five attendees grow to 18.
For our clients, their family’s health motivates them to learn new ways to cook balanced meals. Erika Linares attends our classes because she wants to learn about the nutritional aspect of the food we eat and portion control. Even the way a meal is presented can make a difference. For Patricia Medina, the fruit and vegetables used to add color to the plate made the food more appetizing. But cooking a healthy meal doesn’t start in the kitchen. The first step begins during the grocery shopping trip. Lorena Guajardo learned that it’s a good practice to not only read the nutrition fact label but to read the ingredient list to better identify if a grain is actually a whole grain. Now she won’t be deceived by the appealing packaging and words.
Food safety is another topic taught in our nutrition classes as well. During our chill class, we discussed everything related to refrigeration, including the safest way to defrost food and how food should be refrigerated within two hours. Since attending the chill class, Erika mentioned that she no longer defrosts her food at room temperature, but instead places it on the bottom shelf of her refrigerator because she would hate for her family to get sick from something that can be prevented. Any parent would only want the best for their families.
When given the option to choose a favorite recipe, Huevos a la Mexicana with a healthier modification, was the winner. In Central Texas, breakfast tacos are a very common breakfast meal, but it can be a little unhealthy if you are not careful. You can find our healthier, but just as tasty, breakfast taco recipe option below.
For more information or to schedule a class, contact Angela Henry, nutrition education manager, at (512) 684-2502 or email choices@austinfoodbank.org.
