Cooking & wellness classes for Moms and Dads on the Seacoast

[Parenting NH Administrator]

It’s not easy to cook and compile fast, tasty and nutritious meals every day, but parents must do it for 352 days a year making over 1,056 meals for their kids. To help moms and dads navigate through the 300,000 plus food products in super markets and get healthy meals on the table every day, the Food and Health Forum is launching a new series of cooking and wellness classes for families at the Blue Moon Evolution restaurant featuring owner,  Kath Gallant, owner and nutritionist Tracey Miller. The Blue Moon is a farm-to-table restaurant located in Exeter.

“Much of the American diet is highly processed and loaded with sugar, fat and salt and it’s led us to a real health care crisis. It’s not a coincidence that our food has gotten cheaper, and our health care costs are at an all time high,” said Miller. “We know it’s a daunting task for parents to make three meals day after day, but there are simple, creative ways to do it that don’t break your wallet or your back.”

The focus of their fall series is to help moms and dads who don’t like to cook, don’t have time to cook and who are confused about what to eat. “We show parents how to cook simple, flavorful foods and help them understand the impact that food has on their children. We want to help parents be confident in the kitchen and not overwhelmed,” said Gallant.

The first class in the series is, “Thinking Outside the Box: Wholesome Breakfasts and Lunches for Kids on Sept. 24 from 7 -9 p.m.

This class gives parents new ideas and recipes for breakfast and lunch and creative healthier versions of the old standbys with colors, textures, and shapes that kids will love without a lot of fancy packaging and lots of chemicals.  This class will include a light dinner, hands on instruction, nutrition fact sheets, recipes and more. It will cover:

• What nutrient packed foods your children need to get through the day
• Weekly menu planning strategies and how to stock your pantry
• Easy, simple and economical breakfasts and lunches
• Creative ways for healthier packaging with product samples for lunch boxes, water bottles and more
• How to make last nights’ dinner brand new for lunch
• Simple homemade snacks that won’t spike blood sugar levels or cause weight gain

The fall series also features the following classes:

• A Menu for Moms: This One’s for You (Oct. 22): Recipes to help moms keep calm, balanced, trim and energized!
• Enjoying the Fall Harvest: In Salads, Sides, Soups & Snacks! (Oct.29): Try new recipes for chutneys, salads, side dishes, soups, and snacks featuring squash and beans to leeks, onions, beets, carrots, and other root vegetables!
• How to Boost Your Child’s Immune System (Nov. 12): Learn how the body protects itself against nasty colds and flus and which nutrients are the most important to help boost your child’s immune system.
• Healthy Treats for the Holidays (Dec. 3): Learn what causes cravings, how to reduce them, and how to stick to your diet with healthier versions and alternatives for cookies, breads, and nut mixes.

 

Kath Gallant, owner of Blue Moon Evolution, Kathy Gallant and nutritionist and health coach, Tracey Miller, joined forces to convene doctors, policy makers, farmers, CEOs, citizens and other visionaries who are revolutionizing our food system from the ground up. They want to inspire and educate communities to help reestablish the link between what we eat, where our food comes from, and how it affects our health.

The cost of each class is $45 which includes a light dinner. Register for all five classes and pay $175 (You get one class for free).

For information on each class or to register go to www.foodandhealthforum.com.  Or, drop off a check at the Blue Moon Evolution located at 8 Clifford St., Exeter. For more information call 380-1080 or contact [e-mail].