HCHC holds diabetes cooking class

Last week, Henry County Health Center held a diabetes cooking class, providing community members with numerous healthy meal options.

The class offered a presentation of cooking tips along with a diabetes-friendly lunch. Participants were also provided the opportunity to try new food and shown quick, easy meal options.

Eleven people signed up and participated in the class.

Natalee Gent, an HCHC Dietitian, said they were pleased with the turnout and hope to continue to grow in the future.

Gent feels that the class is essential to help people with diabetes cook and prepare healthy meals.

“We think it’s important to offer this style of class to help people with diabetes learn how to cook a well-balanced meal for one to two people,” she said. “We provided a variety of handouts with tips and tricks for grocery shopping and preparing the food in small portions.”

The class was first started because of the patients. A large number of patients expressed that they had a difficult time cooking for one or two people. Providing a class felt like a great thing to incorporate.

“It was great to be able to put on a class open to the public related to diabetes,” Gent said. “Our goal is to help as many people as we can and be a resource for any questions. We got wonderful feedback from those who participated and lots of requests to continue to offer these types of classes.”

HCHC currently offers a variety of other support groups. They provide a monthly CGM support group, a free prediabetes group class each month, and a coffee club that meets quarterly to discuss various diabetes topics.

They are currently in the process of offering additional classes and events.

Comments: hunter.moeller@southeastiowaunion.com