Healthy and Homemade series kicked off in Brighton Thursday

BRIGHTON - A three-part series teaching individuals how to eat and cook healthy kicked off in Brighton Thursday night.

The class is taught by Rachel Sweeney, a nutrition and wellness specialist with Iowa State Extension. Washington County Extension and Brighton Horizons sponsored the event because the community was requesting tips and tricks for eating healthier.

'We within extension were hearing from a lot of people that they have really busy lives, eating healthy is hard or eating healthy is expensive, and so (we) wanted to help build their toolbox and how they could eat healthier,” Sweeney said.

Nancy Adrian, Washington County Extension Director, said offering classes that focus on eating healthy and making healthy food for busy people is important because people have lost touch with how to prepare their food.

'Today it seems we are all about quick and easy, so fast food is becoming the norm,” she said.

Although people can look up recipes online, Adrian said she would encourage people to come to classes because they can be sure what they are learning is backed by fact.

'The good thing about this program is it's based on research. You can literally Google anything in the world and get information but is it respected and trustworthy information? So I think the fact that it's backed by research is very important and you can talk to a live person and ask questions and you can actually do a hands on activity while you're at the class,” she said.

In the first session, Cook Now, Enjoy Later, the class focused on what foods freeze well, how to package them for freezing and some recipes for foods that can be prepared ahead of time. In the second class, Cooking For One or Two, participants will learn how to make meals designed for one or two people and in the final session, Veg Out, participants will learn all about vegetables and sample recipes.

Participants in the series are required to come to all three evenings, but Sweeney said more sessions will be happening in the future for interested people. She would like to encourage people to come out and enjoy the program because she feels there is always something to learn when it comes to cooking.

'It would allow them to be able to plan ahead and help build their skills so healthy eating is the easy choice for their family,” she said. 'I know everyone has busy lives, but just setting aside three hours of your time really can pay off dividends for you and your family.”

She said family meal times have been proven to increase vitamins, minerals and fiber in the diet and by teaching people some tricks of the trade, she hopes to encourage that healthy habit. At the end of each class, the group will make a dish that coincides with the theme of the class, which Sweeney hopes will jump-start people to begin applying these practices at home.

'Hopefully they can start applying these things right away to their lives,” she said. 'Hopefully they can start making and planning ahead so the mealtime planning isn't stressful.”