Digital flyer for Cooking Healthy Together (Winter 2021)
Our Cooking Healthy Together program is a 6-week program that has been run by ACSA for many years. This program has evolved over time- first being catered to caregivers of children aged 0 – 6 with programming focusing on toddler nutrition. During COVID times, we saw the need for connection between communities so we invited everyone of all ages to join into the program. In the Cooking Healthy Together program, food is explored on a holistic level, with subjects including nutrition, food science, healthy recipes, cooking skills, and cultural significance of food on social connection and well-being. Participants of the program also run their own workshops, sharing their favourite meals and cooking tips.
Educational Content
Our Food Security team prepares and leads a variety of topics to discuss with participants during the presentations every week. Past session topics include: general nutrition, recipe modification, toddler nutrition, menu planning, organic foods, breakfast advertising, quick healthy breakfasts, food science (processing and packaging), baking, food presentation, cooking skills, food advertising, toddler nutrition, and cultural and environmental significance of food. Topics are typically chosen by our facilitators and based on participant interest.
Here are some examples of past presentations discussing matters of (clockwise from top left): food knowledge for children, youths skipping breakfast, comparison between frozen, canned, and fresh foods, and explaining what defines a vegetable
Recipes
Recipes shared with the group each week are chosen based on participant interest and prioritizes meals that are accessible to reproduce, simple but versatile, and from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Here are examples of some recipes we have shared with our participants!
Top left to right: canned tuna "poke bowl", beet-chocolate brownies, and jollof rice
Bottom left to right: egg cups, black bean burgers, and turkey loaf
Participants
In addition to the weekly sessions, we encourage all participants to recreate their versions of the recipes at home. They will also have the opportunity to facilitate a session by sending in a recipe for us to try, cooking a dish that’s culturally relevant to them, and helping to research on a specific topic. Here are some pictures sent to us following the end of some Cooking Healthy Together sessions!
Top left to right: rainbow chicken skewers by R, quinoa-chicken meat loaf by S, and lemon zucchini dessert loaf by M
Bottom left to right: fried rice by J, thai peanut chicken wrap by S, and spinach rice by S
Images From Previous Programming (2017)
Left to right: two youths placing freshly baked cookies into a bowl, two youths assembling pizzas for the oven, an individual posing and smiling as they cook on the stovetop
Left to right: freshly baked muffins and a peach cobbler dessert
Jan/Feb 2022 Schedule
We are currently in the midst of our Cooking Healthy Together early winter program in 2022! It will be running every Monday until February 14th, 2022. Please see below the topics we will be covering with links to our presentation slides as well as recipes. Stay tuned as we continue to update this section weekly!
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Week
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Topic
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Subtopics/activities
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Recipe
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1
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Origins of breakfast, food advertising, and how it impacts us all
Role modelling for children with healthy eating
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2
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Food guides
Nutrition 101
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3
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Our immune system
Illness prevention
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4
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Origins of food labelling
Equipping & educating ourselves
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Shakshuka with garlic yogurt |
