Summer 2010 Cook'n'eats - Photos and Report below

Summer 2010 Cook'n'eats

Another active summer! We have had three cook and eat courses running in the community centre throughout the summer break. The courses ran from 26th July until 27th August. We had a few local families and one from Wrose attending the sessions. Overall we ran 14 sessions with 13 adults and children attending.

The idea behind the family cook and eats was that it would give parents/carers an opportunity build on new and existing cooking skills with their children as well as receiving healthy eating messages and to spend quality time with them. There was also a request for family cook and eats by the community.

The family cook and eat sessions ran three times a week. We had different age ranges, genders and families ranging from one parent to grandparents attending the sessions. The youngest child we had was a 6 ½ years old boy and the oldest a 16 year old girl. The sessions also gave families an opportunity to try new recipes which they probably wouldn’t otherwise. Every session was different; every family was different and they all wanted to try different recipes. Every family had different needs, ranging from healthy easy recipes, learning new recipes, socializing and bonding.

Some of the recipes chosen by the individuals were family favorites and were unhealthy like burgers and cakes. All the recipes were adapted to healthier versions; they were low on budget, low on fat, salt free and extremely tasty! Parents/Cares were able to see how easy it was to cook a quick, healthy meal on a budget.

The children were in charge of the sessions and made decisions around what to cook, health and safety and preparing the meals. Parents/carers were there to assist them. The children thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and thrived on confidence in being able to prepare a meal all by themselves. Most of the families also attended the family walks on Thursday afternoons and the sessions counterbalanced the messages I was giving.

Overall the sessions went really well, I feel that the sessions have been a real success and have met the needs of individuals.