Cooking Club

Cooking Club
Delicious and Nutritious!

Tuesday 17 January 2017

A Very Positive Cooking Club Story......

.....A conversation at Cooking Club between Jill (Tutor) and Ese (Volunteer Participant)........

Ese…“I have lost 2 st 4lbs in the last 6 months!”

Jill…..”Wow, Ese that’s amazing. Tell us your strategy”

Ese: “I have a dietician who is based at The Maudesly Hospital. She works out a plan and weight-loss targets with me. My aim is to go down to 10 st.
I have already gone from 22st to 19 st.10lbs.
I have cut out a lot of processed foods: No biscuits, No cake, No chocolate or sweet fizzy drinks. I now drink pure sparkling water instead.
I have been eating smaller portions at mealtimes and now my stomach has got used to it so I don’t crave more.”

Jill: “Another  tip is to drink a large glass of water 30 minutes before a meal. As well as being very healthy, it makes your stomach feel full up. It’s better to drink water before a meal than with a meal because water with a meal will dilute your gastric juices and make it harder for your body to digest the food.
Has coming to Cooking Club helped?”

Ese: “I have learned a lot from coming to Cooking Club. It has got me to like vegetables and I use the mint tea recipe we learned to make which helps my heartburn. I mostly ate processed carbohydrates, sugars and a bit of fruit before but now my diet contains a lot of fresh vegetables and salads. We cook with vegetables I just didn’t know about before, such as, sweet potatoes, coriander leaves, fennel and beetroot. I didn’t know that sweet potatoes are more suitable for diabetics than regular potatoes. I have noticed my tastes changing and things I used to eat like chocolate biscuits are too sweet to me now.
 I get a lot of tips and nutritional information which I take on board. I have started to copy quite a lot of our recipes at home.
I have been inspired by all the water-based smoothies we make and I make them at home now.
I have started going to a walking group once a week, too.”

Jill….”Have you seen any health improvements, apart from the weight loss?”

Ese….”Yes. I am now away from the threat of diabetes. I was on the borderline before. My blood pressure and cholesterol are good.
Also, no more backache and joint pains. This means that I can begin exercising. I now go to a walking group for a one hour group walk around Ruskin Park once a week. It’s organised by Peckham Pulse.
I generally move about more than I did because it’s not painful anymore. I used to be an athlete so I am really keen to return to running. There was a time I couldn’t think about that.

Cooking Club is nice. It’s social as well as therapeutic. We chat while we prepare food. Because it’s relaxing, we feel open and have a rapport. We enjoy good conversations while we cook.”