The Senior Program Nutrition Assistant was contacted by the director of New Day Recovery Center interested in hosting a series of classes on healthier food and snacking choices for the clients housed at the center. 

We scheduled a four week Healthy Choices for Every Body Program that included curriculum on, Adding More Veggies, Fruits, Protein Rich foods, and Whole Grains along with the MyPlate, Budgeting, and Meal Planning. 

As they planned for the upcoming meals for the week, using their meal planners, they asked if they could use the My Plate incentive to have a better understanding of how many serving they needed per meal. 

When they finished the planners, they all came together as a group to discuss the right combinations of taste, color, texture and most important flavor. 

They worked well together in the kitchen in preparing a favorite recipe the whole group

would enjoy, Turkey Nachos, using Turkey Burger instead of the beef, cutting the

amount of unwanted fat.

One client was volunteered to brown the turkey and made a comment, "/ don't know

how to do this because I have never had to,, ( end quote). Her idea of cooking was

popping something in the microwave for a (right now) meal. After some

encouragement she attempted the task while others were chopping veggies for the

salsa. The expression of accomplishment gave her the confidence to try other recipes

from the 2022 NEP Calendar.