Good nutrition can be a challenge for seniors. Appetites decrease and seniors may have difficulty shopping or preparing nutritious meals. Food demonstrations with hands on activities preparing simple dishes encourages seniors to prepare meals at home.

The Todd County NEP Assistant started a “Cooking through the Calendar” in January 2018, at the Todd County Senior Citizens Center. To encourage attendance, names of participants who attended the classes were entered into a drawing for a slow cooker. 

Each Month, the NEP Assistant taught a lesson from the “Healthy Choices for Everybody” curriculum and participants prepared a recipe from the 2018 NEP Calendar. The hands-on food preparation showed participants how easy it was to make a healthy recipe. After preparing, they tasted the new, inexpensive recipes. They were also given kitchen incentives to help prepare the new recipes at home.

A widowed, male, senior citizen won the slow cooker. He had never used a slow cooker before and did not cook much on his own. To encourage him to cook, the NEP Assistant provided him with some healthy slow cooker recipes.

About three months after the class ended, the man reported back: “I won the crockpot, so I decided I would try to use it. I bought a roast, added some carrots and potatoes and cooked it.”  He also said he enjoyed several meals from that one roast. He is now beaming with pride and his confidence in meal preparation has improved. He plans to continue to use the slow cooker. He looks forward to attending the Cooking Class and learning new ways to prepare healthy meals.