According to the Kentucky Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education 2018 Annual Report 39% of Kentuckians suffer from hypertension.  In today’s society many families or individuals are busy with extracurricular activities or do not want to cook for just one or two people. This creates an epidemic of individuals developing unhealthy eating habits due to buying processed foods, eating out, and not consuming the correct foods for proper nutrition and overall health. Research has shown these unhealthy habits can lead into hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and obesity; it can also be hard on your food budget. To address these concerns locally the Logan County Supplemental Nutrition Education Assistant hosted a class teaching nutrition education and how to utilize a slow cooker to prepare healthy, cost efficient meals.

The Logan County SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Assistant utilized the Healthy Choices Curriculum to teach the program to focus on cooking nutritious meals at homes for families by using a slow cooker. Most families have a slow cooker or have easy access to one. Slow cooker meals are great whenever you have a busy schedule, have to work early or late in the day and can be a one dish meal. The class was taught at the Logan County Extension office and met four times. At each class the participants sampled a slow cooker recipe from the University of Kentucky Nutrition Education Program Calendar from years past. Participants gained knowledge in limiting sodium, fat and sugar intake by reducing the ingredients when cooking at home.  Participants also gained knowledge on the importance of food safety handling techniques, budgeting and planning meals for one to two people. The participants in the class was diverse by being families of just one or two people. They discussed the struggle of wanting to cook for just one or two people. The Nutrition Education Program Assistant discussed with them about freezing leftovers, how to properly label leftovers, and how long they can stay in the freezer.

Participants at the end of the class discussed how much they loved the recipes that they sampled and how a slow cooker was a great way to cook for even one or two people. They discussed how it would help in the winter time by making soups and freezing the leftovers for whenever they wanted something quick to fix.  There was over a fifty percent increase in food handling safety practices; over sixty percent increase in budgeting and meal planning by participants cooking more meals at home.