With spring in the air, people’s tastes turn to lighter meals and fresh, seasonal ingredients. For those in need of some inspiration in the kitchen, Get Healthy West Georgia’s Healthy for Life class served up cooking lessons from a noted local chef using nutritious recipes that can easily be prepared at home.
The April 8 class at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton featured a hands-on cooking demonstration led by Glenn Barnett, the executive chef at Sunset Hills Country Club, and Tanner Health System’s registered dietitian Melissa Brillhart.
“We’re teaching people how eating healthy is also delicious and fun through some tasty hands-on learning,” said Barnett, who will send the class home with fresh recipes and a few kitchen tricks he learned in culinary school.
Barnett is passionate about healthy cooking. He is an active volunteer with Tanner Health System’s Get Healthy, Live Well initiative that’s helping west Georgia residents improve their diets.
“When cooking at home you choose all the ingredients used in a dish,” Barnett said. “It’s the easiest way to control your own destiny of what you truly consume.”
Cooking at home can help you minimize added salt and fat, better adjust portion sizes and balance the combination of proteins and vegetables in every meal, Barnett explains. Being your own chef also means you can use better quality ingredients by choosing fresh, locally grown foods and avoiding unhealthy canned or processed meals.
Barnett believes it’s important to teach people to cook and says that learning a few basic kitchen skills can help create a healthier and more enjoyable lifestyle. Finding new recipes can be time-consuming, so Chef Barnett has gathered a variety of options to tempt your palate and trim your waistline.
“It simply takes effort from those who have the ability to cook and a willingness to learn from those who do not,” he says. “You have the opportunity to enjoy the art of cooking, if not just for yourself but also for loved ones and friends.”
The free Healthy for Life classes were part of the Get Healthy West Georgia initiative led by Tanner Health System and the Community Foundation of West Georgia designed to help area residents make healthy lifestyle changes.
Anti-Inflammatory Cooking
This Healthy for Life class emphasized the importance of eating anti-inflammatory foods, which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and other cardiac problems, lower blood pressure and alleviate arthritis symptoms.
Foods like fish, walnuts, omega-3 eggs, canola oil, whole soy foods, flax seeds, and wheat germ are all rich sources of essential fatty acids, which reduce inflammation.
Many fruits and vegetables are also anti-inflammatory, including red onions, tomatoes, broccoli, red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, red bell peppers, garlic and dark leafy greens. For anti-inflammatory fruits, try red grapes, berries, pomegranates, cherries, oranges and plums.
Spices such as rosemary, ginger, turmeric and curry help prevent inflammation, as do extra virgin olive oil, freshly brewed tea (green, oolong and black), dark chocolate and red wine.
It’s also important to minimize your intake of foods that are known to promote inflammation. These include red meat, poultry with skin and most meats that have been fried or cooked at very high temperatures, which changes the chemical composition in the meat. Whole-fat dairy products as well as oils such as corn oil, safflower oil, peanut oil and soybean oil also increase inflammation.
Some beverages can also increase inflammation, such as excessive alcohol, sodas and high-calorie sports or energy drinks that are loaded with added sugars and caffeine.