Journal and Courier

Class offers singles culinary tips
By DOROTHY SCHNEIDER
dschneider@journalandcourier.com

There are times when Joyce Flynn resorts to a bowl of cereal or bag of popcorn for dinner.

"It's hard to cook for just one," said Flynn, a Lafayette resident. "If I make a meatloaf, I end up eating it for a week."

Many singles have a tough time in the kitchen. Most recipes make four servings and leftovers can be tiresome.

But Emily Stern, head chef and holistic health specialist at ROCCWell Center for Health & Well-Being, is teaching a "Cooking for One" course over the next month to advise singles on easier, healthier ways to eat.

She's teaching some recipes that are very simple and others that take a little more effort, but can be a lot of fun, to give people in the class options in the kitchen.

"One of the biggest challenges with cooking for one is that people don't want to do it or feel like they don't have the time to do it," Stern said. "And there's a lot of fear and anxiety with trying to eat healthy that can be subdued (through education)."

At last week's class, Stern taught her students how to make fresh spring rolls, a peanut dipping sauce and hummus.

She introduced the class to some new ingredients, such as tahini (a sesame seed paste), rice paper (used to wrap the spring rolls) and fish sauce (an ingredient used often in Asian cooking).

Stern advised her class that hummus, which she made by throwing all the ingredients in a food processor and flipping the switch, can be easily frozen and taken for a workday snack or lunch.

Courtney Rasner of Lafayette said she signed up for the course because she wants to eat more healthy foods, but didn't know where to start. She and other students tried new ingredients at the class and bonded while learning how to chop garlic and wrap spring rolls.

Stern taught the class some of her simple guidelines for cooking, which she's developed over the past six years as her expertise in healthy cooking has grown. When shopping for groceries, she pays close attention to the labels and picks the foods with the fewest ingredients. And she centers her diet around how the food makes her feel.

"I ask, 'Does this feel good when I'm finished eating or do I need to take a nap?' "she said. "And I pay attention to what are my portion sizes."

Stern said healthy eating is a constant struggle for most people, but she encourages everyone to try new dishes and ingredients even if they seem a little intimidating.

"You never know unless you try it," she said.