AgriLIFE agents cooking up school for healthy meals, family memories
DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR
LLANO — One of the best steps to improving your family’s health, and even relationships, is simply sitting down to a meal once a day.
Unfortunately, in today’s world, many people don’t feel they have the time or the skills to cook a nutritional meal.
The Burnet, Llano and Lampasas counties AgriLIFE extension agents want to change that.
“Cooking meals can go a long way to helping your family’s health because you can control what goes into the meal, keeping it low fat and low sodium,” said Burnet County AgriLIFE Extension Agent Linda Wells.
Starting Jan. 30, the three county extension agents are hosting Dinner Tonight Healthy Cooking School. The first one will take place at St. James Lutheran Church, 1401 Ford St. in Llano, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The school then travels to Burnet on Feb. 27 and Lampasas on March 27.
“We’re doing a traveling cooking show basically,” Wells said. “All of us will be going to each one giving cooking demonstrations.”
Wells will join Llano County AgriLIFE Extension Agent Jennifer Page and Lampasas County AgriLIFE Extension Agent Karen DeZarn on the “road show.” During the school, the three extension agents will present numerous recipes and demonstrate them for the audience.
“There will be recipes that are low cost and easy to prepare,” Wells said. “And that’s the main goal: to give people the tools they need to cook more meals at home. We’ll even show some techniques that will make the preparation easier.”
Page said in a news release the school is to help busy families enjoy healthy, delicious meals.
A simple thing as sitting down to a family meal can actually do more than provide something to eat. Page pointed out, according to research, children who regularly sit down to family meals eat more fruit, vegetables and fiber while consuming fewer sodas and less fried food and other unhealthy foods.
“Families that eat together also have more time and opportunities to communicate and build relationships, and these children tend to perform better academically,” Page said.
Sometimes, a meal can be something simple, such as stir fry or even a sandwich, but the end result of sitting down and eating together is the main thing.
“Just getting together having a good time and good food is important for our families,” Wells said.
Those who want to learn to prepare nutritious and tasty dinners can learn just that at the Dinner Tonight Healthy Cooking School.
The school will include chances for audience participation as well as door prizes. Participants will leave armed with more knowledge, a copy of the Dinner Tonight Cookbook and a “goodie” bag full of useful items from the sponsors.
Individuals of all cooking levels, from beginner to advanced, are welcome.
And thanks to the major sponsors Scott & White and the Texas Beef Council, the cooking school is free.
Wells recommended people pre-register because seating is limited to 80. She added people can attend more than one of the programs if they want.
To register or for more information, contact Wells at (512) 446-8271 or Linda.Wells@ag.tamu.edu; Page at (325) 247-4849 or Jennifer.Reeves@ag.tamu.edu; or DeZarn at (512) 556-8271 or Karen.DeZarn@ag.tamu.edu.
daniel@thepicayune.com
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Dinner Tonight Healthy Cooking School hosted by the AgriLIFE Extension Services in Burnet, Llano and Lampasas counties
WHEN AND WHERE: 6-8 p.m. Jan. 30 at St. James Lutheran Church, 1401 Ford St. in Llano; Feb. 27 in Burnet (TBD); and March 27 in Lampasas (TBD)
FOR MORE: Contact Burnet County’s Linda Wells at (512) 446-8271 or Linda.Wells@ag.tamu.edu; Llano County’s Jennifer Page at (325) 247-4849 or Jennifer.Reeves@ag.tamu.edu; or Lampasas County’s Karen DeZarn at (512) 556-8271 or Karen.DeZarn@ag.tamu.edu.