Learn to prepare easy meals without burning the budget in free cooking classes
CONNIE SWINNEY • PICAYUNE STAFF
LLANO — A few short steps can go a long way in preparing, serving and sharing satisfying and nutritious meals with friends and family.
The Texas A&M AgriLIFE Extension Office in Llano has launched a program to promote family meal time, saving money, nutrition and the basics of food safety, preparation and storage.
“Cooking with Friends” will teach participants how to prepare easy meals in monthly sessions during the year.
“We’re covering a variety of these topics, anywhere from nutrition to the overall well-being of a family,” said Family and Consumer Sciences agent Jennifer Reeves of the extension office. “If you sit down as a family and eat a meal, it will be healthier and more cost-effective.”
The June sessions are 5:30-6:30 p.m. June 24 for instruction and education and 5:30-7 p.m. June 30 for cooking demonstrations and preparation. The free sessions will be held in the AgriLIFE meeting room at the extension office, 1447 Texas 71 East.
Topics include breakfast items, freezer meals, slow-cookers and grilling.
Students will need to purchase $35 worth of ingredients each to prepare, take home and store five meals for a family of four.
“A lot of times, it’s hard for a family member to get down and actually make a meal. Sometimes, it can take 30 minutes just to prepare a meal,” Reeves said. “You’re tired. You want to grab something quick, and we forget about the nutritional value.”
Tips include turning leftovers in “planned-overs,” avoiding cross-contamination, the proper way to wash vegetables and fruits, time-temperature control to avoid food-bourne illnesses, and examining food at the grocery store to check for safety.
“We’ll discuss things like, if you buy something, where can you buy it, pricing items by buying in a larger package and how to reduce those costs to make a meal affordable,” Reeves said. “Being cost-effective is the most important. You’re spending $35 for food. This will give you five meals that will feed four people.”
To pre-register for the sessions, call the extension office at (325) 247-4849.
“Our overall health begins with the food that we eat,” Reeves added. “If we’re not healthy from the inside out, then how healthy are we? It’s bringing back that friendship and the gathering.”
connie@thepicayune.com