MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP -- To promote healthy eating, Weight Watchers in Marquette Township recently partnered with N.M.U.'s Culinary School to offer cooking demonstrations for both members and the public.
Coconut curry tomato soup with a garnish of cilantro. Zucchini fritters with an apricot-yogurt sauce.
Is your mouth watering yet? Not only do these dishes sounds delectable, they also sound difficult.
According to the Healthy Eating Guide, Americans are now annually spending more than $140 billion on fast food. We want food that tastes good and we don't want to spend time on making it nutritious...so what are we doing? We're buying more fast food than ever, and we're gaining weight.
"I think some folks are fearful that losing weight would mean you don't eat tasty, wonderful meals, and I think this shows folks that it's not a scary thing to lose weight," says Deborah Bender Roels, area manager for Weight Watchers.
Chefs from N.M.U.'s Culinary School recently visited the Weight Watchers location in Marquette Township. They cooked two dishes from a new Weight Watchers cookbook, answering questions while showing how best to make healthy meals. The main message of the cooking demonstration was that eating healthy doesn't have to require a lot of preparation. For example, the recipes featured that day took less than 15 minutes to make.
And it doesn't have to break your bank either.
"You can go shopping for both recipes; I spent less than $40, and it should serve eight total," says Andrew Sear, adjunct faculty at N.M.U.
Availability is also a big thing when you're looking to make healthy meals. You want to choose ingredients that are easily accessible and tasty, too.
"Eating vegetables in a different way, because not everybody likes to just take a bite out of a zucchini or carrot," Sear adds. "You don't have to sacrifice the flavor...eating something that's going to do good for you."
The partnership between Weight Watchers and N.M.U. is new. They plan to host more cooking demonstrations in the future.
For more information about Weight Watchers, you can visit their website.
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