Healthy Cooking School Scheduled

Grab your friends and join us for food and fun at the Dinner Tonight Healthy Cooking School, which is hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Dinner Tonight Planning Coalition. The event which focuses on fast and fresh for dinner tonight is scheduled for Thursday, September 3, in the Lecture Hall of Weatherford College, Wise County,  located at 5180 Highway 380.

The cooking school begins at 6 pm and concludes around 8 pm.   Dinner Tonight will feature demonstrations of easy and nutritious menus that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. Busy moms and dads are encouraged to take advantage of the cooking school to gain new ideas. The eat-at-home aspect of Dinner Tonight reinforces research, which shows children who sit down to regular family meals consume more fruits, vegetables and fiber, as well as tend to perform better academically.

The registration fee is $20 per person in advance: which includes a cookbook consisting of additional menus and recipes; recipe samples; goody bags; and door prizes.  Please call the Extension office at 940/627-3341 to reserve your spot. Space is limited.

Food demonstrations will be conducted by: Jessica Theimer, Dinner Tonight Program coordinator who will bring a Texas twist to weeknight grilling ideas for the Mediterranean meal plan; Shelly Laaser, Director of Child Nutrition with Decatur and Bridgeport ISDs will take us Around the World in 20 Minutes with her healthy tips for pizza, fish tacos, and beef stir fry;  Debbie Workman, entrepreneur and former culinary arts teacher returns to share more knife skills while she demonstrates Seared Tilapia with Tabbouleh; Rachel Adams, adjunct faculty professor for the Kinesiology and Nutrition department at Abilene Christian University will demonstrate a quick and tasty One Stop Pork Skillet; and Holly Berry, Child Wellness Coordinator with Fit Y.O.U.T.H., Fit-N-Wise at Wise Regional Health Systems, brings Sensational Time-Saving Smoothies.

Door prizes will be given throughout the event with the grand door prize being a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer donated by First Financial Bank.

We are targeting busy people who still want to make time for meal preparation and feel good about what they are feeding themselves and their family.  Our goals are to promote family mealtime, teach families healthy meal planning and food preparation techniques, and promote Texas Agriculture.

Sponsors of the Cooking School include: Texas Beef Council, Texas Farm Bureau, First Financial Bank, Weatherford College, Wise Regional Health System, and Brookshire’s.

For additional information, contact the Extension office at 940/627-3341.