Healthy cooking classes upcoming

May 17--As part of its awareness campaign, the Daviess County Diabetes Coalition will offer hands-on cooking classes free to the public Monday and Tuesday.

Participants will learn how to dice and saute their way to better health, said Merritt Bates-Thomas, nutrition services supervisor for Green River District Health Department and program manager for the Diabetes Coalition.

More than 30 million Americans suffer from diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in four diabetics don't know they have the disease.

Another 84 million adults have prediabetes, and nine out of 10 aren't aware they are on the cusp of a life-changing disease.

The CDC recommends three things to help delay or prevent diabetes: lose weight, eat healthy and be active.

"We're working to do educational programs quarterly," Bates-Thomas said of the local Diabetes Coalition.

The upcoming hourlong cooking classes feature recipes from the American Heart Association. Participants will prepare one savory dish and a snack.

The hands-on demonstrations will include separate cooking areas for up to seven participants. Some will chop. Others will cook.

In the end, they will go around and taste each other's dishes.

Bates-Thomas said everyone is welcome, including people who are not diagnosed with diabetes.

Featured recipes "are lower in sodium, but they definitely are not low in flavor," she said.

On April 28, Fourth Street Baptist Church invited the Diabetes Coalition to host a healthy-cooking demonstration. Thirty-five people attended.

Bates-Thomas applauded Olga McKissic, executive director of the H.L. Neblett Community Center, who was eager to host the Diabetes Coalition event.

It is Owensboro's community center, and everyone should feel welcome, McKissic said.

Besides, she said, diabetes awareness is an important topic.

"It's vital that folks be educated about healthy eating," McKissic said. "A lot of people in our community have diabetes. It's a silent killer that affects so many vital organs."

Renee Beasley Jones, 270-228-2835, rbeasleyjones@messenger-inquirer.com

Classes offered

The Daviess County Diabetes Coalition will host Cooking Up Health classes:

--5:30 p.m. Monday at the Green River District Health Department, 1501 Breckenridge St. Registrations will be taken through Sunday at 270-852-5549, which is a voice mailbox that is listened to daily.

--5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the H.L. Neblett Community Center, 801 W. Fifth St. Registrations are taken through Monday at 270-685-3197.

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