What’s cooking? Raising awareness of nutrition during National Nutrition Month
Published 12:07 am Thursday, March 6, 2025
From left, Susan Blume, dishes up soup, as Abbi Sauder, a student at Catawba College, center, and Dylan Mott with the Rowan Health Department, looks on. – Karen Kistler
Dylan Mott adds cheese to the black bean quesadilllas recipe. — Karen Kistler
From left, Susan Blume, Cyndy Allison and Sue White listen and watch during the cooking demonstration. – Karen Kistler
Cooking class attendees, Cyndy Allison, left, and Sue White, listen to the speakers as they sample some of the prepared foods. – Karen Kistler
Dylan Mott adds some maple syrup to the overnight oats. — Karen Kistler
Karen Kistler
karen.kistler@salisburypost.com
CLEVELAND — The size of the group that met for the March 3 National Nutrition Month cooking class may have been small, but the wealth of information shared with them was large.
Susan Blume, registered dietician who coordinates the food pharmacy program at Main Street Marketplace and Meeting Place, and Dylan Mott, public health education manager with the Rowan County Health Department, partnered for the March 3 class held at Christ Episcopal Church in Cleveland.
Titled “Budget Bites,” the class focused on affordable, nutritious meals and demonstrated how to cook the various foods and provided those in attendance the opportunity to taste them as well.
Attendee Cyndi Allison said she came to this class because she has “always enjoyed cooking and I’ve done blogs and the churches have pot-lucks and that kind of thing.”
She also noted that she likes to learn new recipes and, during events such as this, Allison said, “they usually have a focus on health, and now that I’m getting older it makes sense to make healthy foods, but I want them to taste good and I know in these classes they always have good recipes that actually taste good.”
Sue White, also an attendee, said that Allison called and told her about the class.
“I enjoy all these (types of) programs,” White said. “You learn something at every little class you attend whether it’s spices or taste or what you can do, how to use different products and vegetables.”
Both of them mentioned how glad they were that the class was being held in Cleveland and would attend all that came that way.
Catawba College student Abbi Sauder assisted them in the kitchen during the event. She said she was helping with the class as part of her community nutrition class.
Blume said they are also partnering with the Cooperative Extension and there would be someone from this organization at the next class, which will be held March 12 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Partners in Learning at The Woods, 1775 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Salisbury. This class, titled “Southern Staples,” will showcase classic southern dishes with a healthy twist.
Mott and Blume began the evening introducing themselves, and Mott said that March is National Nutrition Month and they wanted to “bring awareness to the topic of nutrition, healthy eating and how that plays into our overall wellbeing.”
Blume said that they would be discussing healthier recipes focusing on the budget theme pointing out how groceries these days are expensive and lifestyles are busy.
“Everybody is so busy and we’ve really gotten away from cooking and being in the kitchen, sharing meals with one another,” she said.
During the “Budget Bites” class, four recipes were demonstrated beginning with Overnight Oats. Mott explained the process of the recipe, noting that the ingredients can be bought in bulk making them less expensive, and can use non-name brand items and frozen fruit, all contributing to being a budget-friendly recipe.
The overnight oats, Mott said, also fit the healthy category as the oats and chia seeds are great sources of protein and fiber plus. Blume added that if using frozen fruit picked at their peak freshness, the meals “are providing maximum amounts of vitamins and minerals.”
She also said that starting the day with a meal that is high in protein and fiber helps with not just weight control but is important “for your overall health” saying that fiber is good for cholesterol control, the digestive tract, having effects on the immune system and keeps you full.
The three other recipes that Mott demonstrated were also budget friendly, healthy and, as the teachers stressed, simple. They included a Black Bean Veggie Quesadilla using whole wheat tortillas along with black beans that Mott said are another great source of protein and fiber. A wide variety of vegetables can be used in this dish.
When it was done, Mott showed how colorful the quesadilla was with the various vegetables and said, “we eat with our eyes, so the more colorful it is, the more nutritious for you.”
Blume pointed out the the health department’s Healthy Rowan Cookbook which was offered along with other handouts to those attending. The cookbook she showed them had some extra pages in it along with the recipes. One was a page which showed the colors and nutrients the vegetables contain and shared some of the benefits of eating healthy.
A lentil soup, another simple and high protein and fiber dish, followed and the class ended with a dessert option of a cookie made with mashed bananas, yogurt, oats and raisins. Mott said they could do some cookie variations using nuts and seeds as well.
Blume wanted to remind everyone that these recipes are not carbohydrate free but they are less than one loaded down with extra sugar and said that what she loved about the recipes is the absence of the bad stuff.
When asked why they thought it was important to offer these events, Blume said that “nutrition is so exciting and full of science and we learn so much about our bodies.” She said that working with food and cooking provides the opportunity to learn “how that affects our overall health so that we can have optimal health and wellness.”
For Mott, he said that there’s a lot of misinformation about nutrition out there and they were there “to just break it down and kind of simplify that, that it can be whatever you want it to be and you can take some things that you’ve enjoyed and take some other ideas but it can all come together to be one healthy and delicious meal.”
As the evening came to a conclusion, Blume reminded them that this event is an encouragement to kind of shift away from a diet with processed foods showing that “you don’t have to do something crazy or elaborate. These are simple recipes that are really doable, and hopefully budget friendly and hope you got some good ideas to take with you.”
While there is a little bit of prep to them, Mott echoed that these recipes are simple and once the prep is done, it doesn’t take long to put them together “to create a healthy and satisfying meal.”
