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Health & Fitness
But I Don’t Know How to Cook!
Easy Chicken Casserole Serves 6
by Tracey Shaffer, RDN, LD
“I know that preparing my own food is less expensive than paying salaries to chefs and fry cooks. I have one big problem; I never learned HOW to cook!” In a generation of convenience foods, many young adults don’t know the first thing about cooking from scratch and putting a meal together. What can we do to get back to the kitchen? Let’s start at the beginning. Teach your children early. Let them help choose a favorite dish or meal. Let them set the table, clean the vegetables, stir the soup and clear the dishes. If your grandparents are available, use them not only as cooking teachers but as history tellers. Encourage the sharing of childhood memories and family traditions. If there are no grandparents to help and you, as a parent, don’t have the skill or time to teach your kids how to
cook, look into kids’ cooking classes. Some are after school, some are held on the weekends, and some are offered in summer camp settings. Other opportunities for kids to learn how to cook are through scouting badges and home economics courses. A good basic cookbook makes a great gift for a beginning cook. People always are flattered when you appreciate their skill and then ask them to teach you how. Find a friend who cooks and ask for lessons. Expand your horizons and look into your local community college for a cooking class. Have you checked out the cooking shows on TV? Even if you can’t follow the shows enough to reproduce the recipes, at least you gain some confidence that “Anyone can do this; it looks so easy; and it looks fun!” Beyond television is the internet. There are cooking videos that show you how to cook and talk you through
food preparation. There are blogs today about every topic on earth so of course, you can read blogs about cooking. Remember that the quality of blogging advice is variable because everyone has an opinion, and everyone tries to cook. Whether it is classes, TV, internet or cookbooks find what works for you. Sooner than later you will find that it is really not that hard to make a meal. And, you will be proud of your accomplishment. Try this recipe for an easy, “starter” recipe.
Tracey Shaffer, RDN, LD is a registered dietitian at the Blue Springs Hy-Vee. She can be reached at tshaffer@hy-vee.com. The information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for individual advice.
Purple Day Brings Awareness of Seizure Disorders Local residents are encouraged to wear purple March 26th to bring awareness of seizure disorders and support those who struggle with seizures. Purple Day is an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy worldwide. On March 26th annually, people in countries around the world are invited to wear purple and host events in support of epilepsy awareness. The Purple Peace Foundation invites Grain Valley residents to support those who deal with seizures to wear purple on Tuesday, March 26th and share a selfie on social media, tagging the Purple Peace Foundation page on Facebook. The Purple Peace Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, was founded in 2012 in memory of Grain Valley resident Amanda Brady, who died at age 13 following a severe seizure. Brady developed epilepsy as an infant. The Foundation raises funds to provide tools to improve the quality of life for individuals living with epilepsy, to support epilepsy research, and to increase awareness and education about epilepsy. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disease and affects people of all ages. One in 26 people will develop epilepsy at some point in their lives.
Epilepsy is characterized by unpredictable seizures and can cause other health problems and is a spectrum condition with a wide range of seizure types and control varying from person-to -person. The Purple Peace Foundation hosts a
regular Connections meeting for families impacted by epilepsy. The next meeting is scheduled for April 14th from 2:00pm – 4:00pm in the meeting room at Lunar Bowl in Blue Springs. The Foundation’s 5th Annual “Cruise for Consciousness” Car Show is scheduled for
All you need:
1 (10.75 ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
½ cup skim milk
dash white pepper
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen mixed vegetables 1 (4 ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces, undrained
3 cups cornflakes cereal, crushed to 1 ½ cups 2 tbsp butter, melted ¼ tsp ground thyme All you do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-by-8-inch baking dish.
Combine soup, milk and pepper. Stir in
chicken, vegetables and mushrooms. Pour into prepared dish.
Combine cereal, butter and thyme. Sprinkle over top of chicken mixture. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until brown and bubbly.
Nutrition information per serving: Calories: 280, Carbohydrate: 30g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Fat: 7g, Protein: 25g, Saturated Fat: 3.5g, Sodium: 430mg, Sugar: 7g, Trans fats: 0g
August 4th from 11:00am – 3:00pm at the Grain Valley Community Center pavilion. For more information on the Purple Peace Foundation, visit www.purplepeacefoundation.org.
