You’re awesome.  Did you know?

 In case you haven’t heard that in a while, we are here to remind you.

April 21st-27th is National Volunteer Week.  Although we appreciate the amazing work our volunteers do EVERY day, we want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you.

Whether you have volunteered for 8 classes or you are just being trained, each of you is essential to the success of our program.  When we say, “we couldn’t do this without you”….we really mean it.  Volunteers are at the very heart of Cooking Matters.  YOU have the skills.  YOU are making the difference.  YOU are empowering families and helping fight childhood hunger in America.  We are just here to give you that opportunity.

 So, to sum up…

THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR STRENGTHS WITH US!!!

We know your schedules are tight, and taking the volunteer is yet another commitment on an ever-growing list of to-do’s.  But please, if you have two hours a week to spare, we really need your ongoing help.  Maybe it’s been a while since you volunteered…maybe you have completed your training but are wary about jumping into a class.  Know that we at Gleaners are here to support you.  Shoot Rebecca an email…you know she’s waiting to hear from you!

 So, to sum up…

The capacity of our program is limited by volunteer availability.   In order to help more families, we need your help first.  

We are revving up for a new batch of classes this spring/summer…so keep an eye on the calendar/newsletter for opportunities that work for you.

As Cooking Matters at the Store participants take tours at 22 Walmart locations throughout the state, it’s time to reveal the winner of our $10 Challenge competition.

It was a close competition and we had several fantastic entries. In the end, Vani Sohikian was our big winner with a total of $9.99 !  Congratulations, Vani!

Spending just one cent less, TJ Robinson is definitely knows how to maximize his food dollars. He bought a whole chicken to make whole wheat pasta with an alfredo-style cauliflower sauce and spinach, and created a banana-quinoa pudding for dessert.  He even saved the chicken bones and vegetable scraps to make soup stock.  What a thrify guy!

Thanks to everyone who participated and showed off their budgeting skills.  Eating healthy definitely doesn’t have to break the bank!

Step 1:  Find $10.

Step 2:  Go to the store.

Step 3:  Buy at least one HEALTHY item from each food group.  When the items are combined, they should make at least one complete meal for four people.

• Grains
  • Go for whole grains
  • Pro Tip:  Check ingredient list to make sure a whole grain is listed first
• Fruit
  • Fresh fruit on sale or in season
  • Fruit canned in juice or light syrup
  • Frozen fruit with no added sugar
• Vegetable
  • Fresh veggies on sale or in season
  • Canned veggies that are low sodium or have no salt added
  • Frozen veggies with no added fat or sodium
• Dairy
  • Low-fat or non-fat
  • Pro Tip: Watch that sugar content!
• Protein
  • Think lean!
  • Pro Tip: Remember that vegetable protein sources can be both tasty and inexpensive

 Step 4: Check out

Step 5: Email photos of your receipt and grocery haul to Rebecca at rblauw@gcfb.org by 11:59pm on Sunday, April 14, 2013.

Step 6:  Enjoy your delicious bounty.  If you want to let us know how you used your groceries, that’s cool too.

The person who meets all the criteria of the challenge and gets the closest to $10 without going over will be named Supreme Shopper and receive a fabulous prize.  If there is a tie, other criteria will be considered.  The winner will be announced via the blog and facebook.

Happy shopping!

The Cooking Matters team at Gleaners is excited welcome former Operation Frontline volunteer Mike Muysenberg back to the Detroit area.  Chef Mike was one of our earliest go-to culinary instructors before he moved away several years ago.  It is wonderful to have him back in the classroom!

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I have over 36 years Professional Cooking experience. After a Chef’s Apprenticeship right out of high school, I traveled with Marriott, Omni and Westin hotels to Florida, Kentucky, and New York City. Back in the Detroit area, I gained lots of experience at Joe Muers Seafood, The St. Regis Hotel, and The Summit Restaurant at the top of the Renaissance Center. With a great love of cooking for others, I am looking forward to continuing my career in the Detroit Metro area.

More importantly, I am a proud father of 2 boys: Michael, 19, is enjoying his second year  of college on the Dean’s List at Schoolcraft Community College, pursuing a criminal justice degree while working in the loss prevention department at Kroger. His younger brother Matthew, 16, is in his sophomore year in high school, and has aspirations of becoming a chef himself.

How did you first get involved in Operation Frontline?

I first got interested in volunteering while working as Executive Chef at the Hotel St. Regis.   Enjoying some professional success made me want to share some of my skills with those that could benefit from them.

Do you have any good stories about your early volunteer days?

Just great memories of the nice people I’ve met along the way.

What do you look forward to the most now that you are volunteering with us again?

The next class!

  Have you noticed any changes in the program?

Yes. Lots of streamlining and focus on the important points. Great improvements!

What do you think is the best part of Cooking Matters?

The hands-on, open and relaxed atmosphere of the program within which the participants are made to feel comfortable, and learning can easily take place.

Do you have a favorite recipe you would like to share with the other volunteers?

Although not really a specific recipe, this idea has proven successful with many class attendees and with my family too. I call it:

Almost Free Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

Leftover Vegetables  (See Note)                               1 Gal.

Butter or oil                                                               4 Tbs.

Onion, diced                                                               2 cups

(and any diced fresh root vegetables, like carrot, celery, turnip, etc.)

Diced Tomato                                                             2 Cups

( fresh or canned)

Water                                                                          1 gal.

(or beef, chicken or vegetable stock, tomato juice, or any combination)

Salt/Pepper                                                                  To Taste

Seasoning ideas:                                                           2 Tbs.

( fresh or dried herbs, minced garlic, bullion cube, soy sauce, Worchestershire sauce, etc.)

Optional additions:                                                    2 cups

(Cooked rice, beans, or pasta)

Method:

All quantities are very flexible, with great success. Sauté onions in butter or oil until brown. Add water (or other choices) and Leftover Vegetables, bring to boil, and simmer 15 min. Add any optional items, Simmer 5 min. Taste, adjust seasonings, Serve or chill.

Notes:

Any vegetables, leftover from family meals,Saved in a gallon plastic bag in freezer until full. (You will be surprised how quickly your bag fills with what would normally be discarded.)

In the first step, the longer you cook the onions, the better your soup will be.

Made in larger quantities and frozen,(try qt. or gal. plastic bags frozen flat and stacked like cards in freezer) this soup is a quick and thrifty meal, and a great leftover magnet: add leftover proteins like cooked chicken, ground beef, or some shredded cheese and serve with crusty bread for a very satisfying meal. Enjoy!

It is National AmeriCorps Week.  To celebrate, No Kid Hungry is highlighting the work of Cooking Matters National Direct AmeriCorps Members throughout the country.

Alexa Eisenberg is our current AmeriCorps member.  Alexa was born and raised in southeast Michigan and has recently moved to Detroit, where she loves exploring new places and meeting new people.  She coordinates classes, oversees social media, and works on volunteer recruitment.  Although her interest in food systems is broad, she is particularly passionate about the food justice issues that face Detroit. In 2012 she earned her Bachelor’s from the University of Michigan in Environmental Sciences and Communications with a focus on urban sustainability. Upon graduation, Alexa joined the Cooking Matters team at the Gleaners Food Bank in Detroit, Michigan.  She loves working for Cooking Matters and feels proud to be a part of the Gleaners team.

I am currently in my fifth month of service as the Cooking Matters AmeriCorps member for the Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan. As my first professional endeavor after college, this position with Gleaners gives me a wonderful introduction to employment, and may be the beginning of a meaningful career in public health.  This experience has furthered my interest the connection between food justice and preventative health care for diet-related illnesses including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Each day I am glad to go to work, knowing that my time and effort is spent working to improve the health of others.

My favorite part of the job is my regular interaction with the communities of Detroit.  I grew up in the Detroit suburbs and have a strong affinity for the city, but a lot to learn.  Coordinating classes for Cooking Matters gives me the opportunity to spend time in parts of the city I would not typically find myself, interacting with Detroiters I would not otherwise come to know. Detroit is a city of strong, independent, and loyal citizens that want what is best for their families and their communities

Healthy food options are scarce in many areas of Detroit. Cooking Matters empowers Detroiters with the skills necessary to make healthy choices when options are limited. The ability to read food labels, understand how to prepare fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables, and how to meal plan and shop with a list may seem trivial, but can greatly impact food choices made by individuals on an everyday basis.  By teaching participants that it is possible to prepare nutritious, affordable meals that their families will enjoy, Cooking Matters can help individuals make real, lasting changes to their diets.  My experience with Cooking Matters has shown me that in addition to food access, food education is a vital component of community food security, particularly in Detroit.

Until working with Cooking Matters, I never realized the potential for nutrition and culinary education in empowering families to fight hunger and lead healthier lifestyles.  It is often the case that participants want to provide healthy meals for their family, but don’t know where to start.  I recently gave a Shopping Matters tour to a single, working mother of six who was looking to change her family’s eating habits.  She found it difficult enough to get food on the table, let alone fresh fruits and vegetables. We discussed money saving tips like buying whole foods in bulk, utilizing frozen and canned options, and choosing whole grains to keep her kids fuller for longer.  We brainstormed quick, healthy meals she could make after a long day of work to replace the ramen noodles her kids were used to eating.  Armed with the ability to read food labels and compare prices, she left the store that day not only with a bag of groceries, but the confidence to make informed decisions and change her life.

My experience as an AmeriCorps member thus far has filled me with a sense of gratitude and purpose that I could not have imagined before.  I look forward to the rest of my service, knowing that it will undoubtedly bring new challenges and opportunities for growth.

What is your favorite thing about being involved with Cooking Matters?

I enjoy Cooking Matters because of the opportunities that it provides for people that otherwise would not have them. They are able to learn about nutrition and food budgeting, to better their lives and the lives of their familes.  The fact that so many of the instructors are volunteers blows my mind.  The information that class participants are recieving is professional advice and information.  It doesn’t get better than that!

What do you do when you’re not busy helping us out with classes?

When I am not working with Cooking Matters, I am a full time student.  I am pre-med and looking to become an OB with a focus on nutrition.  I work part time as a server.  I also spend time volunteering with a medical weight loss program as well as with Botsford Hospital’s ER.

What is your favorite vegetable?

Probably kale or spinach.  I use them both almost daily in either shakes, salads, meals, or snacks!

Why do you think cooking matters?

I believe that it is an amazing program that more people should know about!  In my opinion, nutrition is a topic that is not discussed in depth enough.  I believe it should be involved in schools at a young age.  I think that it is amazing that this program exists!!

Do you have a recipe you would like to share?

I tend to make a salsa pretty regularly.  It isn’t my original recipe, however I will share it!

*Black beans

*mango

*avocado

*onion

*cilantro

*garlic

*tomatos

*lime juice!   It’s delish  

• The percent of children and youth in poverty increased from 34.8 percent in 1999 to 57.3 percent in 2011.
• When adjusted to 2011 dollars, median household income in Detroit decreased by more than a third (36.8 percent) between 1999 and 2011.
• Children increasingly live in single parent family households. In 2010, nearly 3 out of 5 households with children (59.3 percent) were headed by a single female.
• Nearly one in four Detroit households has no access to a vehicle.
• Students in families at 135% of the poverty line qualify for free lunch; families at 185% of the poverty line quality for reduced price lunch. The share of Detroit students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch has never dipped below 60% and has risen steadily since the start of the recession in 2007 to a high of 82.5% today.
  • Recognizing this fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made Detroit Public Schools a pilot district in fall 2011 for a program to provide all students, not just those who qualify, with free meals.
• Though an increasing number of students attended physical education classes, the percentage of DPS high school students who are overweight increased slightly over the last decade (with a high of 22.7 percent).
• • The percent of students who watched television for more than 3 hours has declined since 2005 (with a low of 44.4 percent in 2011). However, as children increasingly turn to computers and other mobile media platforms for entertainment, the decline in television viewership rates is to be expected and does not translate to more time exercising, reading, or other healthier pursuits.
• The weekly diets of DPS high schoolers have improved in the last ten years.
• • Students reported eating more fruits and vegetables in 2011 than in previous years.
    • Even with this improvement in healthy eating habits, over 20 percent of students had not eaten fruits or vegetables within a week of taking the survey.
  • The importance of healthy eating habits is well understood by the DPS Office of School Nutrition, which has initiated the Farm to School program, currently offered at every school.
  • • Each month local farmers are identified to deliver fresh fruits and/or vegetables to each school in an effort to support Michigan-based farmers and increase student exposure to fresh foods.
      • In addition, the program delivers educational opportunities in the cafeteria, classroom visits by local farmers, and school garden opportunities.

It is clear that there is much work to be done here in Detroit, but there are glimmers of hope and progress amid what may feel like a sea of overwhelming obstacles.  As you know, Cooking Matters seeks to empower families with the skills, confidence and knowledge they need to eat healthy on a tight budget.  As part of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, it is one of our primary goals to see the diets of children improve.  Whether this is done by educating parents to feed their children healthier foods through a Cooking Matters for Adults course, or teaching kids and teens to try healthy foods and prepare them on their own in a Cooking Matters for Teens/Kids class, we are deeply invested in this issue.

For the full report, visit: Data Driven Detroit

To honor this, we are hosting a group training for Shopping Matters at the Sterling Heights Walmart for potential facilitators.

For those of you interested in Shopping Matters, this event is a great way for you to receive face-to-face training so that you can lead tours of your own.  After taking part in a training, you can volunteer to lead a tour with us or organize and facilitate tours in your community!

Not familiar with Shopping Matters?

Shopping Matters is a one-time grocery store tour (built on the success of Week Five of the Cooking Matters for Adults course) that is designed to teach the primary food shoppers for households to select nutritious and low-cost ingredients.   A typical Shopping Matters tour lasts 1-2 hours and entails a grocery store tour guided by a trained expert (you!), a supplemental curriculum that elaborates on the topics covered on the tour, a post-tour survey, and a reusable shopping bag incentive.  Participants should walk away from a tour having learned key skills such as: buying fruits and vegetables on a budget, comparing prices, reading food labels, and finding whole grains.

Consider this an opportunity to participate in an ongoing service project in your community and highlight the work you do in a national context!

The training will take place this Saturday from 11am-2pm at the Sterling Heights Walmart located at 33201 Van Dyke Ave.

 To participate in the training, contact Jake Williams (jwilliams@gcfb.org) or Rebecca Blauw (rblauw@gcfb.org)

The secret ingredients were:

1. Winter Squash

2. Peanut Butter

3. Cinnamon

Cooking Matters staff voted for their favorites based on the following criteria:

1) Health Value (Incorporation of healthy ingredients and techniques)

2) Thoughtfulness (Incorporation of holiday theme/meaningfulness to its creator)

3) Presentation

4) Creativity

Best Overall:  Peanut Butter Cookies with a Healthy Twist by David Moss

Why did David win best overall?  Voters appreciated the simplicity of his recipe.  With only 9 ingredients total, the 3 secret ingredients can really shine.  This whole grain recipe is approachable even to baking beginners (such as participants in a Cooking Matters class).  Cookies are undoubtedly a holiday indulgence, but this recipe gives them a healthy and unexpected twist!

Most Thoughtful:  Winter Squash Peanut Butter Cheese Cake w/ Whipped Yogurt by Chef Mike

Why did Chef Mike win most thoughtful?  He chose to recreate his mother’s traditional pumpkin pie recipe, but with a healthy twist.  Chef Mike gave us the most background about his family’s holiday traditions (adding the whipped “cream” because his mother wouldn’t allow it otherwise!).  Judges loved this recipe’s use of greek yogurt and low fat ricotta.  We also loved the idea of using Chef TJ’s healthy cookie crumbs for the crust!

Best Presentation: Pumpkin Peanut Butter Mousse Tart by Chef TJ

Why did Chef TJ win best presentation?  Well, in a recipe contest where we can’t try the foods, we eat with our eyes– this one blew us away!  We appreciated this recipe’s use of nutritious ingredients like flax, chia seed,  wheat germ and whole wheat flour.  Using greek yogurt and egg whites give the mousse a healthier spin.  If this dish tastes half as good as it looks I’d like some now, please.

Most Creative:  Pumpkin Casserole by Dawn Claybrooks

Why did Dawn win most creative?  Two words:  homemade marshmallows.  What an idea!  Everyone has had sweet potatoes with marshmallows, but Dawn put a creative spin on this classic through the use of pumpkin.  We also liked her use of natural peanut butter (meaning no hydrogenated oils) and use of unsaturated fats instead of butter!

A big thank you goes out to all the participants. Contests like this one help us promote healthier eating habits and demonstrate the array of ingredients and techniques that can be used to make any dish healthier.  We couldn’t have a competition without competitors– thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to share your skills and creativity!  We hope you had fun!

Winners should contact aeisenberg@gcfb.org to receive your prizes!!!

Happy and Healthy Holidays Everyone!

It’s that time of year again….Extreme food makeover!!!

The holidays are here, and no matter how you celebrate, we all gotta eat!  Holiday foods=comfort foods and comfort foods=unhealthy, right? WRONG!

This holiday season, Cooking Matters challenges YOU to makeover a typically unhealthy holiday favorite.  This is a totally nondenomenational competition– whatever your family eats over the holidays is fair game!  The only rule is that you incorporate healthy ingredients and cooking techniques when recreating your dish!

The competition begins TODAY, Friday the 14th of December, 2012.

The secret ingredients are:

1. Winter Squash

2. Peanut Butter

3. Cinnamon

Although secret ingredients are optional, using them awards you bonus points.  The more secret ingredients you incorporate the more points you win!

Entries are due via the Cooking Matters Michigan facebook page by midnight on Sunday.  Post your recipe along with a picture or 2 of the final product.  We encourage you to share your inspiration for this dish, how you prepared it, and what this dish means for you and your family!

What’s at stake here?  PRIZES!!!  The winner and the runner up will be able to choose from an array of awesome goodies.

Winners will be announced on Monday.

Get Cooking!  Good luck and Happy Holidays!!!