Parents across Nottingham have found that their eating habits and their children’s diets have changed for the better after completing Eatwell for Life courses run by Nottingham CityCare Partnership this summer.
Eatwell for Life courses are held in various community venues around Nottingham and run for six weeks. The courses focus on teaching nutritious, affordable cooking, promoting healthy eating habits and tackling existing expectations of healthy eating.
Vicki Watson, a specialist dietitian at CityCare, said: “The success of the course is that it allows people to have a go at cooking and tasting new foods, as well as learning more about low cost healthy eating in an interactive way.
“The support of the rest of the group and the experience of our facilitators helps to inspire people to make simple changes that can have a big impact on their health.
“Some people want to lose weight, others want to improve an aspect of their health like diabetes control or simply take control of their lifestyle. What we do find is that the course has a wider impact on the diets of family and friends of those who attend, which is fantastic. More people in Nottingham are enjoying fresh, seasonal ingredients and making simple affordable meals.”
The Eatwell for Life course has had a huge amount of positive feedback from participants.
Ursula O’Reilly, a mum from St Ann’s, said: “I can cook – but there were certain things I’d never cooked before, like cooking pizza and making my own sauces from scratch and using fruit for sweetness. We made chicken nuggets using crushed cornflakes and a spoon of oil, not poured from the bottle.
“Actually doing it and coming home and thinking ‘I’ve learned something’ was brilliant. I didn’t realise there were so many things about food and drinks that I didn’t know. Now I just look on the back at food labels. It was nice being part of something with other people in a group, we all felt comfortable, joined up. It also gave me time out as a mum.”
Ursula is one of many who, since completing the Eatwell for Life course, signed up to another CityCare course, Cook and Move, for parents and 3-6 year olds over the summer holidays.
She said: “It was amazing for kids and it gave parents the chance to interact with their children. I let my daughter do it all on her own now when we are cooking. She loves chopping and making her own pizzas.”
Last year more than 800 people in the city completed practical nutrition and healthy eating courses run by CityCare’s nutrition team.
Eatwell and Cook and Move courses are free for people living in the city. To find out more, call CityCare’s nutrition team on 0115 883 4291 or email nutrition@nottinghamcitycare.nhs.uk.
