Families cooking together is a recipe for health, happiness

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 13, 2024) – “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Healthy eating habits may not be as easy as the old saying suggests, but the core message holds true: maintaining a healthy diet is crucial for overall health. However, many face challenges in adopting healthy eating habits, whether due to socioeconomic barriers, lack of culinary skills or insufficient nutritional knowledge.

Ethan Ritter, M.D., physician in both UK HealthCare Internal Medicine and Kentucky Children’s Hospital, observed that many patients could benefit from improved nutritional education. He connected with UK HealthCare’s Healthy Kentucky Initiative, which supports community health and wellness efforts, and was introduced to Jacqui Denegri, a Nutritional Education Program Assistant at Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Fayette County Extension Office.

“Having grown up in 4-H and graduated from the College of Agriculture, I knew that cooperative extension had the tools and skills to make nutrition education practical,” said Ritter. “It’s easy to tell a patient to ‛improve your diet,’ but the challenging part is turning that into long-lasting, attainable change.”

When Jacqui Denegri learned about the opportunity to collaborate with Ritter, she quickly suggested they offer “Cook Together, Eat Together,” a curriculum focused on easy, budget-friendly and healthy family meals.

“Family dinners positively impact children’s health and well-being,” said Denegri. “Research shows that children who grow up having regular family dinners tend to eat healthier, have lower rates of obesity and are less likely to experience depression and anxiety. Cooking together as a family not only models healthy kitchen habits and preserves family traditions but also passes down recipes. Furthermore, preparing meals at home saves money, provides control over ingredients and allows for leftovers to be utilized for future meals.”

With a shared vision, Ritter, Denegri and the Healthy Kentucky Team launched a series of community cooking classes called “Families in the Kitchen/Las Familias en la Cocina.” Offered in both English and Spanish, these classes aimed to make cooking enjoyable and educational. Participants engaged in hands-on cooking, preparing healthy, flavorful and affordable meals. One participant, Alejandro Arande, who attended with his wife and children, expressed gratitude for the culturally tailored programming.

“We appreciated having the opportunity in our own culture,” said Arande. “There’s a lot of things I had to learn because I am diabetic. Since I learned all this, I have more energy and I feel better. Before I was overweight, but with this [program], I feel good! I cut [unhealthy food] down a little, I exercise two to three times a week.”

The pilot series of six classes was held on Saturday mornings from March to May at The Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center on East Third Street, near the UK Polk-Dalton Clinic. Each session included a 30-minute fitness component led by Maranda Brooks, a family and consumer science extension agent. Open to both cooking class participants and the community, the fitness session showcased enjoyable ways to incorporate physical activity into daily life.

“I enjoyed providing a small kickstart fitness activity that helped families learn a wide variety of ways to stay active that are fun, diverse in activity and give the ability to provide cultural appreciation through music to the Hispanic community,” said Maranda.

“Families in the Kitchen” exemplifies the successful collaboration between Cooperative Extension’s community programming and a caring physician dedicated to his patients. It provided a nurturing environment where local families acquired essential skills to enhance their health and wellness. Following a successful pilot, Ritter and Denegri anticipate launching another session starting in September, offering more families the opportunity to join in the healthy fun.

Register for the fall session of “Familes in the Kitchen” here.

UK HealthCare’s Healthy Kentucky Initiative advocates for prevention and wellness efforts to advance the health of all Kentuckians. For more details about UK HealthCare’s Community Commitment, visit https://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/community-commitment or email hki@uky.edu.