I went to the
most awesome cooking class a couple weeks ago at the Cooper Fitness Center at Craig Ranch. Aptly named Sizzling Simplicity: Asian Wok Cookery, it
was a class on preparing quick, sweet or savory variations of Asian dishes using a wok. Our chef immediately drew us in with her
passion for playing in the kitchen with different tastes and flavors, as she
casually discussed her love for food and nutrition. We learned how to cook – and got to taste
firsthand – 3 different dishes. The
aromas of these different dishes filled the room and tantalized our palates
even before the food hit our mouths! I
left inspired to cook more Asian dishes, and I also left very impressed by our
instructor.
The chef was Cindy Kleckner, RD. LD. Cindy
is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian who has worked in the Cooper Clinic
Nutrition Department for over 10 years specializing in
weight management, cardiovascular health, corporate wellness and nutritional
culinary events. Cindy has contributed
to several books authored by the reknown Dr. Kenneth Cooper. But just recently, she co-authored the Hypertension Cookbook for Dummies with
Roseanne Rust, MS, RD, LDN. I picked up
a copy of the book and was blown away by all the great advice (and recipes!)
that Cindy and Roseanne included in this book.
Regardless of whether or not you have hypertension, this book is a
must-have for your kitchen cookbook library.
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| Cindy Kleckner, RD, LD |
Recently, I had
the opportunity to do a one-on-one interview with Cindy. We got to talk about her food and cooking
philosophy, her book and the cooking classes and on-on-one nutrition counseling
she offers here locally:
1.
What started first - your love for nutrition or your love for cooking?
Funny, even as a kid I had an interest in
food.....coming from an ethnic family (Polish) we had very strong traditions.
My father died of a massive heart attack at age 33 so we focused more on
prevention even though we didn't realize it at the time. Nutrition and dietetics was such a great fit
for me. My beloved Easy Bake oven was a fave back in the day!!
2.
Many people associate healthy cooking with less flavor. How do you cook healthy without sacrificing
taste? Healthy cooking and
taste can co-exist by utilizing all the wonderful herbs and spices, aromatic vegetables such
as shallots, garlic, onions, flavored vinegars, specialty oils like walnut oil
and sesame oil and using a variety of cooking methods such as roasting that
bring out the natural caramelization in
food. The ingredients just mentioned
provide not only wonderful flavor, but also a
health component by adding antioxidants and phytochemicals.
3. I get people in my office that just seem
resistant to explore recipes, or even
try to cook. What can you say to get a
mom or dad cooking even when they
declare that they are not a cook?
It is THE BEST gift you can give to future generations to spend some time exploring in the kitchen,
taking a field trip to the farmers market and modeling that food IS indeed an
important part of our health.
There are classes offered for families which make an exciting, family
activity. It is also a good way to reign
in the food budget by learning how to cook fresh food fast.
4. Families
are busier than ever right now, and making meals at home is a tall order. I am a big proponent of increasing family meals
because they have benefits that go
beyond nutrition. What are some key things
that you think would help the average family get home cooked meals on the table without too much fuss?
Techniques such as foil pouch dinners (just like girl scout camp outs) which
can be prepared ahead of time and
placed in the oven or on the grill - and
done in no time. Both Stir fry and crock pot cookery are also excellent
ways to get food on the table fast.
Recipes are included in our cookbook. We've seen a decline in culinary
literacy to the point that most people
are lost without packaged food and take-out
containers. I guarantee that a
few sessions in my demo kitchen will help families gain confidence to get
cooking the healthy way.
5.
People want recipes that are not only for one healthy, but two, are tasty and three, easy to
prepare. I call it the difficult
trifecta! What things does someone look
for in a recipe and/or recipe book that
can give one insight into hitting these three items?
If it’s an old family favorite, ingredients can be substituted to reduce fast,
sugar and salt such as substituting canned evaporated skim milk for whole milk
or cream. Wholesome, high quality ingredients (whole food) need only simple cooking
techniques - such as a piece of
deliciously grilled wild salmon served with a squeeze of a grilled half
lemon, or rubbed with some smoked paprika, cinnamon, thyme
and orange zest........a real party in your mouth!
6. I love your new book, Hypertension forDummies. You and Roseanne rust, MS, RD, LDN did a phenomenal
job. This is so much more than a high blood pressure cookbook! You have so many tips and suggestions along with tons of recipes
categorized by meal type such as
breakfast, lunch, dinner and even a host of vegetarian dishes. I love your section on meal planning. What are the best features you think
might be especially helpful for
families?
Plan ahead. Falling to plan is planning
to fail in the way of shopping, cooking and eating healthier. When it comes to feeding a family - exposure to new foods - don't' fall prey to
the usual chicken nuggets and mac and cheese.
Take the opportunity to educate young palates with a variety of different foods. If you get the whole family involved in the
process they will "buy into the program!"
7. High blood pressure does affect everyone of
all ages these days. What are some important things to know about
eating to lower blood pressure?
It’s not always about "giving up" but rather what to add to make your diet healthier. Besides being conscious of sodium intake, it
is very important to substitute plant protein, add
fruits, vegetables and more whole grains
to the diet to add potassium, magnesium and calcium. Here is a cheat sheet I
created that will help your readers:
Cindy’s hypertension cheat sheet.
8. I absolutely love watching you in action at
your cooking classes. They are chocked full of super practical
cooking tips that make people want to get into
their kitchen and get cooking.
Tell me about the cooking classes you offer, and what someone would
learn in them. Thank you Angela. My philosophy is as follows:
- > Cooking wholesome,
"real" food in combination with nutrition education can help motivate
positive behavior change by making food more exciting and satisfying.
-> Promote healthy relationships
with food, healthy respect for food and an appreciation for sustainable
agriculture and seasonality which help to exercise more restraint.
-> Help clients get back to the
basics with selection and preparation of food.
Often the biggest barrier to modify diet is lack of skills in the
kitchen.
-> My goal is to educate, inspire,
build confidence and help make the kitchen a more user-friendly place while
having fun!
9. What other services do you
offer at Cooper Fitness Center at Craig Ranch?
All of the nutrition services are OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! No membership required
to experience nutrition at Cooper! Currently,
I offer:
- Private Nutrition Consultations
to help people achieve long-term
nutrition goals.
- 4-week Hands-On Kitchen Boot Camp that
provides participants with the arsenal to help win the kitchen battle with
quick and easy tips to get fresh food on the
table fast. Success comes with reviewing basic nutrition information,
meal planning, writing menus, stocking pantry, knife skills supermarket tips, healthy cooking tips,
recipe rehab and learning fundamentals of flavor building. There is an emphasis
on actual food preparation in this class.
- Monthly themed culinary demos
at the state-of-the-art demo kitchen offer unique and memorable education
experience. Themes vary every month
based on health related such as "Heart month" or Chinese new year or Kentucky Derby, Mardi
Gras etc. During these informative classes, you observe
the preparation of the food, taste samples and interact with group for a lively
discussion.
- Worksite Wellness Programs
- Culinary Tem Building Events, a
unique and effective way to build team spirit, break down office
stereotypes where clients chop, dice and
sauté their way to better communication, sales and management skills.
To find out more about the services that Cindy Kleckner, RD, LD offers, contact the Cooper Fitness Center at Craig Ranch at 214-383-1000.
Back to my in-home behavioral eating lab. Studies and experts say that kids eat
healthier when they eat with their friends.
I have been studying it for myself.
There have indeed been many occasions where peer pressure has helped the
group of kids eat better. One time we
were at our neighbor’s house having dinner and I was bragging to my neighbors about
how Evan loves broccoli. His friend
overheard me bragging on him, and he said, “I love broccoli, too!” The other kids chimed in one by one and said
that they, too, loved broccoli. It resulted
in a competition of who could eat more broccoli at dinner.
