Learn to Cook Healthily

Christine Jaegers, fitness and wellness specialist for the City of Cape Girardeau, teaches a class on “Cooking with Hypertension” at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau June 11. Jaegers taught participants how to make Asian quinoa chicken salad, veggie chips and avocado mousse).

JO’NAE EARLS

At the Cape Girardeau Parks & Recreation Department’s Summer Wellness Cooking Series

Christine Jaegers, fitness and wellness specialist for the City of Cape Girardeau and teacher of the Cape Girardeau Parks & Recreation Department’s Summer Wellness Cooking Series, only asked for one thing while teaching a “Cooking with Hypertension” class at the Osage Centre on June 11: for everyone to bring an open mind. She was making Asian quinoa chicken salad, and the class of eight people watched as Jaegers whisked quinoa, cabbage, edamame, almonds, red cabbage and spinach in the same bowl. Nervously, the students tried this salad mix, surprised at how savory it was. It goes to show: you never know until you try.

Asian quinoa chicken salad

JO’NAE EARLS

It’s something students who are passionate about preparing food, eating food and learning more about food are realizing, and all for free through the Cape Girardeau Parks & Recreation Department’s Summer Wellness Cooking Series. The series is made up of four courses held at the Osage Centre that feature a variety of topics such as grocery shopping, de-stressing seminars and nutrition consultants’ workshops. During the demonstration classes, attendees sit back, relax, watch how to create healthy food and then have the opportunity to eat it.

The June 11 course began with a mini-lecture about high blood pressure and how it correlates with dieting. Participants had the opportunity to take their blood pressure before the class began. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three people have high blood pressure and only about half (54 percent) actually have their high blood pressure under control. The class focused on hypertension and how to discover ways to control high blood pressure without medicine. Some tips were to exercise regularly, reduce sodium in the diet, limit the amount of alcohol intake and to quit or limit smoking.

Attendees also learned how to use a wide array of equipment and kitchen techniques, ranging from an air fryer to create homemade veggie chips to a food processor to blend low-sugar avocado mousse. They were also given a handful of resources to be able to create these habits at home, like a salt substitute sheet mentioning the kinds of seasonings to use depending on the food.

Jaegers is the one who makes these events possible.

“People get excited about being healthy in the summertime, and I’ve always liked teaching monthly seminars, so I figured why not teach a summer series?” Jaegers says.

Jaegers captivated the audience by making them feel encouraged, motivating them to start making small dieting switches that could transform into major lifestyle changes.

“I think it’s really important to meal prep so when you get to the busy weeknights it’s easier to prepare healthy meals,” says Lindsey Peters, cooking assistant. “Anyone can meal prep, too, when they make time for it. This class opened my eyes to the variety of foods and how to eat better. It’s important for people of all ages to value their health, too.”