Compliments of the chef

~Registered dietitian Raina Childers offers these healthy recipes to try at home.

Upon cracking the kitchen door, the savory scent of herbs immediately drifts past your nose, drawing you into the room.

The ingredients surround the chef, neatly placed to display the items that will go into tonight's appetizing dish.

No, it's not an upscale culinary institute. It's not even a restaurant. It's a local gym.

Each month, Raina Childers hosts a healthy cooking class in the demonstration kitchen at HealthPoint Plaza in Cape Girardeau. Childers is a registered dietitian at Southeast Missouri Hospital and the nutritional services coordinator at HealthPoint Plaza. She also proves to be a great cook.

Her classes are just one example of area fitness centers' efforts to emphasize nutrition along with exercise as part of a healthy routine.

Each month presents a different theme in Childers' class.

"Sometimes they ask for certain things, sometimes I just get creative," Childers says about the monthly topics. May happens to be National Osteoporosis Awareness Month. She begins the class that month by stressing the importance of preventing bone deterioration through vitamins found in basic foods.

Childers emphasizes that preparing a healthy meal doesn't mean the food has to be flavorless. The class includes simple ways to enhance flavor using different techniques while controlling calories. The relaxed atmosphere allows people to chat among themselves about successes and failures in the kitchen.

Childers says she wants to give people the confidence boost they need to go home and feel comfortable preparing a healthy meal.

"Sometimes people get stuck in a rut with cooking. I want to calm any worries of purchasing the products and the end result flopping," she says.

Preparing a healthy, tasty meal doesn't mean shelling out the big bucks, either. Each of the ingredients used were less expensive, store-brand items. At the close of each class, the participants are invited to taste the meal.

FitnessPlus dietician Janet Anders hosts the center's Nutrition Plus Club. The club meets the fourth Thursday of each month to discuss current health issues and concerns. Each class has a theme, typically requested by the participants, but also corresponds with the season.

The meetings there are also relaxed and informal. Anders says she usually has an assortment of attendees ranging from older couples, to employees, to younger women. The club provides a comfortable environment to discuss concerns or successes with exercise and includes a healthy snack.

Throughout the meeting, Anders stressed the importance of combining exercise with healthy cooking.

"I hope that they are becoming more informed; there is so much information out there, consumers get caught up in what they hear," she says.

Dr. Georganne Syler, associate professor of human environmental studies at Southeast Missouri State University, stresses the importance of eating foods with a high nutrition density, and to steer clear of the processed, prepackaged foods that are loaded with extra calories, sugars, and fats. Syler says spices are a great, healthy way to enhance lots of foods.

"Spices have no calories, plus zests and spices are loaded with healthy substances like antioxidants," she says.

Syler, along with Tom Harte, hosts a free cooking demonstration/sample once a month in the deli section of Schnucks. The classes begin in September.

Risotto with Spinach and Edamame

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons olive oil divided

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 teaspoon sugar

3 cups fresh spinach

1 1/4 cup shelled edamame

2 teaspoons dried sage

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup water

1 (14 ounce) can of vegetable broth

1/4 cup white cooking wine

1 cup Arborio rice

6 Tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a wok or large saucepan, add sugar and onion and sauté for about 1 minute.

Add spinach and next 5 ingredients and cook until spinach wilts down. Remove from pan and keep warm.

In a separate small saucepan warm water and broth, but do not boil.

In wok or saucepan heat 1 Tablespoon of oil; add rice.

Cook 5 minutes over medium heat stirring constantly. Stir in wine and cook until absorbed.

Gradually add water and broth mixture stirring until each addition is absorbed.

Add spinach mixture and Parmesan cheese.

Yields: 5- 1 cup servings

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 275, Fat: 8.5 grams, Protein: 7 grams, Carbohydrate: 39 grams, Calcium: 200mg, Sodium: 630mg

Chicken with Broccoli and Feta Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

4-6 (6 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 Tablespoon Smart Balance margarine

4 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1- 12 ounce can of evaporated skim milk

1 Tablespoon fresh chives

3/4 cup reduced fat feta cheese

1/2 cup shredded Romano cheese

2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped

Directions:

In a skillet, cook chicken breasts until done- remove from pan and keep warm.

Sauté broccoli in chicken drippings until done, about 3-5 minutes.

Melt margarine in saucepan over medium heat, add flour. Gradually add milk and then chives. Simmer over medium heat until thick.

Add cheeses, stir until melted

Spoon sauce over chicken and top with broccoli.

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Raina's Super Smoothie

Ingredients:

1- 6 ounce container of fat free flavored yogurt

1/2 cup skim milk

2 Tablespoons non-fat dry milk

1/2 banana

4 frozen strawberries

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon Splenda

Directions:

Put all ingredients together in a blender and mix until smooth.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 270, Protein: 22 grams, Carbohydrate: 50 grams, Fat: 2 grams, Calcium: 560mg