UPMC Susquehanna offers cooking options at Taste-In event
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In an effort to promote living well and fighting obesity, UPMC Susquehanna hospital hosted a Healthy Cooking Taste-In event on Thursday to provide materials on healthy food alternatives and offer a food demonstration with recipes to make from home.
Chef Brian Yarborough, food services, demonstrated the ease of making healthy alternatives by making a smoothie and a chicken dish while Kate McKernan Patetta, diabetes program coordinator, talked about nutrition.
"This is our 16th annual Taste-In," McKernan Patetta said. "In previous years, we used to call it a Diabetes Taste-In, but this year we decided to take the diabetes stigma out of it and put in the word healthy."
She said they did it because obesity awareness was identified as a local-area need through a community needs assessment.
"It's one of the things we have to work toward addressing, and this is a great way of doing that by having the chef do some demonstrations and incorporate healthy nutrition ideas for people to witness, to watch and taste," she said.
She said meal ideas were a popular need for those struggling with nutrition.
"A lot of times, as I meet with patients in the diabetes and nutrition care center for UPMC Susquehanna, I get a lot of questions about cooking like, 'I don't know how to cook. I don't know how to put meals together. I need recipes,' " she said. "They're always asking for ideas and recipes."
Likewise, Yarborough said preparing meals at home does not have to be difficult.
"I'm trying to emphasize on how eating healthy can be so easy," he said. "It's a matter of having a cutting board, (being) willing to get fresh vegetables, cutting them up and cooking them properly."
He said there can be alternatives to things like barbecue sauce by using herbs for a dry rub.
"It keeps it lighter and healthier to eat while still giving you the accents of the original flavors," he said.
Another great option for fresh fruit and vegetables is making a smoothie.
"People look for snacks. Instead of a bowl of ice cream at night, have a smoothie. Wake up for breakfast, and it's good to have something in your body. A smoothie … would be a great way to start your day," he said.
He said smoothies are delicious and even children enjoy them.
"With today's food, a lot of the processing that's in them, there's such an added amount of sugar," he said. "Taking that all away and changing it with using a traditional Greek yogurt … using raw flavors, enhancing it with local honey, which even helps with allergies."
"You've got carbohydrates from the fruit, but it's natural sugar. You have Greek yogurt as a great source of protein … and with a little honey, it's a well-rounded product that tastes good," McKernan Patetta said. "It's a healthy alternative, and you can feel good about it."
With Yarborough's chicken dish, he made a roasted red pepper coulis sauce.
"Virgin olive oil and pureed roasted vegetables makes the sauce," he said. "It looks great on the plate, and it has a nice flavor. It's a nice alternative to other sauces, like a steak sauce someone might put on their meals."
He said it's important to change the approach.
"You have to put in people's mind that you can break away from and rebuild a different culture for a way to eat and still have it taste real flavorful," he said.
The vendors on display were mostly health and wellness booths that offered tips on living healthy and things to keep in mind. One booth displayed the amount of sugar in soft drinks and another offered healthy snack alternatives.
For more information about healthy living or other programs, visit www.susquehannahealth.org.