Achieve in FiM Healthy Cooking Classes | Loving with Locally-grown in Culinary Medicine

Beginning in March, we followed the seasons each week with favorites kicking off with a rich and smokey jazzed up jambalaya, then we were on to a traditional African sweet potato peanut stew (yum!). We learned a healthy and simple red beans and rice recipe, some kick'n collard greens, and a secret mac & cheese (the beautifully rich and creamy cheese sauce is made from cashews!). We touched on healthy breakfast ideas and experienced local stone ground grits with a tofu scramble (you would never know wasn't actually eggs!). Then as local fruit began to ripen, we concluded the series with an all-natural, one-pot peach dumpling and talked about novel dessert ideas that boast all the flavor but without the added sugars. We wrapped up celebrating together as a class one more time in early May discovering healthy nachos piled with goodness,  loaded with more of our newly-learned secret 'cheese' sauce and locally-grown South Carolina blueberries as a healthy snack to-go!

This journey together shattered our perceptions that favorites can't be healthy and that healthy can't be flavorful. We're all walking away from this experience changed and renewed and eager for more. We've decided we want to keep learning, laughing and loving together, and want to start a first Friday FiM (Food is Medicine) Supper Club series so we can experience more of this new joy in plant-forward eating. Stay tuned for more in MyGoodness!

We want to thank the tireless dedication of Achieve in FiM Patient Care Coordinator, Melissa Altman of the Allendale County Hospital health system, Chef Deron Day of Eat to Serve, the Allendale County Hospital leadership team and Board of Directors, Achieve in FiM funding partners and ongoing project engagement partners. Thank you!