Northern Trust is gearing up to deliver Cook It Programme

The Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT) is gearing up to deliver their upcoming Cook It programmes. Cook It is a six week community nutrition education programme, it is free to attend and is an interactive way for participants to learn about and cook healthy meals on a budget.

The Cook It Team is currently finalising details on future programmes including a Black and Minority ethnic programme, I Can Cook It! for people with learning disabilities and Food Values, a food budgeting programme.

The team also train people from various statutory, community and voluntary organisations, enabling them to roll out the programme themselves to their own local participants.

One participant of the programme, Paula McCullagh, married with four children, described herself as being a very basic cook. “Beforehand I would have cooked a lot of convenience food which I thought was cheaper and it consisted of frozen foods such as chips, burgers, and potato waffles. I think I was merely scared of experimenting with food and mixing different flavours. To be honest though there is only so much bland food you could eat especially when you have children and you want them to have good wholesome food in their bodies”.

“I definitely learnt a lot from the course and it has changed my life for the better. Every day I cook something different. My family now eat less frozen food and more home cooked meals. I now shop fresh each day according to the meal I am cooking that night. I have saved a lot of money and we are now eating healthier and not wasting as much food. I feel more confident when cooking now and experiment with other recipes”.

“The course was rewarding not only for me but also for my family and I’m so glad I did it.”

If you are interested in becoming a Cook It Tutor or participating in the programme please email – cookit@northerntrust.hscni.net or phone 028 256 35276.

2nd February 2015