Our Plates: Exploring Food and Healthy Eating Patterns Through Cooking

Catalog description

This class teaches students how to plan and prepare recipes and meals through the lens of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGFA) and the dietary guidelines of other countries and cultures. Students will explore the relationship between diet and health, with an emphasis on the food groups that make up the MyPlate, Mediterranean diet and Vegetarian eating patterns, as well as other established eating patterns in the US and other countries. Current US eating practices will be evaluated and compared with the guidelines to understand how well Americans and students are meeting current recommendations. Students will also attend a cooking lab where they will learn basic cooking skills and apply the concepts covered in the course through recipe analysis, meal plan creation, and hands-on cooking sessions.