Healthy Cooking

lady-chef

One of the questions I always ask a new client is’ “How is your current nutrition?” My goal in asking this question is to get a picture of how they eat on a daily basis and how they feel about eating out vs. eating from home. It works, trust me. In discussing current nutritional habits, one of the biggest concerns that usually comes up  is that of cooking “healthy”. When asked to expound upon their concerns, I usually hear something like, “I don’t  mind chicken, but I don’t want to eat it every night for the rest of my life, let alone with dry brown rice and steamed broccoli. Eating healthy doesn’t taste good, there aren’t that many options and really, when you look at the overall picture, I haven’t had much success with it anyway. What a waste of time for such little results! And that’s if I get any results from it at all!”

Upon hearing these words (yet again) my reformed inner food addict gets cranky. Which is rather ironic seeing that not all that long ago I felt the exact same way! I find myself wanting to defend produce-kind, testify that whole grains are they key to energy and shout from the rooftops that lean proteins are not only good for you but that all three of these nutrients combined will give you more health benefits than you could ever imagine. How could you say that they don’t taste good and that they don’t give you results worth sticking around for?!

Yeah, sorry about that. I’m a little passionate about good nutrition…sometimes I get a little carried away.

As I’ve thought about ways to convince people that healthy cooking is where it’s at, I’ve had a lot of ideas come and go. One of  my first  ideas was to type up recipes and hand them out to new clients. After all, when I first started I had no idea what TO eat. I knew what NOT to eat, but didn’t have a clue otherwise. That is one of the most frustrating things for a person with a food addiction…not knowing what to eat, which quickly turns into not feeling like there is anything you CAN eat. It seemed to help, and continues to help, some of my clients. The problem I found was that only those who already had some intrinsic motivation really use the recipes, everyone else loses them in the never ending paper shuffle at home. That’s not good enough stats to settle for. It doesn’t  help enough people.

Another idea I had, and I’ve written about here at transformationtrainer.com before, was joining with the South Jordan Fitness & Aquatic Center’s quarterly Nutrition Fair. I donate my time as a personal trainer in South Jordan to help make the food that is highlighted as well as being there during the fair to answer any questions that attendees have concerning nutrition, exercise, hiring a personal trainer in South Jordan, or a healthy lifestyle in general. That seems to help some people, but some people are too shy to approach me in a big group setting like that, they need more of a small group or one on one type setting. Again, that’s not good enough. So after thinking about it some more, I had another idea.

It came to me as I contemplated my goals as to what it is I want to be able to give each of my clients, and truly all those I come in contact with. I chose Transformation Training as my business name for multiple reasons. First, I had undergone a transformation of my own and wanted to help people who wanted the same for themselves, who were willing to put forth the effort and hard work it inevitably takes to achieve such a transformation. But too, I wanted to provide training, and not just workouts, that would allow people to make positive changes for themselves for the rest of their lives.

Each client I’ve had as a personal trainer in south Jordan has become a friend to me, though I’ve clicked more with some than others, each of them has had a positive effect in my life. I want their association with me to be just as positive for them and to benefit them for years to come. I want them to come away from our time together having learned information that will help them make  decisions that will benefit the health of not only themselves, but their families as well. Because when it comes right down to it, if you don’t have your health and your loved ones, what do you have? Not much worth writing home about, huh?

So, I’ve been bouncing this one around for awhile trying to get all the details worked out, to ensure that it turns out like I have it in my head. There’s nothing worse than having an idea for a  project pictured in your mind and then having it turn into utter chaos before your eyes…been there, done that, so I can tell ya firsthand, it sucks. Enough said.   I’ve mentioned it to some people to see what they think, would they be interested in a class of this kind and how  do they think it would  be received by others, and from the responses I’ve gotten so far, people (besides me) are excited about it. 🙂

So what is my big idea? Healthy cooking classes! At each class, a group of recipes will be demonstrated, showing people how easy it is to put healthy food together. At the end of class,  those in attendance will have a chance to experience healthy eating as each class will include dinner (a sampling of each recipe made that night), printed recipes and a shopping list to take home with them as well. Each class will have a theme (for example, “Fast Fixes” or “Soups and Stews”) that indicates what will be demonstrated. Due to location arrangements, spots are limited.

The first class is set to be held on August 3 at 7pm (per person cost TBA). We will be highlighting “Summer Salads”, all of which are perfect for any occasion, from dinnertime with the family, the backyard BBQ or entertaining guests.   Whether you prefer sweet or savory there will be  something for everyone! I’m super excited about getting these classes started, and I hope all of you are too! Hope to see you there!

For more information on attending, to reserve your spot or to share any of your thoughts, comments, questions or suggestions you may have regarding class, feel free to leave a comment to this post, email me at laurabutterscpt@gmail.com  or call me at 801-859-5013. 🙂

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