Last week I was invited to participate in the Humana Vitality Recipe Refresh Challenge, which took place at Il Mito restaurant and cooking school near Milwaukee, WI. As a team captain, I was charged with directing a group of Vitality Champions, corporate leaders who model and spread the word about healthy living and eating among their colleagues.
The goal was to teach the Vitality Champions how to transform popular (not necessarily healthy) recipes, making them healthier. If you hangout with me here, you know this is one of my favorite things to do!
I’ve been cooking since I was 14 but I never owned a chef’s coat until now…Humana certainly knows how to make a girl feel like a big deal.
My team made Spinach Mac n Cheese.
It came out amazing if I may say so myself.
After wine, delicious appetizers, a discussion/demonstration about healthy take-to-work lunches and various healthy cooking demonstrations, we all sat down together to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
Here’s the menu:
Salad
Buffalo cauliflower wingettes
Bell pepper nachos
Sweet potato/cauliflower mash
Spinach mac n cheese
Cinnamon pecan cookies
What I loved most about the evening was the message communicated throughout. This was about a healthcare company empowering and teaching people to make good choices starting with the food they eat. This challenge was designed to educate people and give them tools to make their favorite foods healthier. In my opinion exercise, food choices and personal accountability are the first line of defense against obesity and disease and vital keys to living a long, vigorous life. Something I am very passionate about and it was clear Humana and everyone who participated in the challenge are too. Special thanks to Humana for inviting me to share in such a fun and rewarding event!
Do you modify recipes to make them healthier? What is your favorite healthy recipe?
Thats awesome! So cool you had that experience! I take almost every recipe I have to try to make it healthier. usually by adding lots of colorful vegetables, and substituting ingredients when I can. Nutrition is a critical part of training at a high level so it is very important for me! Really interesting read 🙂
Oh very cool! Yes, I healthify recipes all the time LOL. Drives my husband nuts 😉
I modify recipes sometimes. Mostly, we’ve just switched to using healthier ingredients in general, like greek yogurt instead of mayo, sour cream, etc.
That sounds like so much fun! What a cool gig and I love your message here–completely agree.
A chef’s coat?! AWESOME!!! Yes, I am constantly trying to find ways to sneak veggies in to everything that I make. D has gotten used to it 🙂
You look great. Glad you had so much fun! You know I am a foodie too!
What a fun event! I have been to something similar in Boston and it was fantastic.
What a great opportunity! I love cooking too and making old favorites healthier is always a fun challenge.
Oh my goodness, come to my kitchen and lets create some MAGIC!!! Seriously. I LOVE creating healthier alternatives to nasty classics, hence WHY I have a show called DUDE FOOD 😉
Gigi the next time I’m in your neck of the woods, we will cook! Likewise if you’re ever in the Chicago area.
I’ll often modify my recipes to add more veggies to them (or to empty the crisper of veggies before they go bad.) I’ve been doing that since the kids were little – it was always a great way to get them to try new things.
What a fun opportunity!
I do try to make things healthier…I cook a lot of recipes from Cooking Light. My issues are that my boys are fairly picky AND they have food allergies. So I have to modify my recipes for that as well.
I modify recipes all the time – sometimes to make them healthier, sometimes to make them things that everyone will like and sometimes because I just don’t have all the ingredients in the actual recipe.
Sounds like a cool experience – especially the chef’s jacket.
Im so…not talented in the kitchen I rarely modify 🙂
I need to get more ballsyGUTSY.
sounds like so much fun!! I try and always cook healthy-i get cooking light magazine every month and usually use their recipes. I’ve found a few here and there on blogs and pinterest.