A healthy recipe for success
DIEPSLOOT – Cooks from Diepsloot ECD centres gathered at Discovery Vitality to learn more about nutrition.
Discovery Vitality and the Nelson Mandela Foundation have partnered up to equip early childhood development (ECD) centres in Diepsloot with healthy and affordable eating plans.
Earlier in the year, the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) approached Discovery Vitality with the idea to offer nutritional training to early childhood development centre cooks.
Nelson Mandela Foundation dialogue analyst, Somaya Hendricks explained, “The Nelson Mandela Foundation works closely with ECD Forums and they communicated to us their frustration about the lack of attention nutrition receives from NGOs and other organisations. As a result, we approached Discovery Vitality to assist us with the training of principals and cooks from ECD centres to enhance their nutrition awareness.”
Training began 31 July and since then, a few times a week, nutrition classes have been held at the Discovery Vitality HealthyFood Studio.
Hendricks added that the Nelson Mandela Foundation covers transportation costs for the women to go to the studio and back home. The Fourways Review attended one of the classes.
The training has two components – theory and a practical cooking course.
Hendricks explained that, in total, 400 practitioners have undergone the training at the Discovery Vitality HealthyFood Studio.
Dietician Terry Harris is in charge of arming women with early childhood eating plans and teaching them how to prepare healthy meals.
Harris explained the training process, “We invite the ladies here for the day. There are 22 ladies from different ECDs, which is two ladies per ECD. I give the theory part then, after a short break, they move the kitchen where trained chefs take them through the recipes.”
One of the chefs from Prue Leith Chef’s Academy, Jeannis Rossouw said, “I’ve been with this course since the beginning. It’s just amazing because each day has a different group of ladies.
“We make the recipes more flexible as possible, so they can stretch ingredients to feed a large number of kids.”
She concluded that she is very happy that the women are keen to learn and enjoy the experience.
The last training date is set to be 19 September. “We are having further discussions with Discovery about how further training, linked to the various offerings of Discovery, can be offered and tailored to practitioner needs,” Hendricks concluded.
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