Dishing up a healthy menu (From Warrington Guardian)

Dishing up a healthy menu

RESIDENTS of Longford and Orford are getting the chance to cook up a feast for themselves and their families on a low budget as part of a new scheme designed to help them to eat healthily.

Chicken with tarragon and cream, sausage and fruit kebabs and pasta with meat balls and Napoli sauce are among the treats on the menu over the next six weeks as the locals get some culinary know-how from leading Warrington chef Lee Allsup.

Research by North Cheshire Health's Healthy Eating Strategy Group - a multi-agency organisation - revealed that there was a demand in the area for help with preparing healthy meals on a budget.

The innovative course, the first of its kind in Warrington, is being financed and run by Warrington Collegiate Institute, where Lee is chef/lecturer in the hospitality and catering department.

The course is at William Beamont High School. The first lesson was on Tuesday, when Lee showed how a £3.50 chicken could feed six people.

"I am showing people on the course what to look for when they are shopping. You would find fresh food cheaper at the market than the supermarkets 90 per cent of the time.

"With a chicken, for instance, you would look for one with not too much fat, nice firm flesh, no unpleasant odours and a supple body. I will be showing how to cook vegetables without knocking out the nutrients."

Lee's lessons will also feature quick meals, pasta and fish.

As part of the course, Carol Ledwards, community dietitian with North Cheshire Health will be giving general tips on healthy eating.

She said: "Diet affects your life in many ways. We are working with local people to help to make it easy for them to eat well. We want to take away the worry and strain of feeding a family. It can be difficult for people on low incomes to eat healthily.

"Research shows that diet contributes to many illnesses like heart disease and cancer. People know this and that can cause more anxiety because they are aware that they are not eating healthily. They also become anxious if they can't afford healthy things for their children."

Residents doing the course said they were looking for new ways of preparing food that was healthy and inexpensive.

Julie Murphy of Orford is married with two daughters. She spends £85 a week on food for the four of them. "I want cheaper and better food, and I want to cut out things like tinned spaghetti. It is about knowing what to do."

Sandra Conheeney of Orford is married with one son. She spends between £85 and £90 a week on food. She buys fresh vegetables at the market. "I want healthy meat and vegetable dishes that are quick," she said.

Ann Marie Crawshaw of Longford has two children. She is on income support and has to be careful about her expenditure. Her food bill is £40 a week for the three of them."I want to serve less burgers and chips and cook food which is imaginative and inexpensive," she said.

Christine Elgaddari of Longford is married with five children. She spends £130 a week on food. Much of the diet at her home is healthy because her husband is Muslim and she prepares Arab foods with a lot of vegetables. "I want to find things for lunch boxes. I put in crisps, yoghurt and sandwiches but I want other things, and no crisps," said Christine.

Eileen Rhodes of Orford looks after her two young grandchildren. "I want to feed them cheaply and healthily, with fresh ideas. They like dishes with bacon, lamb or sausage."

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