A cooking programme centered around healthy nutritious meals started yesterday with the hope of taking a few steps forward in raising a happy and healthy population.

Te Marae Ora (TMO) Ministry of Health in collaboration with Cook Islands Child Welfare Association (CICWA) and Chef Minar Henderson-Enoka yesterday launched its very first series of the community-based cooking classes.

The classes aim to enable participants to make healthier food choices, through learning the basics of nutrition.

The programme called ‘Kai Ora Cook Islands’ is also hoping to decrease the chances of Cook Islanders contracting non-communicable diseases (NCD’s) which include diabetes and high blood pressure. These are common in the Cook Islands due to physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, increased blood pressure and being overweight or obese.

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In this cooking programme, participants will learn basic nutrition and the effect and impact it has on our bodies. They will also learn healthy cooking methods and how to work with locally grown foods.

This programme is targeted towards young mothers in the community. In collaboration with the Puaikura CICWA members, 21 young mothers were identified to join the programme. It was agreed that the classes will be held over the span of four weeks at the Kavera clinic.

The evening classes begins with an informative nutrition presentation, presented by TMO staff. Chef Minar Henderson-Enoka have participants assist with preparing the food whilst demonstrating how to cook and use the ingredients.

The evening finishes with the participants eating the meal they prepared, along with a critique of the dish. Each participant will be given a food basket to take home, so that they may recreate the dish.

Aitutaki Hydroponics vegetables packed and ready for island resident Nane Herman Purea to deliver. 21042302.

“Very few people eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, but rely on imported food. It is understandable that many factors come into play and influence our food choices, such as; availability, affordability, health, convenience and of course taste/personal preference,” said Mirella Mairi from Te Marae Ora.

“We thought if we could come up with a programme that will revive all these healthy techniques, we might be able to help people see the relationship between having a healthy diet and being healthy to avoid NCDs. In a nutshell we hope that the programme will teach participants the importance of nutrition and having a well-balanced diet.”

The programme being the first of its kind run by TMO and CICWA will eventually be shared with the public, depending on its success and demand for a second programme once it is completed.