These online workshops will cover a wide variety of supportive strategies including:
- Mindful eating
- Practices to calm the stress response and regulate the nervous system
- Reflection on your food story
- Self-compassion in the context of food
Participants will cook virtually with Chef Jenny Breen, M Ed, MPH, and Kate Shafto, MD, who have been teaching together for 9 years. They share a passion for teaching about whole sustainable foods (and the folks who produce them), what to do with them, and why it matters for our health and the health of our planet.
Workshop 1: The Relationship Between Stress and Food
Workshop 2: Nourishing our Mental Health
Workshop 3: Metabolic health is Mental Health
Workshop 4: Self-Compassion in a Complex Food System
Workshop #1: The Relationship Between Stress and Food - May 22, noon to 1 p.m.
This workshop will unpack what happens during 'stress eating,' the food environment and stress response (neurologically), and intuitive and mindful eating skills. We will cook with seasonal flavors that support the transition from winter to spring.
There will be a brief centering practice to focus our attention and senses on the food we will be working with, and the workshop will close with a mindful eating practice.
Recipes will include simple greens and seasonal fresh herbs, including a spring salad, roasted radishes and turnips, and pesto.
Workshop #2: Nourishing our Mental Health - May 29, noon to 1 p.m.
This workshop will explore the concept of the gut-brain connection and how dietary patterns and stress impact gut health and mental health. We will practice mindful eating and engage in an exercise to calm the nervous system using our five senses.
Recipes will include a frittata with spring vegetables and herbs and/or a herbed-tofu scramble, as well as ways to use rhubarb, such as in a salsa and sauce.
Workshop #3: Metabolic Health is Mental Health - June 5, noon to 1 p.m.
We don’t always learn that physical and mental health are one and the same. In this workshop, we’ll look more closely at how dietary patterns impact our metabolic health and discuss ways to reduce inflammation through food. We will continue to practice mindful eating and reflect on your food story during this session.
Recipes will include a simple spring stir-fry and two sauce recipes.
Workshop #4: Self-Compassion in a Complex Food System - June 12, noon to 1 p.m.
Our food environment influences our choices and our health more than we may realize. We will discuss how to identify areas where we can take back some control while also increasing deliciousness and practicing self-compassion. We will close the series with a mindful eating practice and a summary of the skills covered over the four workshops.
Recipes will include a carrot-cashew spread, beet hummus, mushroom or miso sesame pâté, and crackers.
About the Facilitators
Jenny Breen has been a Chef, Public Health Nutritionist, and Educator for over 30 years. She co-owned the Good Life Cafe and Catering Company between 1996 and 2009. After receiving her Masters in Education and MPH in Nutrition, Jenny decided to address the gap in understanding the role of food in overall human and environmental health. She uses cooking and nutrition to address the need for improved food knowledge, skills and access among individuals and families, nonprofit and for profit food and agriculture organizations, health and wellness programs and professionals, and education, justice and community programs. Jenny's unique combination of food industry and public health training, and on the ground teaching and community based work experience, gives her a perspective and skills to help people improve their content around food and health, food systems, culinary nutrition and food justice.
Kate Shafto, MD is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Integrative Medicine, having completed the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine Fellowship in 2017. She is an Associate Professor with the University of Minnesota Medical School and practices with Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, MN. She serves as a subject matter expert in the areas of Integrative Medicine, non-pharmacologic chronic pain care, group medical visits, food/food systems and nutrition. For 9 years she and Jenny have been co-teaching a culinary medicine, food systems and nutrition course called Food Matters which they created for health science graduate students and practicing healthcare professionals. Kate has several years of organic farming training and experience, and brings that perspective into her teaching and clinical care.
Logistics
The online sessions are held via the Zoom webinar platform, and participants are off-camera and muted. If possible, participants should plan to cook along with Chef Jenny and Dr. Shafto in order to take advantage of the opportunity to engage in experiential learning.
Participants will receive a list of suggested kitchen supplies, a shopping list, and the recipes one week prior to the workshop. The facilitators are also happy to provide suggestions for food allergies/sensitivities and substitutions as needed. There will be time for questions and answers.
A recording will be made available to registrants for one month, for those who would like to revisit the workshop or who are unable to attend the live workshop.
Who these Workshops Are For
These workshops are for anyone who wants to get in the kitchen, from novice to expert cooks. The recipes will be straightforward and accessible, but adaptable to various skill levels, dietary preferences/needs, and participants' desire to experiment with variations on the theme.