The reason I think that home economics class is still of value as a class to be taught in school

1. Created by Angela DeHart, may use for educational purposes ONLY if credit given, created 5/2013
The Purpose of Cooking Class
Today, more often than not, people do not know how the food they are eating is produced, they
don't know if it is truly healthy for them, and they eat for reasons other than hunger. All of this
confusion has led most Americans to consume the "Western Diet" (defined as consuming a lot of commercially
processed foods that inevitably contain a lot of sugar, fat and refined grains) and to suffer from its consequences: type 2
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and obesity.
I have spent a great deal of time studying food, from production to consumption. As a FACS
teacher I felt it my duty to learn how to cook well and maximize the knowledge in my class by helping
students to learn the math, science, and cultural benefits behind the art of cooking. Along the way,
as I continued past the purchasing of cookbooks and into the habits that distinguish Chefs from home
cooks, I quit following recipes and began to creating formulas, I upgraded my equipment in order to
create a semi-commercial laboratory, and I realized that I had taken the leap from only being
interested in being an excellent teacher to being transformed by the information I was learning.
As we begin our journey of cooking it is important that you realize that the value of learning to
cook goes way beyond just obtaining lifelong skills that you can use in your own kitchen, that you could
convert into a food-related career or memories that you can hold dear. Your health, and the health
of your family, could be transformed by understanding the link between what you eat and how it is
received and processed by your body.
The science of cooking, which is the methodology behind how to prepare and serve food, is
thousands of years old. Nutritional science, which is trying to understand exactly what happens when
we eat a pear or drink a soda, is only in its infancy AND it is almost always used as a tool for
commercial food manufacturers to 'tweak' their product into satisfying the latest nutritional study
that talks about how you can be more healthy and slim (aka. $$$)! Because of that disparity
(difference) I have come to believe that it is important to remember that the traditions and cultural
mores of every culture holds the secrets and lessons we need to learn to stay healthy and prosper.
People who abandon the Western diet see dramatic improvements in their health. "In one
analysis, a typical American population that departed even modestly from the Western diet (and
lifestyle) could reduce its chances of getting coronary heart disease by 80 percent, its chances of
type 2 diabetes by 90 percent, and its chances of colon cancer by 70 percent (Food Rules, Michael Pollan, xiii-xiv)."
In the book Food Rules by Michael Pollan, 64 eating rules for healthy eating are shared. While
the "rules" are meant more of as a set of living guidelines or suggestions for healthy eating I thought
it beneficial for us to review the ones that we follow in this classroom:
1. Eat food.....in this classroom we make real food. I shop at the store, pick up the BEST quality
food I can for our dollar, bring it into school and we make it at the lowest level we can. In other
words I do not get semi-processed food for us to combine and make into "food"....we make our food
from good source ingredients (i.e. flour, milk, butter, etc) and transform those good ingredients into
wonderful meals

2. Created by Angela DeHart, may use for educational purposes ONLY if credit given, created 5/2013
2. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle......the middle is where
they keep the processed foods. We make our own salad dressing, we eat fresh salad, where possible
we cook with organically processed ingredients that grow in nature
3. Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plant foods) is better than eating what stands
on two legs (fowl), which is better than eating what stands on four legs (cows, pigs, and other
mammals).....we eat a very limited amount of meat in this class. Good meat cost good money......so does
good grain....but you get more for your money and you save the planet from the methane that cows
release into the atmosphere. So, we lower our carbon footprint while improving our health! How can
you beat that!
4. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacteria or fungi....many cultures swear by the
benefits of eating fermented foods like yogurt, sauerkraut, soy sauce, kimchi, and sourdough bread.
These food have B12, a nutrient that you cannot get from plants. Many fermented foods also contain
probiotics-- beneficial bacteria that research suggests improve the function of digestive and immune
systems, as well as reduce allegories and inflammation. We will be making fresh yogurt this quarter
5. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature....in nature sugars almost always come packaged
with fiber. Fiber slows the absorption of sugar and give you a feeling of satisfaction before you eat
too many calories. We will make our own lemonade and smoothies - with real fruit. We will leave the
pulp IN the drink!
6. Eat whole grains...we do not eat white bread in the classroom. People who eat lots of whole
grains tend to be healthier and live longer
7. Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you cook it yourself!.......we will be eating junk foods!
In 8th grade we make a wonderfully tasteful pound cake and cover it with fondant. In 7th grade we
make scrumptious sugar cookies and ice cream. In 6th grade we make pop tarts and baked apples
8. Eat meals/Eat at a table....Americans are snaking more and more and eating meals less and less.
What happens is that people just eat all day.....and gain weight as a result. Even though it is healthy
to eat 5-6 small means throughout the day, if all you end up doing is eating junk food all day....stick to
eating meals and not snaking in between. We prepare meals in this class....and then we eat, together.
We are not just going to prepare one food and consume it...we prepare an entire meal and then eat it
together, sitting down in our dining room as a community
9. Plant a vegetable garden...we are fortunate enough to have a garden club that grown real food!
They share it with us and we appreciate it!
10. Cook....cooking for yourself is the only way to take control of your diet. "The decline in home
cooking closely parallels the rise in obesity and research suggests that people who cook are more
likely to eat a more healthful diet." Cooking is not just a fun science experiment that you can eat...it
keeps you healthy and wise!
Let's have fun cooking!

3. Created by Angela DeHart, may use for educational purposes ONLY if credit given, created 5/2013
Student Reflection
Name: _____________________________________Class #______ P_____ Date: ___________
1. What is the purpose of this class?
2. Define is the Western diet?
3. Do you and/or your family eat the Western diet? Provide examples of the food(s) and/or
habits that exemplify your answer.
4. What do you think can you learn from this class that you can take home to your family and/or
apply to your own life?

4. Created by Angela DeHart, may use for educational purposes ONLY if credit given, created 5/2013
5. What is your culture’s traditional diet?
6. Which of the Food Rules do you and your family follow?
7. Which of the Food rules would you like to follow?
8. In 3 words of less what did you think about this introduction to class?