Food & Fitness

Culinary Arts

Announcements:

Welcome back to the 2024-2025 school year!

Class Supplies Needed:

You will need the following for our class:

• School Issued Chromebook (Charged)
• Pocket Folder OR Three Ring Binder
• Highlighters in at least 3 colors
• Pens and/or pencils

Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions or concerns you have:

spittenger@wallpublicschools.org 

Wellness
Achieved through
Lifelong learning and
Lifestyle choices

Have you ever wondered what you need to do to make yourself healthy and fit?

Do you know why cooking your own food is one of the healthiest things you can do for good health?

In Food and Fitness we learn the basic concepts of nutrition, as well as how to evaluate the information (and misinformation) out there today to protect yourself from various diet and lifestyle related health problems.

Starting with the building blocks of basic nutrition, we learn how nutrients, phyto-nutrients, whole grains, food/nutrition trends and processed foods impact your health and wellness. We learn why eating healthy is important, how diet related health issues such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer can develop, and what you can do through food choices, physical activity and lifestyle choices to help prevent them. It has been proven that preparing your own meals and snacks has higher nutritive value and allows you to control the calories, the amount of sugar, sodium, fat, transfat, and cholesterol you consume. In our Food and Fitness and Culinary Arts courses we learn the basics of cooking and why cooking skills are an important life skill which not only helps you stay healthy but also gives you confidence, improves self-esteem and leads to independence. Cooking is something rewarding to do with free time but also can help control body weight and improve health for a life time of wellness.

Armed with a few skills,  terminology & determination, you will be cooking for yourself (and others) in no time.  What’s so great about learning how to cook? 

• Taste!  Home cooked food = flavor/taste/texture greatness
  
  
• Quality – When you cook for yourself, you choose what goes in your food. You have the ultimate control over the quality of ingredients and if you use natural or artificial ingredients.
  
  
• Convenience-you can make food when you want it.  You don’t have to leave the house, you don’t have to wait for the delivery person.
  
  
• Health – When you cook for yourself, you can make food more nutritious, as well as control the calorie content.  You have control over what ingredients are used or not used and the amount of fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, additives are in your food.
  
  

• Pure & Real Ingredients- Cooking for yourself lets you choose the ingredients you want to use and you can make them as chemical free and artificial-anything free as you like!
  
  
• Food Brings People Together- No wonder so many holidays are centered around or are celebrated with food! Food brings people together, and many families have food traditions.  Cooking allows you to be part of those traditions – family and friends will look forward to you coming and bringing your signature dish!
  
  
• Independence- Learning to cook can give you a great sense of freedom and independence.  Being able to cook delicious food, you know you don’t need to rely on anyone else to ease those hunger pains.
  
  
• Cost- So many foods cost a lot more when bought pre-made in the grocery store or restaurant. It’s amazing how much cheaper it is to make your own versions of many foods!
  
  
• Cultural Experience- You can broaden your horizons by cooking different ethnic cuisines. Foods from other cultures can take you to different places and allow you to experience different taste sensations.
   
• Expression of Love- Another great benefit of cooking, is that it can help you express to others that you care about them by making their favorite dishes for them.  And most people love homemade foods – especially if you made it for them!
   
• A productive way to spend free time – cooking is a life skill that will keep you healthy.  But it’s also a hobby to do in your free time that’s fun and delicious.
  
  
  

“Obesity is an escalating public health problem that contributes to other serious health issues, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. “The evidence shows people who cook at home eat a more healthy diet. Moving forward, it’s important to educate the public about the benefits of cooking at home, identify strategies that encourage and enable more cooking at home, and help everyone, regardless of how much they cook, make healthier choices when eating out."  

Julia Wolfson, MPP, a CLF-Lerner Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

 F&F Midterm Exam Review.doc 

 CA_Midterm Exam Review.doc.docx 

Food & Fitness Final Exam Review

Culinary Arts Final Exam Review