Tag: Nourishing

This program is being offered in-person. To register, please click the RSVP button above or email programs@smithcenter.org.

with Chef Laura Pole

Healing in the Kitchen with Laura Cooking Class

This is Chef Laura’s first in-person cooking class at Smith Center since the pandemic and she is beyond excited to be reunited with you as we explore healing in the kitchen! You’ll learn about cooking foods in season in the spring which includes a variety of greens and root vegetables. We always have fun both preparing and eating delicious food and this class will be no different.

Suggested Donation: $20

About Laura Pole

Laura Pole is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist and Health Supportive Chef who has been providing integrative oncology clinical care, navigation, consultation and education services for over 35 years. Her interest in integrative cancer care began way before the field was well-known. She has spent years learning about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) so that she could help both patients and clinicians become aware of safe and effective therapies to weave into conventional cancer care. She is also helping shape the practice of culinary translation—helping people with practical ways to translate a diet prescription into delicious healthy food. Laura’s earliest passion in oncology care has been helping people manage pain and other distressing symptoms. Along with that,  she helps people talk about and choose care that aligns with their goals, wishes, and values.

Laura is Director of Nourishment Education Programs and retreat head chef for Smith Center. She is the  Co-Creator and Co-Coordinator of Smith Center for Healing and the Arts’ national training in integrative oncology patient navigation. She is Senior Researcher for Commonweal’s “Beyond Conventional Cancer Therapies” project to provide patients, clinicians and researchers with the best available resources for integrating conventional and integrative cancer therapies. Laura also manages the “Media Watch Cancer News That You Can Use” Listserv for Smith Center.  For most of her career, Laura has also been consulting with and educating patients and professionals in palliative care and advance care planning.

Laura is also the senior clinical consultant for CancerChoices, a free online web resource that gives information and guidance in integrative Cancer Care.

This program is being offered in-person. To register, please click the RSVP button above or email programs@smithcenter.org.

with Chef Cathryn Pethick

 

A Season to Celebrate! Cooking Class

It’s a season to celebrate as cold Winter fades and the warm vitality of Spring arises! Especially by nourishing ourselves with simple, whole foods that show the best of both seasons, loaded with all the goodness Nature intends, with Winter’s sweet roots and Spring’s fresh greens, healing herbs and spices: nutrient dense, easily digestible, anti-inflammatory and immune supportive benefits- and absolutely delicious! In this vegetarian, hands-on cooking class, we’ll share the preparation of a cuppa healing tea, warm soup, a protein-rich slider, fresh cool salad, and even a healthy sweet. O yum!

And, check out more of Chef Cathryn’s programs on our YouTube channel, under “Nutrition & Cooking.”

Suggested Donation: $20

About Cathryn Pethick

Cathryn Pethick

Cathryn Pethick, AA, AYS, C-IAYT is a certified yoga therapist and teacher, Ayurveda specialist, and professional chef- whole foods cooking and nutrition instructor. She shares those skills with private clients through her own Well-Being, founded in 2012, and is on staff with Maryland University of Integrative Health’s Masters in Nutrition degree program. At Smith Center, Cathryn teaches cooking and nutrition classes, gentle yoga, and contributes to Smith Center’s wonderful integrative cancer support retreats as chef and yoga therapist. She has decades of experience in diverse culinary settings, practicing/teaching yoga from a therapeutic perspective, meditation, and the study of Ayurveda, diverse spiritual and philosophical traditions, and Oriental healing/martial arts. Cathryn shares the intention of nourishing well-being for us individually and as a collective with yoga, meditation and food-as-medicine, by cultivating the healing power of balance, optimal nutrition that supports our vitality, and compassionate presence that nurtures us all.

This program is being offered in-person. To register, please click the RSVP button above or email programs@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Chef Cathryn Pethick

 

Enjoying the Sweet Roots and Fruits of Autumn

In this 2-hour cooking class, we’ll explore and taste the sweet, soul-warming, nourishing abundance of the autumn harvest: late summer squashes and pumpkins, stone and tree fruits, grains and legumes, in a complete vegetarian meal, including a creamy latte to sip as we work; a smooth, warming soup; crispy, hearty vegetable fritters with yogurt dipping sauce; an autumn-themed salad; and a roasted fruit dessert crisp/crunch. Come prepared to pitch in on the prep! And then we feast together!

And, check out more of Chef Cathryn’s programs on our YouTube channel, under “Nutrition & Cooking.”

Suggested Donation: $20

About Cathryn Pethick

Cathryn Pethick

Cathryn Pethick, AA, AYS, C-IAYT is a certified yoga therapist and teacher, Ayurveda specialist, and professional chef- whole foods cooking and nutrition instructor. She shares those skills with private clients through her own Well-Being, founded in 2012, and is on staff with Maryland University of Integrative Health’s Masters in Nutrition degree program. At Smith Center, Cathryn teaches cooking and nutrition classes, gentle yoga, and contributes to Smith Center’s wonderful integrative cancer support retreats as chef and yoga therapist. She has decades of experience in diverse culinary settings, practicing/teaching yoga from a therapeutic perspective, meditation, and the study of Ayurveda, diverse spiritual and philosophical traditions, and Oriental healing/martial arts. Cathryn shares the intention of nourishing well-being for us individually and as a collective with yoga, meditation and food-as-medicine, by cultivating the healing power of balance, optimal nutrition that supports our vitality, and compassionate presence that nurtures us all.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Laura Pole, RN, MSN, Chef

Nourishment for Life with Chefnurcian Laura Pole

Join Chef, Oncology Nurse and Musician (Chefnurcian) Laura Pole on Wednesday, June 15 from 12-1:30pm for a program tailored to anyone who has received a Metastatic Breast Cancer diagnosis. We’re going to have a great time exploring how foods and eating habits can nourish you and help you nurture a body that’s less hospitable to cancer.

 

Chefnurcian Laura will tailor the class to your questions and interests about nourishment. She will also present a food prep demo based on what most of you are interested in learning. Please send in your questions and recommendations ahead of time to programs@smithcenter.org.

Suggested Donation: $10

About Laura Pole, RN, MSN, Chef

Laura Pole

Laura, Director of Smith Center’s Nourishment Education Programs, has served as the head retreat chef and nurse consultant since 1997. She is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist and Integrative Oncology Navigator with over 40 years experience in caring for people with serious illness. She is also a Certified Health Supportive Chef, professional musician and Nia body-mind fitness instructor. Her popular cooking classes are centered on culinary translation: that is, helping  participants translate a diet prescription to a plate of nourishing delicious food. Laura is the founder of “Eating for a Lifetime,” a consulting business dedicated to teaching individuals and professionals about health supportive eating and food preparation. In addition to Laura’s work with nourishment, she is the co-coordinator of Smith Center’s Patient Navigation Training in Integrative Cancer Care. Laura also serves as coordinator of the “Media Watch Cancer News That You Can Use” listserv.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Laura Pole, RN, MSN, Chef

Healing in the Kitchen with Laura: Picnic TIme!

Healing in the Kitchen with Laura

Picnic Time!

Outdoor picnics, wherever they may be, are a great way to nourish yourself with food, companionship and nature.

 

Emerge from the winter with Chef Laura and prepare a picnic meal with those long-awaited just-picked vegetables and fruits of spring. Who knows… you might even get a virtual glimpse of one of her favorite picnic spots in the Blue Ridge mountains.

 

Carrots and sugar snap peas love to dip into Asparagus Tapenade.

Tender lettuce and arugula get along great with radishes and fennel in a Spring Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette.

How about some Black Bean and Forbidden Rice Patties?

They’re going to make their way along with sliced avocadoes and Chipotle Dressing between the whole grain bun of your choice, or if you prefer, sandwiched in savoy cabbage leaves.

Let’s finish the meal with some Fresh Strawberries Topped Off with Whipped Coconut Cream.

Suggested Donation: $10

About Laura Pole, RN, MSN, Chef

Laura Pole

Laura, Director of Smith Center’s Nourishment Education Programs, has served as the head retreat chef and nurse consultant since 1997. She is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist and Integrative Oncology Navigator with over 40 years experience in caring for people with serious illness. She is also a Certified Health Supportive Chef, professional musician and Nia body-mind fitness instructor. Her popular cooking classes are centered on culinary translation: that is, helping  participants translate a diet prescription to a plate of nourishing delicious food. Laura is the founder of “Eating for a Lifetime,” a consulting business dedicated to teaching individuals and professionals about health supportive eating and food preparation. In addition to Laura’s work with nourishment, she is the co-coordinator of Smith Center’s Patient Navigation Training in Integrative Cancer Care. Laura also serves as coordinator of the “Media Watch Cancer News That You Can Use” listserv.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Chef Cathryn Pethick

Ayurveda Cooking Class

The Wellspring of Kapha

Ayurveda-Inspired Cooking Class

 

Spring: The season of renewal and growth, awakens latent earth to all its potential. Spring is a time for a fresh start, cleansing and rejuvenating the body after Winter’s cold dormancy. It’s also a season when the awakening body may be beset by seasonal allergies, a sense of heaviness, lethargy.

 

It’s time to balance the Kapha dosha in this moist, fertile, warmer season with the appropriate diet to support lightness, dryness and the heat our metabolism requires, by emphasizing the proper tastes and cooking methods. Join us to explore the nourishment this beautiful season has to offer!

 

Recipes from the class will be emailed to you as a part of this program.

And, check out more of Chef Cathryn’s programs on our YouTube channel, under “Nutrition & Cooking.”

Suggested Donation: $10

About Cathryn Pethick

Cathryn Pethick

Cathryn Pethick, AA, AYS, C-IAYT is a certified yoga therapist and teacher, Ayurveda specialist, and professional chef- whole foods cooking and nutrition instructor. She shares those skills with private clients through her own Well-Being, founded in 2012, and is on staff with Maryland University of Integrative Health’s Masters in Nutrition degree program. At Smith Center, Cathryn teaches cooking and nutrition classes, gentle yoga, and contributes to Smith Center’s wonderful integrative cancer support retreats as chef and yoga therapist. She has decades of experience in diverse culinary settings, practicing/teaching yoga from a therapeutic perspective, meditation, and the study of Ayurveda, diverse spiritual and philosophical traditions, and Oriental healing/martial arts. Cathryn shares the intention of nourishing well-being for us individually and as a collective with yoga, meditation and food-as-medicine, by cultivating the healing power of balance, optimal nutrition that supports our vitality, and compassionate presence that nurtures us all.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Laura Pole, RN, MSN, Chef

Healing in the Kitchen with Laura

Healing in the Kitchen with Laura

Are you ready to get creative with Chef Laura and riff with a twist on a few Thanksgiving favorites? What about all those leftovers that are longing for a transformation between the storage container and your plate?

 

Join us on November 6 for a fun class that’ll give you new menu ideas for your Thanksgiving Day and the day after and the day after that!

 

What might be on the menu? It depends on what leftovers Chef Laura finds. Hint: You’re likely see winter squashes, kale, and cranberries transformed before your very eyes!

Suggested Donation: $10

About Laura Pole, RN, MSN, Chef

Laura Pole

Laura, Director of Smith Center’s Nourishment Education Programs, has served as the head retreat chef and nurse consultant since 1997. She is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist and Integrative Oncology Navigator with over 40 years experience in caring for people with serious illness. She is also a Certified Health Supportive Chef, professional musician and Nia body-mind fitness instructor. Her popular cooking classes are centered on culinary translation: that is, helping  participants translate a diet prescription to a plate of nourishing delicious food. Laura is the founder of “Eating for a Lifetime,” a consulting business dedicated to teaching individuals and professionals about health supportive eating and food preparation. In addition to Laura’s work with nourishment, she is the co-coordinator of Smith Center’s Patient Navigation Training in Integrative Cancer Care. Laura also serves as coordinator of the “Media Watch Cancer News That You Can Use” listserv.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, you must register or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org

with Chef Cathryn Pethick

Ayurveda Cooking Class

Calming the Autumn Winds: Pacifiying Vata

Ayurveda-Inspired Cooking Class

 

As we leave behind the heat and humidity of summer and the drier, cooler winds of autumn begin to blow, the airy Vata dosha takes precedence as we transition to the Fall season: cool, light, dry, mobile, rough, unpredictably mobile. We soothe Vata with a diet that emphasizes the sweet, sour and salty tastes and foods that are more “grounding” : higher in proteins and fats, liquid, with warm, stimulating spices, served warm or hot; more soups and stews, and less raw food. Our menu will feature the best fruits and veggies that our farmers’ markets offer in the late harvest season, grains and legumes, to carry you well into winter!

 

Recipes from the class will be emailed to you as a part of this program.

And, check out more of Chef Cathryn’s programs on our YouTube channel, under “Nutrition & Cooking.”

Suggested Donation: $10

About Cathryn Pethick

Cathryn Pethick

Cathryn Pethick, AA, AYS, C-IAYT is a certified yoga therapist and teacher, Ayurveda specialist, and professional chef- whole foods cooking and nutrition instructor. She shares those skills with private clients through her own Well-Being, founded in 2012, and is on staff with Maryland University of Integrative Health’s Masters in Nutrition degree program. At Smith Center, Cathryn teaches cooking and nutrition classes, gentle yoga, and contributes to Smith Center’s wonderful  integrative cancer support retreats as chef and yoga therapist. She has decades of experience in diverse culinary settings, practicing/teaching yoga from a therapeutic perspective, meditation, and the study of Ayurveda, diverse spiritual  and philosophical traditions, and Oriental healing/martial arts. Cathryn shares the intention of nourishing well-being for us individually and as a collective with yoga, meditation and food-as-medicine, by cultivating the healing power of balance, optimal nutrition that supports our vitality, and compassionate presence that nurtures us all.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, you must register here or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org

with Laura Pole, RN, MSN, Chef

Come cool down in Chef Laura’s summer kitchen where you’ll learn to make:

Better than Chicken, Tempeh Salad,

Causa with Un-Tuna Salad, Sweet Potatoes and Avocados,

Quinoa Tabouli, and

Carob-Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

Suggested Donation: $10

About Laura Pole, RN, MSN, Chef

Laura, Director of Smith Center’s Nourishment Education Programs, has served as the head retreat chef and nurse consultant since 1997. She is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist and Integrative Oncology Navigator with over 40 years experience in caring for people with serious illness. She is also a Certified Health Supportive Chef, professional musician and Nia body-mind fitness instructor. Her popular cooking classes are centered on culinary translation: that is, helping  participants translate a diet prescription to a plate of nourishing delicious food. Laura is the founder of “Eating for a Lifetime,” a consulting business dedicated to teaching individuals and professionals about health supportive eating and food preparation. In addition to Laura’s work with nourishment, she is the co-coordinator of Smith Center’s Patient Navigation Training in Integrative Cancer Care. Laura also serves as coordinator of the “Media Watch Cancer News That You Can Use” listserv.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, you must register or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org

with Chef Cathryn Pethick

Our choice of diet is one of the best ways we can care for ourselves. In the science of Ayurveda, our well-being is best supported with a diet of fresh, whole, seasonal foods, that includes all six tastes, with emphasis on those that will help balance us best.

Here in the mid-Atlantic, our Spring season transitions can be cold and windy, then warm and humid, as we move into our growing season. In Ayurvedic terms, our Spring climate season is cool to warm, liquid and soft, and corresponds to the Kapha dosha. We may have a tendency to experience colds, sinus congestion and allergies, a sense of heaviness, all signs of Kapha imbalance.

In this class, the food tastes we will focus on that “pacify,” or nurture and support Kapha best, are pungent, bitter and astringent, such as spring greens, lentils, millet, asparagus, strawberries, pears, warming spices and herbs. We will include a simple dish called kitchari that is a traditional cleansing and nourishing food that can support the Spring seasonal transition. Recipes and additional Ayurveda resources will be provided.

Suggested Donation: $10

About Cathryn Pethick

Cathryn Pethick, AA, AYS, C-IAYT is a certified yoga therapist and teacher, Ayurveda specialist, and professional chef- whole foods cooking and nutrition instructor. She shares those skills with private clients through her own Well-Being, founded in 2012, and is on staff with Maryland University of Integrative Health’s Masters in Nutrition degree program. At Smith Center, Cathryn teaches cooking and nutrition classes, gentle yoga, and contributes to Smith Center’s wonderful  integrative cancer support retreats as chef and yoga therapist. She has decades of experience in diverse culinary settings, practicing/teaching yoga from a therapeutic perspective, meditation, and the study of Ayurveda, diverse spiritual  and philosophical traditions, and Oriental healing/martial arts. Cathryn shares the intention of nourishing well-being for us individually and as a collective with yoga, meditation and food-as-medicine, by cultivating the healing power of balance, optimal nutrition that supports our vitality, and compassionate presence that nurtures us all.