This program is being hosted in-person. To register, please click the RSVP button above or email programs@smithcenter.org.
With Chef Kara Garrett
In the second part of our series, we will focus on essential cooking skills needed to support your own healing kitchen. After you have revamped your pantry and refrigerator, the next step is to learn how to properly prepare these items to create healthy and delicious meals. Chef Kara will help you build confidence in the kitchen and share tools to boost nutrition in your everyday meals. Our discussion will include:
- Introduction to common cooking techniques with regards to plant-based foods
- Review of knife skills, including how to cut commonly used vegetables and how to utilize scraps
- Introduction to common plant-based proteins (tofu, tempeh, seitan), how to prepare them, and substitute into your favorite recipes
- How to easily incorporate cancer-fighting herbs and spices into meals
- Review baking techniques to reduce sugar and boost nutrition in easy desserts
The class will end by assisting Chef Kara with making a healthy meal using your new cooking techniques and sharing our delicious meal together.
Address:
Smith Center for Healing and the Arts
1632 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
Suggested Donation: $15/session or $45/series
About Chef Kara Garrett
Kara Garrett is a health-supportive chef based in Washington, DC. Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, she embraced the challenge of finding a balance between her foodie lifestyle and eating well with cancer. Kara is a graduate of the Chef Training Program at Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC, trained under Chef Lillian Chou at The Ananda Ashram Yoga Society of New York, and completed a graduate certificate in Developing Healthy Communities: Nutrition, Behavior, and Physical Activity from Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She is passionate about working with others to encourage healthier food choices and develop sustainable food relationships that energize the body and the soul.
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.
Join Chef Kara for an informative and interactive hour where we discuss all things soy. Soybeans are packed with nutrients that are highly beneficial when used as a plant-based complete protein.
Chef Kara will share the most recent studies and guidance regarding the use of soy products as part of a cancer-fighting diet to promote health. You will learn how soybeans are transformed into delicious culinary ingredients such as soy milk, tofu, tempeh, miso and shoyu (soy sauce).
Chef Kara will demonstrate helpful cooking tips & techniques for these products and share her favorite easy recipes to introduce and expand the use of delicious soy products in your kitchen.
Suggested Donation: $15
About Kara Garrett
Kara is a health-supportive chef based in Washington, DC. Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, she embraced the challenge of finding a balance between her foodie lifestyle and eating well with cancer. She has adopted a flexible diet plan that focuses on plant-based, sustainable whole foods, but does not restrict indulgences of things she loves. She is passionate about working with others to encourage healthier food choices that energize the body and the soul.
Kara graduated in August 2017 from the Chef Training Program at Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC and spent one month as the sous chef at The Ananda Ashram Yoga Society of New York in Monroe, NY. She is currently enrolled in the Developing Healthy Communities: Nutrition, Behavior, and Physical Activity graduate program at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
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.
Start out the new year on a healthy note! Join Chef Kara to learn tips that will make your weekly meal planning easier to incorporate delicious vegan dishes.
We will discuss how to ensure you are getting enough protein from plant-based meals. Furthermore, we will learn how to reduce our time in the kitchen with simple make-ahead and easy-to-reheat meals.
Chef Kara will provide tools to assist with the following:
- planning your weekly meals,
- writing your grocery lists,
- and prepping your meals in advance.
In addition, you will leave the class with new recipes and a grocery list for four meals that are customizable for diet restrictions, portion sizes, and flavor preferences.
Menu:
- Vegetable Pot Pie
- Tuscan Kale Stew
- Mexi-Cali Quinoa Bowl
- Smoky Sweet Potato Cakes with Corn Salad
- Sweet Potatoes (4 large)
- Corn (3 ears fresh or 1 10-oz bag frozen)
- Carrots (3 large)
- Kale (2 bunches or 1 bag pre-chopped)
- Avocado (2)
- Yellow onion (1 large)
- Grape or cherry tomatoes (1 pint)
- Scallions (2 bunches)
- Red Bell Pepper (2 medium)
- Garlic (6 cloves)
- Parsley (1 bunch)
- Cilantro (1 bunch)
- Limes (2)
- Diced tomatoes (1 28-oz can, fire-roasted preferred)
- White Beans (1 cup dry, or 2 15-oz cans)
- Quinoa (white or red, 2 cups dry)
- Raw cashews (1/2 cup, can use pumpkin seeds if nut-free)
- Vegetable stock (4 cups)
- Frozen Puff Pastry (or 1 cup all purpose flour and 1/4 cup coconut oil for homemade pie crust)
Pantry Items:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- Italian Seasoning (or any combination of dried oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil)
- Smoked Paprika
Materials Needed:
- Large baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Large rimmed sauté pan with lid
- Small saucepan
- Dutch oven or large soup pot
- Baking dish or 4 ramekins for pot pie
- Blender or Vitamix
- Small skillet
- Cutting board & knife
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups & spoons
Suggested Donation: $15
About Kara Garrett
Kara is a health-supportive chef based in Washington, DC. Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, she embraced the challenge of finding a balance between her foodie lifestyle and eating well with cancer. She has adopted a flexible diet plan that focuses on plant-based, sustainable whole foods, but does not restrict indulgences of things she loves. She is passionate about working with others to encourage healthier food choices that energize the body and the soul.
Kara graduated in August 2017 from the Chef Training Program at Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC and spent one month as the sous chef at The Ananda Ashram Yoga Society of New York in Monroe, NY. She is currently enrolled in the Developing Healthy Communities: Nutrition, Behavior, and Physical Activity graduate program at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
