KA 703. Nutrition Education and Behavior (Bernalillo County)

Kitchen Creations Impact Report
Part of KA 703 Nutrition Education and Behavior – Bernalillo County
October 06 – September 07

Target Audience: Diabetics and family members of diabetics;

Description of target audience
Thirteen attended the first class. The following three sessions were sporadic and inconsistent attendance. Only nine participants attend all four sessions.

Diabetic ages included one 30 year old; three 50 – 55 year olds; two 56-59 year olds; three 60 – 65 year olds; two 66 – 75 year olds; two 76 – 80 year olds. One participant was pre-diabetic at age fifty-one; four were diabetics; seven participants were family members who prepared meals for their diabetic relative.

Participants attending included five Hispanics and nine White. All were female except for one male. Two Hispanic females taught the class and one Afro-American female assisted in setting up cooking station.

Curriculum: Kitchen Creations Diabetes Cooking School Curriculum Workbook.

Weekly Evaluations statements from participants included:
Session I: Meal Planning evaluations comments indicated:
All the participants commented that the class was very informative and enjoyable. Class was great; look forward to other classes; Reminders how to eat better and having lists available is a great benefit; Can start using the 50/50 plate immediately; tasty lunch; practical useful information; time went quickly; I love this class; what good teachers; Thank you so much for offering this plan

Session II Balancing Carbohydrates: Evaluations comments included:
The majority of the participants indicated class was very informative, was very good, and was enjoyable. Additional comments included: More great information that has assisted me in managing my diabetes; I am learning how to apply the information to daily living. It is very helpful; useful information on sweeteners. I was glad to learn diabetics can have dessert; Thanks for the recipes. I’m learning so much- it’s all so new to me. This class has opened my eyes to the heart problem combined with the diabetes; Easy to fix recipe.

Session III: Vegetables, Beans, and Grains:
Evaluation comments by participants included: The majority of the participants indicated the class was good, informative, and learned a lot. Additional comments included: Information on grains and beans helped me understand the consequences of a New Mexico Diet without knowing how to balance it with non-carbohydrates; I am learning how to shop and cook healthy and becoming familiar with serving sizes; I tried recipes in the past week. My husband just loved the red chile enchiladas; I learned awareness and balance; learning informative information for life; Instructors are well informed and present themselves professionally; hands on, able to apply to daily living, creates awareness of good eating habits.

Evaluation IV: Heart Healthy Cooking
comments included: Majority of participant’s comments indicated they really enjoyed classes. Was a great class. Great information.

Additional comments included:
I will use this information for life; Learned how to change my eating habits which I hope will be proactive to avoiding diabetes. I am currently borderline; my husband’s sugar has been great this past month. He has lost 10 pounds; Less on low fat eating was beneficial for me to learn about the heath of my heart; I have shared the information with family members, Has helped me plan meals for my elderly mother who is pre-diabetic; I feel sad that our class is ending. I have learned so much to help my husband and myself;

Overall program evaluation questions and responses included: Only nine participants completed all four sessions and completed the program final evaluation.

1) What did you like most about Kitchen Creations?
The class and cooking helped me to start using the information immediately; the cooking part; the 50/50 plan and the simple solutions to eating the right portions to control your blood sugar levels; All the information and hand outs; It was an eye opening experience for me. All the things I was doing wrong. This class has been very beneficial and I have already started sharing with three brothers who are diabetic. Thanks for the class; the 50/50 method of eating was what I found most helpful.

2. How has participating in Kitchen Creations helped you manage your diabetes?
I use the Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid to plan a day’s meal. = 6
I measure food portions. = 6
I use the 50/50 method to control the amount of carbohydrates I eat at a meal. = 9
I read food labels to find the amount of carbohydrates in serving sizes. = 9
I eat at least 2 serving of whole grains per day. = 6
I eat as least 2 serving of non-starch vegetables at dinner. = 6
I use more herbs and spices to flavor foods instead of salt and fat. = 8

3. What are some of the things your learned that you did not know or that surprised you?
I had some idea and awareness, this class expanded on my knowledge; what to look for in labels; do more cooking learning new ways to cook, spices, etc; how well you can eat and the variety of foods. That you can have desserts if your count it as part of your meal plan.; How important fiber is to diabetes, and how much you need; 50/50 method makes this so easy; I did not realize how many foods had carbs and were affecting my blood sugars; I wasn’t really surprised by anything, but the class reintegrated information that I needed to get a handle on.

4. What things do you still need to learn about meal planning or cooking for people with diabetes?
Assistance to be disciplined to actually put what I learned to use.; I still need more practice at preparing new meals and breaking old habits; up to date information; do more cooking learning new ways to cook i.e. spices; more hands on cooking I am visual; practice and time.

5. Do you have any suggestions to make Kitchen Creations better?
None; Have students present recipes and then go over to make healthy; do more cooking of all foods i.e. fish; none it was great; Unless you have an inexperienced class; the cooking portion is not that necessary. (The class does have inexperienced cooks).


Short Term Objectives:
80% of participants will increase knowledge of Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid and 50/50 Plate method.
100% participants who attended all session or some of the classes made comments or in direct comments they gain diabetes knowledge from introduction of the Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid and the ease of using the 50/50 Plate method.

60 % of participants will plan to use the Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid and 50/50 method.
Final overall evaluation from the nine participants who attended all the sessions seem to indicate or indirectly inferred that they will continue to use the Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid in planning meals and making healthy eating and food choices following the 50/50 method of meal planning and balancing daily diets.

Medium Term Objectives
40% of participants will use the Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid and 50/50 method.

Approximately 77% (average of 7 out of 9 participants attending all four classes seemed to be indicating that they will use the Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid and 50/50 Plate method in controlling and managing their diabetes or diabetes of a family member.

No follow-up evaluations were conducted with the nine that participated in all four sessions.
erican Diabetes Cook Book; and New Mexico Diabetes Cook Book; various additional lesson handouts and hands-on activities.

Virginia Alexander has signed on to support KA 703. Nutrition Education and Behavior within Bernalillo County.