NUTRITION AND CULINARY EDUCATION
Nutrition education
Wellspring’s unique nutrition programme does not simply repeat the information your child already knows concerning calories, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals etc.
Instead, the Wellspring nutrition curriculum was developed with the help of dozens of formerly overweight adolescents who have returned to a normal weight and are staying there.
The question they answered in designing the curriculum was: What do I really need to know in order to be successful? Here are the questions that the curriculum answers.
- When does a diet have a scientific basis? When does it not? And how can I tell the difference?
- What is the scientific basis for weight gain? Why is it so easy to gain, and so hard to lose?
- What does the scientific literature say about what successful long-term weight controllers actually eat?
- How do I order in restaurants?
- How do I shop in a supermarket?
Wellspring trains students on questions to ask in restaurants and how to interact with waiters. Then we take students to local restaurants to practice what they have learned.
Wellspring also takes students to supermarkets where they will learn to find the foods they really enjoy, but that are also consistent with the very low-fat, low calorie-density diet required for long-term weight control.
Culinary education
Wellspring students learn how to apply their nutrition training in culinary classes.
Culinary classes occur on camping trips, when students learn to cook quick and healthy meals on camp stoves. Then, when students return to camp, we pick up where we left off and apply the field lessons in the kitchen.
Wellspring students learn to prepare very low-fat, high-enjoyment foods – not gourmet, but rather quick, practical dishes, like spaghetti with a fat-free marina sauce or a low-fat cheese toastie sandwich.
Wellspring students return home with a new set of culinary tools and new confidence in their ability to prepare simple, very low-fat and low calorie-density meals and snacks.
