Optimum Condition fitness center is offering a free class, “Simple Cooking for Health,”featuring a cooking demonstration using organic food. Participants also will learn about the benefits of eating organic and they will receive two tasty recipes they can make at home.
The one-hour instructional session will be taught by Robin McNulty, Director of Nutrition Services in the Lemon School District, who will make asparagus and a snap pea sauté and enough for attendees to sample. The class will be held at noon, on Saturday, April 19, 2013, at Optimum Condition, 1069 Graves Ave., No. 104, El Cajon.
Since seating is limited, guests can reserve their spot by calling or texting (619) 252-4993 or emailing it in with RSVP in the subject line.
When you sign into the class, you will automatically be entered in a raffle, with three chances to win a free personal training session, one month of free yoga classes or one month of free tai chi classes.
Melissa Alllen, owner and operator of Optimum Condition, is offering the class so people can learn about the benefits offered by the fitness center and as encouragement for people to lead healthier lives.
“Maintaining a good level of fitness is certainly part of overall good health, but another key component of that is putting good foods into our bodies,” Allen said. “I’d like to take some of the mysteries out of organic eating and show people how beneficial it is to choose good, healthy foods.”
The cooking class will provide explanations on why we should buy specific organic fruits and vegetables such as apples, potatoes and cherry tomatoes and which non-organic fruits and vegetables are safe such as avocados, cabbage and mangoes.
Attendees will learn what “organic” means and why it matters. For example, they will find out what types of soil those apples and potatoes and other fruits and vegetables are grown in, the dangers of certain types of pesticides and whether genetically modified food is safe.
McNulty , a health researcher by training, oversees numerous nutrition programs in Lemon Grove schools. More than 5,000 meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner, are provided for students every day. Since 2005, McNulty has lead the Lemon Grove School District on its quest to provide healthy, fresh, local food to the more than 4,200 students. She has a passion for cooking that she willingly shares with family and friends. She has taught cooking classes for weight loss, basic skills and institutional- style service. McNulty is currently researching the relationships of inflammatory diseases and genetically modified foods.
Optimum Condition, located on Graves Avenue in El Cajon, empowers people to live life to the optimum through physical training, education and coaching. Allen, the owner, is a certified personal trainer and soft tissue mobilization provider with more than 15 years offering instruction in personal training and fitness. She has operated Optimum Condition for the past 14 years. She is a first-degree black belt in American-style kickboxing, purple belt in Brazilian jiujitsu, a certified sports nutritionist and former emergency medical technician.
