Chef Trainer Brittany Jones (left) and Education Dietitian Jennifer Lengyel present healthy cooking and nutrition education to members of Heaven Bound Christian Worship Center.

HISD Nutrition Services Education Dietitian Brittany Jones and Chef Trainer Jennifer Lengyel presented healthy cooking options to members of the Heaven Bound Christian Worship Center, where church members sampled dishes created through advances in the culinary arts.

Ministry Leader KeAndre Lewis was seeking a healthy eating class for her congregation. Nutrition Services Operations Manager Keith Lewis, who also happens to be Lewis’s husband, recommended Lengyel and Jones, both of whom have vast experience in community education.

“It was a great way to help people live healthier lives,” Lewis said. “It was different from what we are used to.”

Lengyel and Jones offered alternatives to more traditional food. Church members learned about foods that have positive effects on health without changing the flavor of the dishes.

“We presented a variety of recipes that are not only healthy but taste good too,” Lengyel said.

Jones demonstrated how cauliflower can replace the potatoes in mashed potatoes to create a healthy, low-calorie version of a comfort-food favorite. Pastor Craig Easley found the mashed cauliflower a surprisingly tasty alternative. “I thought all the dishes were going to taste bad,” Easley said, “but they were all great.”

Lengyel encouraged families to make these recipes part of their holiday tradition.