Eat Well to Live Well
Although cold outside, Dottie Buckon, Director of Human Resorces for Lakewood stays warm talking to 1 of 29 vendors who came to the event.
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Eating well doesn’t have to cost you a bundle or suck the flavor out of life. In fact, by mindfully chewing your three meals a day – ones chocked full of healthful and tasty ingredients -- you can keep a list of chronic diseases at bay and give you energy to live a life indulgent in activity, not food.
That was the message of Live Well Lakewood’s “Eat Well” free event held Saturday, Feb. 27 at Lakewood High School. Aside from dozens of local organizations and companies sharing nutrition tips and healthy eating strategies, like a placemat illustrating the perfectly portioned dinner plate, the headliners of the day were three notable area chefs who have sharpened their knives on creating great tasting dishes with the best ingredients.
Enter Ernie Logsdon, executive chef for Nature's Bin in Cleveland Heights and Lakewood, Jim Perko and Dr. Mladen Golubic from the Cleveland Clinic’s Lifestyle 180 program, and Eric Lowrey, former pastry chef and instructor.
Making the most of Lakewood High’s outstanding kitchen facilities, the three created and shared their delicious recipes for everything from green smoothies to sweet potato salad to quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) tabouli. Taste testing was required in each cooking demo that accommodated about 80 people.
The chefs offered simple and quick recipes for those interested in learning how to prepare healthy meals on a budget for both money and time. Eat Well was the first cooking event for Live Well Lakewood, a grassroots community organization dedicated to promoting healthy, active living in Lakewood. Designed to reinforce those healthy January resolutions that have normally gone by the wayside by February, Eat Well was created to illustrate the direct link between what you eat and how you feel. Making smart choices about food can greatly affect your ability to handle the stress, fight disease, stay strong and remain active.More than 350 residents took part in the event and many brought suggested food donations to stock the pantry at Lakewood Christian Service Center.