Leaving school and joining the workforce can be an exciting, but daunting, experience.
It often means moving away from home and long hours, which can lead to unhealthy eating habits.
However, thanks to a $3500 grant from Heathy Together Wyndham, Wesley Mission Victoria is helping make this rite of passage a healthy one as part of a program aimed at people with disabilities.
Wesley’s Pathways to Employment program now includes a 12-week healthy living program to equip young people with the skills needed to live independently.
Program leader Kelly Ardonis said other community organisations are also getting behind the initiative.
“Shoestring Gardening are giving us a vegie garden box for our clients to use,” she said.
“That way our clients can continue to learn about growing their own food and cooking it and we spread the better health message a little further.
“We’re also going to work with our clients to create a cookbook, which they can take with them once they complete the course and we can continue to use in the program.
“Our clients are young adults starting their journey into open employment and living independently, so it’s important to enhance the skills they have already learnt at home.”
Find out more
Contact the Healthy Communities team at Wyndham City on 9742 0777 or e-mail healthycommunities@wyndham.vic.gov.au.
Good healthy and great taste
Experts tell us that to be healthy, we should cut back on salt, sugar and fat. It’s good advice. But what they don’t mention is that removing those dietary no-nos can also cut down on taste.
But there’s no need to sacrifice flavour for the sake of healthy eating. Just try new ways to add some pep to your favourite dishes. Add herbs and spices, other than salt. Freshly cracked black pepper packs a punch, as can fresh herbs. Healthy eating is more than carrot sticks and cardboard crackers, as this tasty chicken dinner shows.
Spicy orange chicken with baked vegetable parcels
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 8 chicken lovely legs (800g) or skinless drumsticks
- juice of 2 oranges
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin or coriander
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon honey
- grated rind of 1 orange
- 700g pumpkin, peeled, cut into 1cm cubes
- 500g sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1cm cubes
- 1 red onion, sliced into wedges
- 440g can no-added-salt chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Method
- Preheat oven to 200 ºC (180ºC fan-forced).
- Divide orange juice, garlic, cumin/coriander and pepper evenly between two cups, stir to combine. Add honey and rind to one cup for chicken marinade.
- Place chicken in a medium-sized baking dish, pour honey marinade over and toss to coat chicken.
- To make vegetable parcels, cut four 50cm lengths of both baking paper and foil. Place foil on a flat surface, top with baking paper. Divide the pumpkin, sweet potato, onion and chickpeas between the parcels. Pour a quarter of the orange juice marinade on each parcel. Fold the long sides of baking paper and foil over filling to enclose, tuck short sides under to seal.
- Place parcels on a tray and bake with chicken, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Turn legs over and cook for a further 15 minutes until chicken is browned and cooked through, and vegetables are tender.
- Divide chicken between plates, spoon over any pan juices. Add vegetable parcels to be opened at the table.
Source: www.livelighter.com.au
Healthy Together Wyndham is a joint initiative of Wyndham council and the state government and is supported by Wyndham Star Weekly.
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