Ankle Biters is a community kitchen on a mission to get more Wyndham families eating well.
Part of the Healthy Together Wyndham initiative, community kitchens have been turned into centres of learning, helping budget-conscious householders prepare and cook healthy and nutritious meals.
The sessions also give families with young children the chance to meet others.
Council’s community well-being portfolio holder Cr Bob Fairclough said the Ankle Biters community kitchen had been very successful.
“We’ve had up to four different Ankle Biters groups running at the same time, each with between eight and 10 mums participating,” he said.
“That’s up to 40 parents gaining new cooking skills, improving their knowledge about healthy eating and how to eat well on a budget.
“The best part is they can take those skills home and use them to get their entire family eating well,” Cr Fairclough said.
Healthy Together Wyndham has set up seven community kitchens across the city.
“Our seven community kitchens include cooking groups for Indigenous community members in Wyndham Vale, Arab women in Tarneit and Chinese women in Point Cook.
“Some kitchens are also run out of primary schools.
“The kitchens are led by one or two local people, who receive training in safe food handling and healthy cooking from our dieticians,” Cr Fairclough said.
“Participants usually pay $5 to $10, to cover the cost of ingredients, and then either share the food they prepare there or take it home for the family.”
Ankle Biters community kitchen leader and Wyndham health champion Kate Bullock said children are welcome to join their parents at the kitchen cooking sessions.
“Many of our mums have cemented real friendships from their Ankle Biters groups, with their kids now playing together outside the kitchen sessions,” Ms Bullock said.
“We cook wholesome family dinners, healthy sweet treats, nutritious snacks and lunch box-friendly meals.
“Our mums usually take the food home for their family and a couple freeze portions for nights when they’re too busy to cook.
“But sometimes the food doesn’t make it home, as it’s just too tasty.”
Ms Bullock said participants don’t need to be able to cook to join in.
“The sessions are your chance to ask lots of questions and learn,” she said.
“We teach all the basics, like using knives correctly, mixing flavours and altering meals to suit your family, so even the most novice of chefs can join in.
“We have some amazing cooks who come along to meet other mums, too.
“It’s a great opportunity for their children to socialise, for them to share what they know and for everyone to pick up some tips about how they can make recipes a little healthier with a few small changes,” she said.
“As a result, we’re seeing people who are more confident in the kitchen, healthier, happier and more motivated to cook for themselves and their families,” Ms Bullock said.
Community kitchens
For more information or to find a community kitchen near you, phone Healthy Communities on 9742 0777 or e-mail healthycommunities@wyndham.vic.gov.au.
Eating healthy on a budget
• Try adding in one serve of vegies a day. One serve is one cup of salad vegetables or half a cup of cooked vegetables. Variety is key, so offer different types and colours. Even if your children refuse to eat vegetables, keep at it.
• Prepare snacks in advance and carry them with you. Put them in your kid’s lunch boxes. Go for maximum variety to avoid boredom.
• Stock healthy snacks in your fridge and pantry. Suggestions include yoghurt, vegetable dips, wholemeal or rice crispbreads and air-popped popcorn.
• Limit your consumption of ‘health bars’ and fruit juices. Don’t be fooled by the advertising – processed muesli, breakfast or energy bars and juices are typically high in salt, fat or sugar.
• Involve the whole family in keeping fit. Arrange for outings that are physically active, such as walking the dog, rowing or hiking. Even walk the kids to school or aim to park a little further away.
• Hire a pedometer from any Wyndham library and see how many steps you do in a day. Aim to beat that at work or at home by increasing your walks. Eventually aim for 10,000 steps per day.
• Try swapping your daily soft drink to a bottle of water. Water quenches your thirst and contains no sugar which is better for your teeth and decreases your risk of diabetes.
• Set up a vegetable patch or pot with some easy to grow vegetables. Fun and easy vegies that kids love to grow are snowpeas, beans, carrots, cucumber and zucchini.
• Check out local exercise options. Opportunities to be active in your neighbourhood may include leisure centres, sports clubs, parks, walking trails, swimming pools or exercise classes.
• Have fun getting physical. Go dancing, fly a kite, throw a frisbee or swim in the sea – you’re not limited to sports and structured exercise programs.
• Keep a stocked fruit bowl and put it in plain sight. You’re more likely to snack on healthy options if they’re on hand.
Healthy Together Wyndham: A Star Weekly series
