Food for Good Moods and more

At right, Dietician Kaitlin Hanuska with health class organizer Phyllis Vallieres, will be
presenting the first class on April 12 called Food for Good Moods-Fighting Depression at 2
p.m. at St. John's Anglican Parish Hall. /SUMBITTED

By Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

The Bancroft Seventh Day Adventist Group is offering two new health and wellness classes to Bancroft and area residents in April. The first, Food for Good Moods-Fighting Depression​, will be on April 12 at 2 p.m., while the second, Healthy Food Surprises​, will be on April 19 at 2 p.m. Admission is free, there will be door prizes, food tastings, free recipes, gifts for bringing a friend​, and a question-and-answer period after the presentations. To register for one or both of these classes, email Jane at jdonato4326@gmail.com and leave your full name. Both classes will be held at St. John's Anglican Parish Hall at 21 Flint Avenue. The first 25 people to​ register get a special book called Fighting Disease with Food. Phyllis Vallieres, who is organizing these health classes, and Kaitlin Hanuska, a dietician who'll be teaching the April 12 class, comment to Bancroft This Week on these upcoming events that aim to bolster the health of Bancroft and the surrounding area.

Vallieres told Bancroft This Week that planning was going well for these upcoming health classes, and that she was actually working on the classes little by little so that there won't be a big emergency to get everything ready at the last minute.

“I am actually preparing a few things that I can put into the freezer to be ready for the dates (and that's no pun!)” she says.

While previous classes had been at the North Hastings Community Centre in the Leaf Centre, this time around, the classes will be held at St. John's Anglican Parish Hall, and Vallieres says there's a very good reason for that.

“As much as we tried to ask for the heat to be on, we found that it was constantly cold in that room. I do understand that they have an exercise room right beside the presentation room, but to really have the room warm enough for our people who attend, they just weren't able to do it for us.​ There is a partition that can be pulled tight​, and then they would have to put the heat on a few hours earlier to have the room ready for us at our time. Somehow, they just weren't able to get it warm for us​, but more the temperature of those exercising in the next room. I might add that we had people come to the Leaf Centre that turned around and went back because of parking. There happened to be a game on in the lower part of the building. If people can't park their car near the building when they have difficulty walking, they just go home. We will see how this new venue works,” she says.

As for why Vallieres chose the specific topics that'll be presented this time around, she says she's always looking for topics that would interest the public, and she wants to meet the needs of the community.

“When I chose the first class, April 12, to be on Healthy Foods to Prevent Depression, my partner/assistant named it Foods for Good Moods, so that it would appeal to more people than only depressed people. It has been a very cold and​, to some, a long winter. During winter​, many people have the Seasonal Affective Disorder​, where they need a lot of light to feel active. Winter will just be getting over as we have these classes, and we hope that the healthy foods we will be making will really help their brain and emotions to feel more cheerful. There are real scientific reasons for these foods we are showing. Elements in foods like nuts, seeds, vegetables, and whole grains actually work on the brain and nervous system to produce hormones that make people happier. Then, the second class on April 19 was called Healthy Food Surprises. I chose that topic because I have lots of fun making foods that are healthy​, that have ingredients you wouldn't expect to be in that food. For example, Black Bean Brownies are so very delicious. Who would have thought that they were made with beans if you didn't know the title of them? I love surprises​, and I also thought that it might interest people to want to attend the class to see what foods we will make. The ingredients in these foods actually are very healthy for us. So many people eat junk food​, which I don't even consider to be food. Things that have no nutrients: just empty calories. So many people these days are overweight, ailing with some disease like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, strokes​,and such. They don't realize that our food can be our medicine to prevent and even help these conditions,” she says.

Vallieres reveals that Hanuska, a dietician​, will help her out with the first class on, and that she assisted her last year with the classes​, and everybody loved her.

“I will be doing some recipes with her as well​, but she will do the lecture before the recipes. I will be doing the class on April 19. I have taught nursing most of my life and have been teaching healthy cooking classes since the 80s. There is a lot more information today about what foods are good for you and what they are good for in your body. People get used to eating certain foods and don't stop to think whether their food is actually helping their body. They don't even consider that the illness they have relates to poor diet! There needs to be some discipline in what people eat and even when they eat. It is amazing that if we leave five hours between meals, and don't eat anything between meals, our stomach has time to rest. One part of the body actually can borrow energy from another part when we put stress on an organ. We can get sick when there is just too much stress on an organ. I have a passion to help people learn what is healthier,” she says.

Hanuska told The Bancroft T​h​is Week that she's very excited to have another opportunity to provide nutrition education in the Bancroft community at the April 12 class.

“The topics I will be covering include: foods and eating patterns to support cognitive performance and energy levels, foods that contribute to/improve mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, and the gut-brain connection-why what we eat influences how we think. I am planning to demonstrate a walnut and lentil loaf as well as a berry crumble,” she says.

Vallieres said that in the April 12 class, she'll be making a walnut spread and peanut sandies.

“They both have ingredients that are great for the brain and nerves. Having a balance in our diet tends toward calmness and peace,” she says.

Vallieres says that the fact ​that they are in a new space this year adds so much that is new to the health classes.

“The room we used before didn't have a working kitchen. There was no stove, fridge, no equipment or anything that we could use there except they did have a water tap. So, for us presenting the class, it will be such a joy to be in the Parish Hall that has a wonderful kitchen. Also, since we have our church services in that room, our audio-video equipment will already be present and won't have to be carried to a new location. But all this helps us. You want to know what is different for the public, right? The format will be very much like the former classes we have put on. We will have registration cards for when the people come in if they haven't registered by phone or email ahead. We will give handouts of the recipes as well as a list of the foods that especially help depression at the April 12 class. Everyone that attends both classes will get a free Cookbook as well as another wonderful book called Fighting Disease with Food. This second book has a page for many diseases and lists not only the foods that help that condition, but also the health benefits, how to use it, and the nutrients in that food. I was able to purchase these books for our classes and am very excited that everyone who attends will get this book absolutely free. It is something that could help them for years. We have never given out this book before,” she says.

Vallieres says they're planning for 40 people for each class​, “We have gotten that number before and sometimes less, but if even more come, we will be happy. The weather is a factor. It affects whether or not people come,” she says.

Vallieres ​says that the community is excited to come to their classes and that they look forward to the handouts​, and some absolutely love to learn new and healthy recipes. She says there are some people in the community that haven't missed one of the classes they've put on over the years.

“I would say come and enjoy two lovely afternoons out,” she says. “You will meet other people, get books with information you will use for a long time, be entertained for free and enjoy tasting the wonderful recipes we make.”