Development of culinary recipes in an intervention program with Brazilian university students

Abstract

Objective Develop and test recipes for a cooking skills intervention program aimed at students of a Brazilian university. Methods Culinary recipes were selected for the Nutrition and Culinary in the Kitchen program, which offers cooking classes for participants to practice and develop their cooking skills. The Nutrition and Culinary in the Kitchen program is based on the Cooking with a Chef program of the United States of America. A literature search was conducted to establish criteria for the selection and development of recipes. A decision tree was constructed to determine if Cooking With a Chef recipes were appropriate for the Nutrition and Culinary in the Kitchen program. Recipes were evaluated in the laboratory by untrained university students using an acceptance test that comprised the analysis of sensorial attributes and healthiness criteria. Results Of the 32 developed recipes, nine were based on the Cooking With a Chef program. Recipes were adapted to increase the use of fresh fruits, whole grains, and vegetables; eliminate ultra-processed foods; and take into account local food habits and seasonality of ingredients. In the first test, 53.3% (n=16) of the dishes received an acceptance score of less than 70.0% mainly because of unsatisfactory taste. Culinary recipes considered inadequate were redesigned in terms of ingredients and/or cooking methods and were retested until achieving a score of 100.0%. Conclusion Culinary recipes adapted to the Brazilian food culture and the target audience with the use of healthy ingredients and cooking techniques were considered appropriate for the Nutrition and Culinary in the Kitchen cooking skills intervention program and might increase participants’ adherence to healthy eating habits.

Cooking skills during the Covid-19 pandemic

“…In Brazil, the Nutrition in Foodservice Research Centre of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (NUPPRE-UFSC) has experience in performing studies on cooking skills. The group developed the Nutrition and Culinary in the Kitchen (NCK) program [14,15], a cooking intervention that was shown to improve the cooking skills of public university students in southern Brazil for up to six months. Although NCK program was aimed at university students, it was based on dietary recommendations for the general Brazilian population (individuals aged 2 years and older).…”

Is the lack of culinary skills an obstacle for teenagers to eat healthy?

“…O estudo das habilidades culinárias no campo da alimentação e nutrição é ainda recente, de forma que não foram encontrados estudos no Brasil que tenham avaliado a prevalência dessas habilidades entre adolescentes. Os estudos referentes a esse tema no país trazem uma revisão sobre o conceito de habilidades culinárias 9 , o desenvolvimento de instrumento de avaliação 10,11 , avaliação de programa de intervenção com universitários brasileiros 12,13 , avaliação das habilidades culinárias de idosos praticantes de atividades aquáticas 14 , desenvolvimento de habilidades culinárias durante a pandemia de COVID-19 15,16 e práticas culinárias de mães 17 .…”

Desenvolvimento de Um E-book de Orientações Nutricionais Como Uma Contribuição no Tratamento de Distúrbios de Ansiedade

“…As habilidades culinárias e uma alimentação saudável têm sido relacionadas, onde, o desenvolvimento dessas habilidades pode gerar mudanças nos hábitos alimentares, levando às práticas mais saudáveis, através do estímulo de uso de ingredientes mais naturais, e à diminuição do uso e ingestão de ultraprocessados, promovendo saúde e gerando efeito positivo nos comportamentos alimentares 27 .…”