Veteran, Wife Go Further with Food in March

Alpena- If you told Patty and Tom Render that they would be preparing most of their meals without a source of meat, they’d probably look at you puzzled.

“Meatless cooking can be healthy,” laughed the Vietnam Veteran who enjoys his meat and potatoes.

As part of National Nutrition Month, the Alpena VA has been offering healthy cooking class to help veterans prepare small meals that can last a week. Dishes like a lentil and cauliflower chili can be packed away for a few days, easy to reheat. Combine it with a corn meal and you have a chili pie to increase flavor but still eat a nutritious, hearty meal.

Melissa Tolan-Halleck is the VA Dietitian and has been teaching classes and presenting on healthy meal prep for the vets. Groups of three or four veterans and even their wives would get together to learn tips and tricks to staying healthy and losing those unwanted pounds.

“It’s helpful, the knowledge… what to stay away from and what to choose, making the right choices,” said Patty Render.

Today, veterans could drop in to taste samples and pick up recipes on different vegetable-centered dishes. Tolan-Halleck focuses on budget friendly meals incorporating a variety of spices. The hope is that veterans can take these lessons and incorporate them into everyday life. With more interest from the Veteran community in Alpena, the Render’s look forward to more classes based around living a healthy lifestyle.

“It’s a good beginning, a good solid beginning.”