Spain
participants
The goal was for international students to learn new healthy and nutritious recipes that they can make at home in order to follow a healthier lifestyle, as well as to realise that meals can be equally (or more) as good and sweet by using natural ingredients instead of refined sugars.
Firstly we did a round of presentations to get to know who we would be cooking with - and we also asked the reasons why they decided to come. Most participants said they were interested in learning new recipes because they always eat the same. After presentations, we split in groups and started cooking the two recipes: lentil curry with veggies and oat&banana pancakes (vegan and vegetarian)! We gave them basic instructions on the recipes but also told them they could be creative.
We wanted to make this activity as sustainable and inclusive as possible. We were lucky that the kitchen we rented had all tools, plates and cutlery we needed in order to carry out the activity without needing to use any plastics. However, we wanted to assure that we did not throw any leftover food, so we asked participants to bring a food container in order to take leftovers home and, this way, reduce food waste. In the end there was no food left to take home, which is good news too! Inclusiveness (diet-wise) was achieved by asking dietary needs or any food allergies beforehand, at the moment of registration, so that we would make sure that everyone could taste everything.
We also taught participants that, by taking part in this workshop they were performing 2 key actions stated by the United Nations to fight climate change: meat-free meals and refill & use!
All participants and even ESN volunteers learned new things about healthy habits when it comes to eating and new recipes to try out at home. :D