CLASSES
I’d love to come to your kitchen to teach you about whole food nutrition and preparing the foundation of a healing, revitalizing and delicious whole food diet.
We’ll talk on the phone beforehand, so I can tailor your session to your personal goals, dietary needs, and taste preferences.
Then, I can email you the list of ingredients for your session. When I arrive, we’ll discuss several important topics on whole food nutrition and review your informational pages and recipes. Then, we’ll chop and cook together, and lastly, we’ll feast together!
I can instruct you individually, OR your small group…CookWell Parties are a FUN option too! (scroll to very bottom of page for description of CookWell Parties).
You’re free to schedule whichever session below that you’d like! I recommend “Getting Started With The Basics”, even if you’ve been cooking with whole food ingredients for years (the description below of this foundational session will explain why). OR, you can mix and match topics and dishes from my class descriptions below to create your own, perfectly personalized CookWell sessions!
Each CookWell session is adaptable to any taste preferences and dietary restrictions such as gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, Paleo, and low-glycemic diets.
I guarantee you’ll love the food AND feel increased vitality after three weeks of consistently eating the whole food diet that’s right for your unique body type, or I’ll refund your money.
I’d love to talk with you via phone or email to answer any questions you may have.
(805) 547-9073 for a quick reply via text
OR Email: Courtney@CookWell.org for a reply within 1 about business day
Getting Started With The Basics
We’ll discuss the healing & balancing philosophy of macrobiotics for seasonal eating and cooking, how to cook beans perfectly for easier digestion, the three ways to neutralize phytic acid in whole grains for better nutrient assimilation, various kinds of dark leafy greens and which are best eaten raw vs. cooked, the nightshade vegetables, food-based vitamin/mineral supplements, the CookWell list of wholefoods preparation staples, blood type basics, the best fats & oils for various cooking temperatures, knife skills, and the importance of drinking enough re-mineralized water daily.
Together we’ll prepare and eat
1. beautiful pot of black beans or adzuki beans with cumin, coriander & ginger
2. sprouted, whole grain millet & amaranth
3. ghee to use as a high temp cooking oil
4. seasonal veggie stir-steam with dark leafy greens
You’ll get these handouts for reference
1. list of whole foods preparation staples & CookWell terms
2. recommended reading list
3. blood type basics
4. seasonal foods & cooking for balance
5. fantastic recipes from this session including positively perfect brown rice
Learn to CookWell WITHOUT Recipes!
You’ll learn to use seasonal produce abundantly in your cooking, and to use a wide variety of your favorite flavor elements, and to utilize ingredients you already have on-hand, which makes planning your cooking so much easier!
With some practice in the kitchen, you will begin to fill your dishes with colorful seasonal vegetables, proteins of choice, good fats, spices, herbs, and bright acidic elements to create amazing flavor combinations!
You’ll learn to streamline your routine and spend minimal time cooking for your healthy yet busy lifestyle.
You can learn to listen to your intuition in cooking, to let the colors, tastes, shapes and smells guide you, and when to add the next ingredient, and to know when the dish is done.
You can cultivate an orderly, organized, calm atmosphere in the kitchen.
We’ll also discuss the healing & balancing philosophy of macrobiotics for seasonal eating and cooking, the various kinds of dark leafy greens and how to get more of them into your cooking flavorfully (and which are best eaten raw vs. cooked), and we’ll review the CookWell list of wholefood preparation kitchen staples including the best fats for various cooking temperatures.
Together we’ll prepare and eat 2 of these foundational dishes of your choice:
seasonal veggie stir-steam with lots of dark leafy greens (meat optional)
cheesy egg casserole with tons of veggies (meat optional)
bean-based stew brimming with seasonal veggies (meat optional)
steamed veggies with lemon-tahini sauce
You’ll get these handout pages for reference
list of whole food preparation kitchen staples
recommended reading list
seasonal foods & seasonal cooking for balance
12 fantastic recipes!
Cook Your Way Out Of Depression
In this informative and delicious cooking class to learn why a Mediterranean diet helps heal depression AND anxiety, and how to prepare the foundation of this revitalizing diet…easier and less expensively than you may think possible!
In a supportive group setting, we’ll discuss these topics and strategies:
how to gently work toward the diet that’s best for you and gradually wean yourself off sugar
how to develop awareness of your emotions as they relate to food & eating
and how to practice mindfulness as it relates to preparing nourishing, healing food
brain-nourishing foods, supplements, and lifestyle-strategies
seasonal eating & seasonal cooking to balance your body
You’ll receive several informational pages, as well as several fantastic recipes!
Then, together we’ll cook and feast together!
local fish (I love black cod when it’s is season!) with sun dried tomatoes, garlic & herbs
sprouted & simmered quinoa-arugula tabouli salad
Cooking & Baking with Gluten-Free Grains
This class will give you everything you’ll need to know to start baking with the nutrient-dense, low-glycemic, gluten-free whole grains such as millet and amaranth, AND how to sprout & simmer these grains as well as brown rice to use as a base for any meal or dessert. We’ll discuss how to traditionally culture millet & amaranth to make astounding breads and baked desserts which can be made sugar-free as well! We’ll talk about strategies for gradually getting lower glycemic in your diet as preventative medicine for the top ten most common diseases of modern people.
This class includes sugar & gluten recipes for positively perfect brown rice , sprouted & simmered millet and amaranth, sweet cultured coriander corn bread, amaranth flour almond-nutmeg-coconut cookies, holiday ginger-spice cake, apple pie rice , carob-coconut cloud
Together we’ll enjoy these sugar & gluten free desserts
amaranth cookies
carob-coconut cloud
apple pie rice, which tastes like apple pie with a raspberry drizzle!
Whole Foods Cooking for the Optimal Woman:
Calcium uptake, hormone balance & getting off sugar
We’ll discuss calcium-rich whole foods meals and how to maximize mineral uptake, hormone balance with whole foods diet & lifestyle, how to wean yourself off spiking blood sugar, the benefits of periodic colon cleansing, emotions as they relate to eating, and how to gently work toward the diet & lifestyle that’s best for you.
Together we’ll prepare and eat adzuki bean stew with seasonal veggies and wakame sea vegetable tasty toasted sesame-wakame as a calcium supplement
You’ll get these handouts for reference
the CookWell calcium protocol
guidelines for hormone balance
colon cleansing guidelines
fantastic recipes from this session and more!
Proficiency with HERBS & SPICES
Learn how to cook deliciously with ground spices and herbs of all kinds, and understand the basic flavor profiles for Indian, Thai, Italian, Japanese, Mediterranean, Mexican, and French cooking.
Together we’ll enjoy 3 different dishes made with the same veggies, but with different spices, for 3 completely different flavors!
We’ll also discuss several important whole foods diet & lifestyle topics such as seasonal foods and cooking for personal balance, the CookWell list of unrefined/whole food preparation staples for your kitchen, the best cooking oils for various temperatures.
You’ll learn
1) when to add ground spices and when to add herbs to your cooking
2) how to use aromas to create the most flavorful blends, and which herbs taste best with particular ground spices
3) how to best store your herbs and spices
4) the many medicinal qualities of various herbs and spices
5) which spices protect us from anti-nutrients in various foods and the free radicals of cooking
6) the six tastes according to Ayurveda: example foods, qualities, and creating balance
How To Make Cultured Vegetables!
You’ll learn from my hands-on demo how to make 2 very body-beneficial foods: live, cultured sauerkraut AND live, cultured beet kvaas. Cultured, probiotoic foods help us better digest & assimilate nutrients, keep bad bacteria & yeasts in check, greatly enhance our immune function, produce vitamin B12, contribute to beautiful skin, and scientists continue to discover the benefits! Beet Kvaas is a mineral supplement drink and amazing vitality tonic from the Russian tradition. Not only is beet kvaas probiotic, it’s a liver/gallbladder cleanser, helps with disturbed cellular function, helps thin the bile and detox the body, keeps the bowels moving regularly, and builds healthy blood.
Candida Cleanse Support
Come join a group setting to learn the why and how of going on a candida cleanse. You’ll hear stories and strategies about how to gently step away from sugar and high glycemic foods learn which foods are allowable during the cleanse and delicious recipes for these foods including sugar free desserts. You’ll learn how to gently come off the cleanse, and which foods to incorporate to keep candida overgrowth at bay forever.
Together, we’ll prepare and eat
• delicious & satisfying adzuki bean & seasonal veggie stew
• side of tangy cultured veggies full of probiotics
Delicious Cooking w/Sea Vegetables For Beauty & Longevity
We’ll discuss: how to cook flavorfully with various types of sea vegetables. Did you know that many kinds of sea vegetables bind and expel heavy metals and radioactive substances from the body!?!? We’ll cover how to maximize vitamin/mineral assimilation with whole foods combinations, and hormone balance guidelines with whole foods diet & lifestyle.
You’ll get these handouts for reference
the benefits of 7 different sea vegetables with recipes for each
CookWell calcium protocol
guidelines for hormone balance
fantastic recipes
list of tasty herb/spice combinations for seasoning
Then together we’ll prepare black beans and seasonal veggies with wakame & kombu sea vegetables
Cooking with Grass Fed Meats and Tons of Seasonal Vegetables
You’ll learn cooking techniques for seasonal vegetables and grass fed meats, and how to streamline your routine to make your journey into preparing your own whole foods meals easier and less expensive than you imagined possible.
We’ll discuss seasonal foods & cooking, and the list of whole foods staples for your kitchen including the best cooking oils for various temperatures.
You’ll get several informational handouts for your reference, as well as a list of fantastic recipes.
And together, we’ll enjoy a big, seasonal veggie stir steam with grass fed beef or buffalo.
Whole Food Cooking 101 For Busy Moms!
You’ll learn how to prepare the foundation of a healing whole foods diet, from which you can change and add to according to your entire family’s needs and tastes! You’ll learn to streamline your routine so that preparing your own whole foods snacks & meals is easier and less expensive than you imagined possible.
We’ll discuss
• how to satisfy picky eaters and prepare whole foods family meals most easily
• wisdom & strategies for most successfully helping your kids learn to love green vegetables & other healthy foods
• the basics of seasonal eating & seasonal cooking for balance in mind, body, and spirit
• the CookWell list of whole foods preparation staples for your kitchen including the best cooking oils for various temperatures
• the importance of drinking enough re-mineralized water daily
You’ll receive these handouts for your reference
1. snack ideas for kids
2. list of whole foods preparation staples
3. recommended reading list
4. tasty herb/spice combinations list
5. seasonal foods & cooking for balance
6. fantastic recipes from this session and other recipes!
We’ll cook, and then of course, we’ll get to feast together!
We’ll make: ghee to use as a delicious, high-temp oil in your cooking, positively perfect brown rice, a dark leafy greens & seasonal veggies stir-steam (meat optional), a beautiful pot of black, adzuki, or pinto beans
Cooking Soul Food with Whole Food
We’ll discuss how to make traditional southern dishes using gluten-free, dairy free, and all unrefined ingredients. You’ll learn how to use lots of seasonal vegetables and delicious herbs & ground spices. We’ll talk about using a crock pot to streamline your cooking time, the best cooking oils for various temperatures, saturated fat vs. trans fat, unrefined salts & sweeteners, and how to combine and cook with herbs and ground spices for best flavor and aroma.
We’ll cook and eat millet-breaded rosemary catfish red beans & rice collard greens with onion, carrot, fennel and chicken broth
You’ll get these handouts for reference
recommended reading
fantastic Soul Food recipes
list of tasty herb/spice combinations for seasoning
CookWell list of whole food preparation kitchen staples
And you’ll get all these recipes
millet-breaded rosemary catfish, red beans & rice, chicken broth, collard greens with onion, carrot, fennel and chicken broth , gluten-free roux (cajun gravy)
Individualizing Your Diet
We’ll discuss the Ayurvedic body types and beneficial foods for each, symptoms of gluten & lactose intolerance, how to maintain proper body alkalinity through diet, protein/fat/carb ratios for different metabolic body types, the pros and cons of soy, the importance of incorporating cultured foods such as beet kvaas into your diet, and how to practice mindfulness as it relates to preparing healing food.
Together we’ll prepare 3 dishes
East Indian vegetarian mung bean stew
2. goat yogurt cole slaw
3. beet kvaas (Russian probiotic, mineral supplement, and liver tonic drink)
You’ll get these handouts for reference
Ayurvedic body types and beneficial foods for each
2. general principals re: Ayurvedic diet
3. list of tasty herb/spice combinations for seasoning
4. symptoms of gluten & lactose intolerance & casein allergy
5. fantastic recipes from this session and more!
Food Combining For Best Digestion & Assimilation
We’ll discuss the importance of proper food combining for best digestion and nutrient assimilation, cultivating the enjoyment of cooking, how to gradually eliminate refined flour, salt & sugar from your diet, flax seed vs. fish oil as supplements, nut/grain milks vs. goat’s milk/raw milk products, and deeply listening to your body/mind to recognize imbalance & know what you really need.
Together we’ll prepare and eat 3 dishes
sauted salmon or tempe with curried shallots, arame sea vegetable, lemon and dill
yam and portabella mushroom with coriander, nutmeg and ginger
cole slaw with cayenne, lime and dill or cilantro
You’ll get these handouts for reference
food combining fundamentals
chart of cooking times and water ratios for simmering each whole grain & legume (beans)
ingredients to watch out for in packaged foods
fantastic recipes from this session and more!
Ayurvedic Cooking
We’ll discuss the basics of Ayurveda and it’s body/mind typing system for maintaining personal balance, Ayurvedic cooking techniques and specific whole foods/spices which best balance the body throughout various seasons, gentle cleansing with kitchadi, practicing mindfulness as it relates to preparing healing food, maintaining proper body alkalinity through diet, better digestibility of beans, and the CookWell list of wholefoods preparation staples including unrefined sweeteners and the best cooking oils for various temperatures.
Together we’ll prepare and eat
East Indian mung bean & brown rice stew with seasonal veggies, garlic & yellow curry
Ghee to use as a delicious, high temperature fat in your cooking
Sweet Fennel Salad
You’ll get these handout pages for reference
Ayurvedic body types and beneficial foods for each
general principals re: Ayurvedic diet
list of whole foods preparation staples
seasonal whole foods cooking techniques
Success in Whole Food Cooking for all kinds of CAMPING
Learn to car & bicycle camp like a whole food cooking genius, and learn secrets of successful backpacking with whole food snacks & rustic cooking.
Whole Food Marinating and Grilling
You’ll learn how to prepare
• healthy marinades for fish, and for both red AND white meats
• marinated portabella mushrooms and tempe-veggie skewers
• great salads including homemade olive oil mayo-chipotle-chive potato salad
• homemade ketchup and BBQ sauce
• amazing summer salsa, holy guacamole, and pico de gallo
We’ll discuss several important whole food topics such as
• grilling rules to minimize carcinogens
• seasonal eating and cooking to maintain balance in mind, body, & spirit
• the CookWell list of whole food preparation staples for your kitchen
• the best cooking oils for various temperatures, and unrefined salts & sweeteners
Together we’ll prepare and eat
• marinated portabella mushrooms & tempe-veggie skewers
• homemade olive oil mayo-chipotle-chive potato salad
• sweet fennel salad AND tempered garlic Italian salad
Whole Food Cooking for THE HOLIDAYS
Get inspired with several, fantastically delicious, whole food recipes for the holiday season and beyond…We’ll prepare and eat: yam & portabella mushroom bake (better than candied yams!), low sugar ginger-orange-cranberry relish, heritage chicken if you’d like, and delicious dark leafy greens to alkalize and balance heavy holiday meals. We’ll discuss whole food diet & lifestyle to help you maintain good digestion and personal balance through the holidays and well beyond!
COOKWELL PARTIES ! !!
It’s SO MUCH FUN to gather friends for a bit of wine and learning on their topics of interest around whole food nutrition, diet, cooking, and lifestyle, and then CookWell together!
You can tailor your CookWell Party however you’d like…Maybe just 30 minutes of discussion and/or question & answer along with reference info pages & recipes, and then maybe 30-60 minutes of cooking demonstration OR cooking together.
We can cook whichever delicious dishes sound best to your group. There are several possibilities listed below, but really, we can cook ANY dishes your group would like!
Some Ideas For Topics To Discuss: Your group can easily learn the basics of whole food cooking techniques, from which they can change according to their needs and tastes. I can teach them how to streamline their shopping & cooking routine, so that making their own whole food snacks & meals is easier and less expensive than they may have imagined possible…Or maybe we dive deeper into topics such as: the basics of seasonal eating & seasonal cooking for balance in mind, body, and spirit, and/or the CookWell list of whole food preparation kitchen staples, and/or tasty herb/spice combinations…You get the idea how this can be a completely customizable, FUN experience!
Below are some possible dishes (my favorites!), which we can cook and enjoy together, but ANY dishes are possible!
• Butternut Tri-Tip Chili
• Walnut-Leek Sourdough Stuffing
• Spectacular Spanish Rice
• Curried Lamb Meatballs w/fennel, rosemary & Amazing Marinara Sauce
• Black Bean Stew w/yam, green bean, kale, cumin, coriander, & ginger
• Ginger-Basil Coconut Curry over brown rice
• Yam-Portabella Bake w/nutmeg, coriander, & ginger
• Stir Fried Brown Rice w/seasonal veggies
• Harvest Quinoa Pilaf w/leeks, toasted walnuts & dried cherries
• Yellow Curry Egg Casserole (cheese optional) w/broccoli, fennel, & caramelized onion
• Baked Salmon w/yellow curried shallots & dill
• East Indian Kitchadi w/garlic, cumin, turmeric, parsley & lemon juice
• Arugula Tabouli Salad (aka: “Tabougula”)
• Goat Yogurt Coleslaw w/cilantro or dill OR Sweet Sunset Cole Slaw
Gluten/Sugar Free Desserts:
• Pumpkin Gingerbread
• Chocolate-Chia-Coconut Cloud
• Apple Pie Delight w/raspberry compote
• Amazing Almond Cookies w/dark chocolate chips
• Ginger-Nutmeg Pear Cobbler