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Diabetic Cookery Courses

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Sugarbum

Sugarbum

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi guys,

I want to do an evening cookery course and had a lightbulb moment and googled diabetic cookery courses. Appears there are such things out there, unfortunately none in south london (that I can find). Just wondering if anyone in the group has done one of these and recommends/doesnt recommend it?

Cheeeeeers x
PS Hope you are all enjoying the lovely sunny weekend....🙂
 
I don't go a bundle on cookery courses, but that is just me. However if you go to Diabetes UK they have some interesting cookery books, or you could look in your local library to see if they have any before buying them.

I am South East London and haven't seen anything advertised here, although there are plenty of cookery classes about.
 
Can't say that cookery courses have ever appealed to me. The best place I've found for learning cookery is kitchens of friends and relatives, both in UK and overseas. Then I work out how to adjust my insulin to whatever I want to eat. Recipes are important for baking cakes, though - which happens a few times a year in our house, usually to celebrate birthdays or return from Antarctica or races.

However, just had a slight hiccup when I used what I thought were very small parsnips from our garden, but were actually long white raddishes, in a dish also involving potatoes, peppers, pasta sauce - basically what we had that needed eating up. However, both my partner, visiting friend and I enjoyed it - the mix up only became obvious next morning when my partner looked for raddishes for his packed lunch.
 
It was my husband who taught me to cook, and I have a good collection of cookery books.

Learning in the kitchens of others is a brilliant way too, and I had never thought about it as cookery lessons. I often get together with friends and we try out new ideas together.

I also have a number of older friends who have a good supply of their own recopes and love telling a youngster (I'm 51) what to do...
 
ah thanks guys for your help. I am going to keep looking. I really fancy a cookery course, just an evening a week for a couple of months or so. I get bored by recipes and cooking at home, I think partly becuase I have a very small kitchen (its virtually a microwave) and Ive got the cooking for one syndrome- its not that interesting at home for me to do something more elaborate.

Im going to keep looking. I will post if I actually find anything interesting! x
 
Hi Sugarbum

I agree with you totally - cooking for one is boring. I compare my cooking / eating patterns for most of the year with the several months when my partner is away in Antarctica - I don't bother to cook for myself much when he's away (northern winter), but when we can alternate, and also when fruit and veg comes from our garden, blackberries from hedgerows and plums and apples from orchard at work, we eat much better. No getting away from the fact that cooking for one is nearly as much work as cooking for 2 or more.

So, any chance of swapping meals with friends / relatives occasionally? Cooking double and freezing portions to heat up in the future? Perhaps also worth looking for residential cookery classes if you'd consider spending a weekend or some holiday doing that. I've also found myself learning new recipes / techniques etc cooking alongside colleagues / fellow hostellers etc, often in odd places with unusual (to UK eyes) ingredients, with limited facilities eg cooking on open fires, camping stoves etc, so almost any sort of holiday can teach cookery.
 
How about arranging dinner parties with a group of friends. Take it in turns to visit each others homes, make a note of everyones dietry needs (intolerances, allergies, diabetes etc.). Everyone contributes a different course and you take it in turns to do different courses. This then gets everyone cooking and it is not all left to one person. If you wish you can then swap recipes or cooks tips.
 
I love cooking, even for myself, my grandmother gave me the passion for cooking. Between her and her brothers and sisters they owned a lot of fish and chip shops/fishmongers, in those days they filleted the fish themselves and the others owned bakers - they'd all cover for each other on holidays, so each could handle fish and bake!

She cooked by feel, it was this that I learnt to cook by, getting the idea from a recipe and adapting it to my taste.

I think perhaps rather than a dedicated diabetic cookery course, perhaps a 'back to basics' cookery course, good home cooking like we used to be taught in cookery at school - it will help people understand about diet and how to apply it to food. Hopefully also re-educate peoples taste buds back to home made dishes and sauces/stocks rather than the plastic ones found in most ready meals and I have to say in so many pubs and restaurants today.

Just trying to be careful not to add good traditional British dishes, but I feel that really thats where we should be looking. Cooking by our seasons, not the seasons in China, India or some Mediterranean climate.

Such a course would be of assistance to a wider audience than diabetics.
 
A long time ago my husband was advised to avoid salt wherever possible. from that point onwards I stopped adding to cooking. We now use a variety of herbs and spices to add flavour.

Although hubby taught me to cook, I cook by feel. My favorite cook book belonged to my late mother in law and is The Good House keeping Book of Basic Cookery. It's one of those books tha tells you from the most baic (how to boil eggs and make toast) through to a three course dinner.
 
Caroline, great to know you omit salt and use herbs!

Also, a superb choice of cookbook, I think I work from the same book, perhaps a later version, mine was bought for me by my late mother when I went to university... late last year I thought I'd lost it and order a later version of Amazon - have to say it is terrible compared to mine from even the 1980's!

My earlier one didn't expect you to be a smart alec and know all the terms and processes, the new one did and the recipes were far from good, solid cooking!
 
Hi Sugarbum

I know what you mean about cooking for one. Do you have much freezer space? I've been trying to get myself in the habit of bulk cooking things like bolognese, tomatoe sauce, chilli con carne, etc and freezing them down in portions. I find this especially helpful for midweek - when I come in from work and the thought of having to cook something just for me is a little tiring! - I can just stick it in the microwave and boil up rice / pasta to go with it.

I did do a cooking course a couple of years back - just a one of evening thing. Really enjoyed it, so hope you manage to find somthing that suits!

Ali_P
 
Cheers Ali_P! I actually found one in my road online today but the registration ended yesterday! nevermind. Ive emailed them incase they dont fill all the spots.

I enjoy cooking, I think a short course could be quite social and fun!
 
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