The indigenous cooking class promotes healthy nutrition, culture, and connection

MISSOULA – On a Tuesday evening in late October, the smell of cooking onions and meat combined with the sound of lively conversation to create a warm atmosphere in the Missoula Food Bank’s learning kitchen as about a dozen people the two prepared bison salsa verde enchiladas.

The cooking class, held by the All Nations Health Center on Oct. 22, was the second of three groups that focused on indigenous food and nutrition.

After explaining the recipe, Érica Rubino, the registered dietitian who leads the group, wandered among the hotplate stations offering instructions and advice.

He told the group: “If you’ve ever done leftovers, follow your heart.” “Or you can follow the instructions.”

While chopping onions, grilling ground beef and assembling enchiladas, participants visit each other, pass tools and share ingredients such as olive oil and garlic.

“When you cook, there’s no right or wrong way,” Rubino said.

The enchiladas were a “take and bake” recipe due to the limited time the class had, and many class members said they were looking forward to eating at home.

May-Lyric Smith, a participant said: “It’s exciting to find buffaloes. “It’s great to cook traditional food in a modern way.”

Sidney Fellows said he was “amazed by the food” but also appreciated the group’s focus on indigenous food nutrition and practical skills.

He said: “I have cooked with buffalo but not much.” It’s great to have classes to learn how to cook in ways I might not have thought of.

About half of the participants also went to the first class in the September series, where they made the salsa verde used in the enchiladas.

Dawn Yellowbird said the last class was really good and she likes discovering new things to cook and meeting new people.

He said: “I’m not from here, and I don’t have friends in town, I like to be among other Natives and I like to cook.”

The social aspect of the club was very appealing to Valerie Costilla. He said it was also an opportunity to learn a new recipe and cook with his daughter.

“I encouraged him to go to this place to meet other people and enjoy the atmosphere, which to me is family,” Costilla said.

Group organizer Valene TalksDifferent, a specialist in health promotion for All Nations, said she loved seeing people from the same family working together and the participants sharing knowledge.

The program gives the community access to food, knowledge and kitchen tools that are eliminated at the end of each class, TalksDifferent said. It also aims to reduce chronic diseases by providing access to nutritious and traditional foods and showing how to cook them, he said.

All Nations uses buffalo in various shows, including many of its cooking classes, TalksDifferent said. This year, the organization received bison from the Bitterroot Bison ranch, and will use all parts of the animal, he said.

The series highlights food sovereignty — the ability of communities to control what and how they eat — by using traditional ingredients like bison and tomatillos grown in the All Nations garden, TalksDifferent said.

The organization hosts a variety of nutrition-focused events, including cooking demonstrations and farmers market hunts.

On November 19, the third batch of the native self-sufficiency and food prep series will begin with tips on how to buy groceries well and get the most out of those groceries, TalksDifferent said.

Although preparing for the cooking classes is a lot of work, it is meaningful, she said.

“I love connecting with community members and reconnecting them with their traditional food and identity,” TalksDifferent said. “I’m getting in touch with my identity.”

Most of the cooking classes and demonstrations combine culture with good cooking and include methods to prevent or manage diabetes, said Rubino, the nutritionist who led the October class. That’s important because diabetes is common in Indian society, he said.

By 2023, approximately 13% of American Indian/Alaska Native adults were diagnosed with diabetes, making them twice as likely to develop the disease. a 1.5 times that of white adults, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Rubino said she informs her classes that she is not Native and works with the All Nations staff to make sure the information is culturally relevant and accurate.

He said that buffalo is the main ingredient in Rubino’s recipes for All Nations. From a diabetes prevention or management perspective, buffalo is a lighter alternative to beef, Rubino said.

The nutrition program is part of the chronic disease and diabetes supply needs of the All Nations but also provides useful and effective groups to the community, Rubio said.

“For any health professional, you can tell someone about concerns and risks but that doesn’t mean it’s going to change behavior,” he said. “Having someone to participate and do the work is how people learn and how to bring people together. … If you don’t know how to cook, you can ask someone to show you and support you. it makes such a difference to be hands on and participate, rather than just hearing about it.”

For an upcoming grocery store tour event, Rubino will focus on explaining the nutritional information included in items and providing tips for eating with diabetes or other dietary changes.

If he had limited time during the event, Rubino said he would discuss the nature of the store and how food companies affect where things are. For example, he said, many junk foods are at eye level on shelves or near cash registers.

Rubino said he would explain the benefits of buying grocery store space first where non-food items such as produce and meat are available. He also asked the participants what common ingredients they buy and gave tips on choosing the most nutritious and affordable ones.

“Truck is very depressing and difficult. They don’t know what to look for,” he said. “There are a lot of tips and tricks to keeping prices down, especially with how high prices are right now, that come with having a little planning knowledge.”

Rubino said health can look different for everyone. Eating and cooking healthy doesn’t mean making everything from scratch or using only natural ingredients, she said.

“It’s okay if people didn’t grow up cooking and want to learn,” Rubino said. “When you look at recipes and try them, that’s how you learn. Every time you get support, it makes a big difference, but keep trying because eating well can look like it’s a lot of different things. There’s not just one way.”

For Costilla, the second part of the mother’s daughter of the group of Oct. 22, this event provided a supportive environment for cooking, something that often causes stress.

“This is delicious,” he said, tucking into his prepared enchiladas. “We’ll see how it tastes tonight.”