The St. Louis Central Church is currently hosting a Healthy Supper Club Vegetarian Cooking Class. Classes began May 7 and continue each Monday at 6:30 through June 25.

The church had hosted a Creation Health seminar a few months earlier, in which participants learned about making healthier lifestyle choices to reduce their risk of disease. This prompted many to want to learn to prepare healthier meals, and by the time the cooking classes began there were 32 people registered, with 13 present the first night.

On the first night professional chef Paula Scott introduced the class to a simple vegetable stir fry, and Gladys Shelton prepared vegetarian eggrolls and sautéed organic tofu. Attendees were in awe that simple foods could taste so good! At the end of class, each participant was encouraged to choose a healthy recipe from a cookbook of their choice to prepare for the next class. What excitement (maybe a little fear) filled the room as they chose the recipe they wanted to prepare. There were only two conditions for participation: 1) The dish had to be prepared according to the recipe, and 2) Organic ingredients should be used, when available. You can only imagine which emotion was highest—excitement or apprehension.

Most came to the second class with a dish in hand they themselves had prepared. Some had not cooked a real meal (using whole foods) in a long time, so they were excited to see if everyone would like their dish. The finishing dish of the night was a dessert, a Carob Cake with Coconut-Pecan Frosting (without eggs).

During the second class, Tennison Yesudian, an elder at the Central Church and a native of Tamil Nadu, India, demonstrated cooking spicy potatoes, explaining each of the spices’ flavors and benefits. Most were amazed to learn that Asafoetida and Fennel Seed used in the preparation of the potatoes were both digestive aids. Some were even more surprised to learn that many of our common everyday spices have medicinal properties. The host shared with them a list of herbs and spices, detailing the flavors, common uses and, in some cases, the country of origin.

In addition to great recipes and good food, a nightly health presentation is given on topics such as nutrition, food additives, toxins and carcinogens, blue zones and what makes them healthier, sugars, label reading, food preservation, and growing herbs and spices. The leading of the Holy Spirit impresses each of us daily to maintain and/or restore our body temple to good health while we wait for the return of Jesus.