By Staff Reporter

Chef Gearoid Lynch hosted a special event at his Fire restaurant in Dublin’s Mansion House recently for the launch of a new healthy eating cookbook made by and for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Fight The Beast, Don’t Become Obese was produced by the Blanchardstown Community Training Centre (BCTC) in partnership with Latvia’s Baltic Regional Fund and Agenzija Zghazagh in Malta for Léargas under the Erasmus+ programme.

As previosuly reported in Metro Éireann (1-14 April 2016), The book focuses on basic cooking skills using fresh, healthy ingredients, while also educating on how to read food labels and learn the nutritional value of foods.

Both of these aims are major needs in fighting the obesity crisis among young people across Europe. 

The organisations involved in the project were chosen based on their experience of working with young disadvantaged people and supporting them to achieve their full potential.

Participants were those aged 16 to 21 who wanted to learn how to cook and how to start making healthy food choices. Over the last year, they took part in a variety of activities in Ireland, Latvia and Malta organised by project manager Anna Peplinska and co-ordinators Niamh Morgan, Ginta Salmina and Karl Vella. 

During this time they learned to read and understand nutritional values of foods, prepare basic healthy meals using fresh and organic ingredients and also recognise a difference between homemade and pre-packed foods.

Their learning, practical experiences and knowledge gained during the activities is presented in the final cookbook, filled with their favourite recipes – in three languages – as well as a guideline for reading food labels and information about organic farms the participants visited during the project.

It’s hoped that the cookbook will encourage other young people to cook for themselves and make healthier food choices to start reversing the rising trend in obesity in Ireland and elsewhere.