Students and the public at large can expect more from the Student Recreation Center’s Instructional Kitchen this semester, officials say.

Oh, you didn’t know the Rec Center had a kitchen?

Well the kitchen’s ready after a round of cooking classes last semester, with plenty of fresh ideas and food, said Mary O’Mahoney, assistant director for sport clubs and aquatics at the Student Recreation Center.

The kitchen will host eight classes this semester, which students and the public can register for online. The classes are a combined effort between the Rec Center, the Student Health Advisory Committee and Campus Health Service.

O’Mahoney said she hopes the classes show new students other options for healthy eating.
“You don’t have to rip open a plastic container and stick it in the microwave (to eat healthy),” O’Mahoney said.

Running from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. during the fall semester, the classes will be limited to 50 people and will teach both sustainable and simple food preparation ideas. The first class, for example, will cover cooking in a dorm room.

Other scheduled class topics include healthy snacks, sustainable and organic food and tutorials explaining where you can find healthy food on campus. Nutrition experts from Campus Health will teach each class.

Overall, O’Mahoney explained that the classes are an attempt to reach out to students in new ways. “We’ve focused on the calories out part here. But we can also focus on calories in,” O’Mahoney said.
Visit campusrec.arizona.edu for more information. A schedule of cooking classes will also be available online later this August.