Pinellas Park program helps seniors prepare healthy, nutritious meals

Pinellas Park seniors are learning the art of healthy cooking. 

Debbie Ingram, a lifestyle coach with the Suncoast Pace Elderly Care program, teaches seniors how to prepare easy, healthy dishes like red lentil soup.  

"The goal is to promote healthy living activities for our participants here at Suncoast Pace," she explained. "To teach them healthy lifestyle activities that hopefully will keep them healthier for as long as possible." 

The twice-a-month program is a big hit. 

"We're very thankful for her and her ideas and getting all together and showing us," said Laura Stephen, a senior in the program. "And she's also given us recipes for the soups she's made and we're very thankful and they are very tasteful."

Seniors in healthy cooking class at Suncoast Pace Elderly Care program.

And there's a little bit of everything. 

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"They're always healthy," Ingram said. "The recipes are we've done things from desserts, healthy desserts, and appetizers, snacks, things that are easy for them to make at home with what they have available to them. And then they love the soups too because they get to have that with their lunch whenever we make them soup. And it's something they really enjoy." 

Seniors in healthy cooking class at Suncoast Pace Elderly Care program.

Ingram even planted a garden to help make some homemade dishes. 

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"We have a beautiful garden where we grow vegetables and herbs, and we use those in our food demonstrations. We also teach them nutritional education," she stated. 

Seniors in healthy cooking class at Suncoast Pace Elderly Care program.

A tasty class helping seniors make healthy lifestyle choices.

LINK: Learn more about Suncoast Pace Elderly Care Program here