Cooking Matters helps families learn how to cook meals for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle, while sticking to a budget.
Though doTERRA Wellness Advocate Dharma Johnson has a talent for sharing essential oils, she also possesses a special skill that allows her to serve those in need. After completing culinary school, Dharma began offering her cooking skills to Cooking Matters, an organization that educates communities about how to cook healthy meals while on a budget.
Dharma volunteers as a teacher for the Cooking Matters program in her community, working once a week with other volunteers to help participants learn how to cook, eat healthy, and stay on a budget. During each class, Dharma and other volunteers teach families or individuals how to cook a specific meal, and then the participants can take ingredients home to make the meal again on their own. Not only do participants get the chance to cook and enjoy a meal together, but they also learn about nutrition and how to grocery shop in order to make healthy and budget-friendly choices.
Though she has completed culinary school, Dharma says, “I had to learn how to cook as an adult, and many people don’t currently know how to cook with whole foods. I like to share the benefits of eating food—not products.” Whether participants come to learn how to incorporate whole foods into a weight loss program, cook for a large family, break the habit of eating out, or make the most of their budget, the teachers at Cooking Matters strive to help them achieve their goals. Those who have struggled to lose weight or eat healthy in the past can use the Cooking Matters classes as a resource for changing their lifestyle.
While these programs can help people with their weight loss programs, teach them how to cook healthy foods, and stick to a budget, Cooking Matters is also devoted to an important cause—working to help hungry children. The No Kid Hungry campaign aims to end child hunger in America, by helping children across several communities get the healthy food they need every day.
Dharma loves devoting her time and cooking skills to Cooking Matters, in hopes of benefitting people’s lives and the efforts of No Kid Hungry. She loves teaching people new things, and can see how her classes impact the lives of families who are trying to get healthy, lose weight, save money, and learn how to cook. To learn more about the program, visit the Cooking Matters website.
