To say I love to cook is an absolute understatement! My favorite thing in the whole world to do is experiment in my kitchen! My kitchen is my happy place! (Thus, the name of my page Happiness in the Kitchen). I personally eat extremely healthy & prefer to use fresh, whole ingredients as opposed to processed foods. I love to teach kids and adults how to cook healthy foods. I teach occasional adult demonstration cooking classes & occasional kids hands-on classes. Because I am a full-time school teacher, the cooking classes are by request. So, just send me a message if you'd like to get a group of people together for a class. I also enjoy doing cooking demos for Girl Scout Troops! I specialize in cooking classes for kids/adults with food allergies! I am happy to accommodate anyone with allergies to gluten, dairy, nuts, etc. Classes for kids ages 5 and up:
$40 per child
In a small group setting in my kitchen, the kids will get to help with all the measuring, mixing, grating, pouring, etc. to make a main dish, a side dish, a drink & a dessert. Then they will get to sample all the food they make! I will do all the clean up! I will accommodate for any allergies, so LMK when you rsvp if your child has any allergies! I want this to be a FUN experience for them! Each class is 1 1/2-2 hours. Adult Class Details:
In an intimate setting, you’ll watch me prepare three recipes. You can choose if you want those to be a main dish, a side dish, an appetizer, a dessert or a beverage. I will also share tips that will help you incorporate ways to make your meals healthy, delicious and budget-friendly using simple, fresh ingredients. The classes are at my home in Urbandale (or at your choice of location) where you will sample the foods made in class. Each class lasts approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours. $45 per class
Kids Hands-On Cooking Birthday Parties:
By appointment only. I will come to your child's birthday party & teach all the kids how to make the food for the party! We can pick out recipes that the birthday kid will love. I’ll provide aprons for them to keep, do the grocery shopping, prep work, entertaining, clean up, & all you have to do is send out the birthday invitations & take pictures of all the fun! Private Classes:
Interested in gathering your friends for a private class? What a great option for a girls night out, guys night out, couples date night, birthday party, bridal shower, a corporate team-building event or any other occasion that fits your needs. My passion for helping others find joy in the kitchen is limitless and I am willing to work with you if you are interested in holding such an event. Let me know how I may help! Please RSVP for any of my classes by sending me a private message, letting me know which date and time you would like to attend, along with your e-mail address. Confirmation of your reserved spot will be sent via private message along with class location. If you would like to invite a friend to come along with you, go for it! Then, comment or send me a private message to rsvp for both of you. I would also need their name and e-mail address to reserve their spot. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, feedback or special requests! Share this page with others who might like to join in on the fun. About 60% of the recipes I post are ones that I found somewhere else & then I changed/substituted/tweaked it to make it even better, healthier & simpler. About 35% of the recipes I post are ones that I completely made up on my own. The other 5% of the recipes are ones that I found somewhere and didn't tweak at all and I always give credit to the person I got the recipe from. I often try about 4-6 new recipes each week. They aren't all main dish recipes, but they might be a new side dish, dessert, smoothie, snack, etc. I rarely make the same recipe twice, unless I truly love it! I love to help people get healthy, budget-friendly, delicious & simple meals to the table in 30 minutes or less, so they have more time to focus on the important things in life. I also like to give quick tips that make life easier in the kitchen. I take the food pics with my iphone 'cause it's so much quicker than grabbing my good camera & downloading it to my computer. So, the pics aren't exactly the kind you might find on a fancy blog, but I'm more about the food than the photography. :)
I have a major sweet tooth! But, the bottom line is if I am going to have dessert, I don’t want to feel guilty about it. Our bodies are more fragile than we know and since I do plan to enjoy life and eat sweets, I want them to be as nutritious as possible. I don't make dessert from a box and I don't use white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, aspartame or any other things our bodies do better without. (Sugar also really causes pain & inflammation in my broken sesamoid bone, but that's a whole other long story!)
