Kathryn Doudle from I Hate Cooking is behind a wonderful initiative that is empowering Independent living for her clients, handing over the apron and kitchen utensils so they can learn to fend for themselves.
It’s called Cook, Eat, Repeat and we love the idea almost as much as we love garlic bread!
The program is aimed at NDIS Participants and the benefits are pretty clear, but here’s what Kathryn Doudle told the ABC:
“They’re gaining confidence and independence, the capacity of living on their own, because eventually their parents won’t be around and eventually they might want to leave home and this is a basic life skill,”
Aside from the independent living benefits, cooking your own food has a plethora of other (kind of obvious) benefits too …
Knowing what is in your food is a clear benefit that enables a more careful approach to control of things like sugar or salt intake – ingredients that are critical to managing health in most people, not to mention those with specific disabilities.
Healthy eating has a proven track record of helping mental wellness too. The program has seen many participants considering their “whole health” as part of it, and with more energy thanks to better food are being more active.
The knock-on effects of healthier people also impacts our health system, freeing up hospital beds and doctor wait times.
We’re not suggesting everything you’ll be cooking will be the healthiest meal in the world, but even a pizza made at home can be more appropriate for your diet than one you’d buy from a takeaway store.
This leads neatly into one of the reasons Cook, Eat, Repeat exists at all – often people rely on takeaway menus for their meals because they’re not confident cooking their own food. Takeaway food shouldn’t be the only option, and with this know-how it no longer is!
If you or someone you care about would like to know more about Cook, Eat, Repeat, you can find more on the I Hate Cooking website here: ih8cooking.com.au
They also have a helpful NDIS specific section: https://ih8cooking.com.au/ndis/
If you’ve been part of the course, we’d love to hear what you thought too!
NDSP Plan Managers are a NDIS registered provider specialising in NDIS Plan Management. If you are a NDIS Participant looking for the right Plan Manager, CLICK HERE to get in touch with our friendly team today.
