Culinary grief therapy at College of DuPage offers hope around mealtime
As a bereavement coordinator, Heather Nickrand noticed a sad trend.
Overcome with grief, many people who had recently lost a spouse were avoiding cooking for one and turning to unhealthier options.
"Many of them would tell me that dinner was the most dreaded time of the day," says Nickrand, who works with Alexian Brothers Hospice. "The thought of trying to figure out how to cook for themselves, only to sit alone at the kitchen table, was an overwhelming experience."
Cooking and mealtime is "one of the most overlooked aspects of grief," she says, and a difficult routine for people who are grieving.
"It's easy to pick up a bag of chips to fill that hole, sometimes easier than having to go through and put together a recipe," she says.
To address the problem, she created a workshop series called Cooking for One, which focuses on what she calls culinary grief therapy. The series, facilitated with the College of DuPage Culinary and Hospitality Department in Glen Ellyn, features live cooking demonstrations with professional chefs, offering participants a chance to learn new food strategies while engaging in bereavement counseling.
The two sessions offered so far - in September and December - have received a "phenomenal response," Nickrand says.
Nickrand figured if people could see simple recipes being made in a live demonstration, within a community setting, they would feel more supported. She wanted to create a type of therapy that was interactive and engaging, in hopes of inspiring and empowering participants.
"They just feel alone, and it's depressing to cook for yourself," she says. "In this setting, you're around people who get it and understand it. They end up leaving with a feeling of: 'Hey, I can do this.'"
In the sessions, participants learn how to address the challenges of cooking alone, such as going to the grocery store, a location frequented by families and couples. They talk about pricing ingredients and minimizing food waste by using leftovers. The chefs also make three or four dishes and provide tastings and facility tours. Participants leave with a cooking booklet that includes recipes, tips for meal planning and techniques to visualize single portion sizes.
"It's not intimidating once it's broken down," Nickrand says. "These are tasty, healthy dishes that are pretty basic."
The experience is grief support in a culinary setting, with themes like cooking for one, readjusting to life on your own and rediscovering a new sense of meaning and purpose.
"It explores the concept of 'how do I fit in this "new world" as a one,'" she says. "As we are doing tasks with our hands, we make grief tangible, something we can hold onto, touch and make sense of. With that comes great success in grief work because we feel a sense of balance and control."
During the sessions, Nickrand says it was gratifying to see participants asking questions, laughing and taking notes. For some, it was the first time they had set foot in a grocery store since losing their spouse. "To me, that's a victory. It's about baby steps, and this is what that was," she says.
Overall, the experience created a sense of community. At a difficult time in their lives, "these sessions just makes it a little easier to get going," she says.
Cooking for One
The next session will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, at the College Of DuPage Culinary Arts Amphitheater in Glen Ellyn. Reserve a spot by Monday, April 11, by calling (630) 233-5118 or emailing <a href="mailto:heather.nickrand%40alexian.net?subject=">heather.nickrand@alexian.net</a>.