Recipes and nutrition education

Since the beginning of the science of nutrition in the 1800s, nutritionists have been concerned about the use of recipes in nutrition programs. Although research indicates that recipes may be most used by those with a high school education and with food preparation experiences, recipes appear to be valuable in providing many forms of food and nutrition information to individuals with varying education levels. Factors that should be considered in selecting recipes are: clients' nutritional and dietary status, money, equipment, literacy, information and knowledge, and life-style. Subsequently, evaluation is needed to document impact on clients' food habits and to justify the approach in nutrition education programs. This project reviewed procedures used by nutritionists to assess clientele needs and evaluated the tools they use in education programs. Although it focused on recipes, the same information could have been obtained for handouts, posters, slide series, comic books, storybooks, and demonstrations. Research is needed in nutrition education to identify standards for the use of tools, such as recipes, and to study their impact on improving dietary adequacy of clientele. Such standards should be tested within a theoretical framework so that they will be useful in other situations.