WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — In honor of National Public Health Week, the Wichita Falls Wichita County Public Health District is offering free cooking classes in hopes to motivate more families or those suffering from a chronic illness to cook healthier.

Lead Wellness Program Manager, William Carter said not only is eating and cooking healthier for your body overall, but for those suffering from diabetes and other chronic illnesses, eating healthier could be the difference between life and death.

If you’re like me and love to cook but may have a heavy hand when it comes to seasoning your food, something that Carter said could have negative effects on your health, even more so if you suffer from a chronic illness.

“We started this program so that we could teach people how to make their meals, or their family favorites healthier than what it was and we just do those using three simple things, we just cut out the sugar, salt, and fat and we change the portions of certain things that are naturally high in those things,” Carter said.

During this next class, Carter will be teaching attendees a new chicken chili recipe, but it’s not always Carter bringing his dinner ideas to the table.

“Personally I prefer when someone brings in a recipe, so we’re working with something that’s real, something that you actually will eat you do eat on a regular basis, so I love that challenge because if you give me your dish we’re going to make changes to it little subtle changes to make them healthier,” Carter said.

Carter said not only does eating healthier come with several benefits, but just getting in the kitchen with your family to cook a meal can be beneficial for your mental health as well.

“We just don’t make time for the simple things like stepping back and relaxing that’s probably why we’re so stressed you know, sit back relax and cook, as I said back home it was kind of a family thing, everyone got involved, the community got involved everyone sat down had a drink time and played games and was really a bonding experience,” Carter said.

An experience with lasting benefits, like living a longer healthier life.

The National Public Health Week Free Cooking Class will be held on April 5th at the health department. For more information on how to register, click here.