FOODHAPPINESS 101: Understand Your Food. Enjoy Your Food.

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich., April 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital and the New York City-based Natural Gourmet Institute, have created a two-day food seminar to help the community understand how to break old habits, create new ones and maintain a healthy lifestyle by using the right tools.

The seminar, titled FOODHAPPINESS 101, will be led by Natural Gourmet instructor Jill Gusman, with Frank Turner, the culinary wellness director at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital and will focus on:

• Making delicious and nutritious whole foods meals
• The criteria for healthful food selection
• Meal planning: The need for variety, how to get out of the same old cooking rut, and how to create a game plan for the week
• Stocking your kitchen with the right ingredients
• Reading labels
• How to avoid binges and understand cravings
• Planning for healthy snacking
• Ways to cope with stress and eating

"We want to teach the community that living healthfully doesn't have to be difficult," says Frank Turner, director of Culinary Wellness at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital. "For instance, keeping key ingredients on hand to make a quick and simple dinner can prevent parents from picking up fast food."

"Our educational philosophy is based on the well-established fact that the food we eat has significant impact upon our health," says Annemarie Colbin, founder and CEO of the Natural Gourmet Institute.  "Choosing food that supports our health is essential to our well being, and learning to prepare it is one of the best ways to take care of ourselves. We're delighted to be working with Henry Ford Hospital on this seminar."

The seminar will take place Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. p.m. Attendees can choose to attend one or both days. The cost is $139 for one day and $250 for both days.

To register or for more information, contact the Demonstration Kitchen at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital at [email protected] or (248) 325-3890.

Jill Gusman has been a chef instructor at the Natural Gourmet Institute since 1994 and author of Vegetables from the Sea. She brings over 20 years experience, commitment and passion to teaching about natural foods and health. Jill is also a food writer, lecturer, private chef and avid gardener. A graduate of the Kushi Institute, Jill combines traditional whole food preparation with macrobiotic and ayurvedic philosophy into everyday cooking. She has appeared on Discovery Health, NPR programs across the country and was interviewed by Gary Null. Most recently she created "Kids in the Kitchen" for Kidzone TV at Mt. Sinai Hospital and was named a Shero-mentor as part of the WBAI program "Women in the Making."

Frank Turner is the culinary wellness director at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, and oversees patient food service, catering, Henry's (the hospital's destination restaurant), and the hospital's state of the art Demonstration Kitchen. Chef Turner educates patients and guests on how to prepare and include healthy, nutritional food in their diets at the Demonstration Kitchen (dK). He and other guest experts offer insight and guidance for those with special dietary needs. Chef Turner is a past Director for the Detroit chapter of Slow Foods USA and Chef/Advisor for the Michigan Department of Agriculture's "Select Michigan Program."

About Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, part of the Henry Ford Health System, offers full-service medical and surgical services, integrated with wellness and prevention programs. The all-private-room hospital includes specialty care, 24-hour emergency care, a senior neuroscience center, a wellness center with integrative therapies, a unique food culture and retail shops. The hospital is located on 160 wooded acres, and designed with many energy-efficient and environmentally friendly features. To learn more, visit www.henryfordwestbloomfield.com.

About Natural Gourmet Institute

Founded in 1977 by Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D., the Natural Gourmet Institute (NGI) is the leader in teaching health-supportive cooking as well as elucidating the relationship between food and health. NGI believes that what we eat significantly affects our physical, mental and spiritual well being, and its mission to educate the public is manifest in two divisions. The Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health offers excellent learning opportunities to the general public through a combination of cooking classes and lectures focused on health-supportive food preparation. The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health & Culinary Arts, licensed by the NY State Education Department and accredited by ACCET, offers  a Chef's Training Program that was created in 1987 in response to the demand for culinary professionals skilled in the art of preparing beautiful, delicious health-supportive cuisine.

SOURCE Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital