Nourishing Conversations: Using Motivational Interviewing in a Community Teaching Kitchen to Promote Healthy Eating via a Food as Medicine Intervention

Sara Temelkova; Saria Lofton; Elaine Lo; Jeannine Wise; Edwin K McDonald 4th

doi:10.3390/nu16070960

Nourishing Conversations: Using Motivational Interviewing in a Community Teaching Kitchen to Promote Healthy Eating via a Food as Medicine Intervention

Nutrients. 2024 Mar 27;16(7):960. doi: 10.3390/nu16070960.

Authors

Sara Temelkova¹, Saria Lofton², Elaine Lo³, Jeannine Wise⁴, Edwin K McDonald 4th^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
² College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
³ Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
⁴ Good Food Catalyst, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.

Abstract

It is well known that dietary choices impact both individual and global health. However, there are numerous challenges at the personal and systemic level to fostering sustainable healthy eating patterns. There is a need for innovative ways to navigate these barriers. Food as Medicine (FM) and Culinary Medicine (CM) are approaches to helping individuals achieve healthier diets that also recognize the potential to alleviate the burden of chronic diseases through healthy eating. Teaching kitchens, which offer an interactive environment for learning nutrition and cooking skills, are valuable educational tools for FM and CM interventions. Motivational interviewing (MI), a type of person-centered counseling, facilitates behavior change and may enhance FM and CM programs involving teaching kitchens. In this commentary, we share our experience with using MI in a community-based CM program at a teaching kitchen. In demonstrating our application of MI principles, we hope to offer an additional strategy for improving dietary quality and delivering nutrition education.

Keywords: Culinary Medicine; Food as Medicine; food insecurity; motivational interviewing; teaching kitchen.

MeSH terms

Communication
Diet, Healthy*
Food
Health Education
Humans
Motivational Interviewing*

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Gastrointestinal Research Foundation (GIRF), University of Chicago Digestive Diseases Research Core Center (DDRCC), Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Inflammatory Intestinal Disorders (NIDDK P30 DK042086), and the Digestive Health and Diseases (DHD) Training Grant (NIH T32DK007074).