Last week, we explored the challenges of maintaining good nutrition habits at church potluck meals. What about when the church is expected to provide food for the whole congregation? Cooking for large groups of people can be hard for many reasons, not the least of which is finding wholesome yet satisfying options for a crowd.
The North Carolina Council of Churches, through its Partners in Health and Wholeness Program, has a created a guide to healthy cooking for large groups of people. Called Recipes for the Heart and Soul, this cookbook includes recipes and nutritional content for a variety of dishes- from sides to main courses (vegetarian and meat options) to breads and desserts- that can serve up to 200 people. Creators of the cookbook hope that the recipes and prayers sprinkled throughout will feed both the bodies and souls of the food preparers and recipients alike.
For more information and to download Recipes for the Heart and Soul, click here.
-Katie Huffman
What a wonderful idea! It’s hard enough to prepare food for a large group, but to try and make the food healthy? I will pass this book on to family and friends.
Thanks for this, Katie! Another great resource is the More With Less cookbook, published by the Mennonite Central Committee. While not specifically tailored for cooking for large numbers, many of the recipes lend themselves nicely to that, and are great for potlucks. Also, many of them are bean or lentil based, which makes them less expensive to prepare in large quantities.
Here’s a link to the More with Less cookbook that Caren mentioned.
Thanks, Caren!