Wheel World News Issue 16 January | Page 11

Presentation: Eating to Thrive Not Just Survive

Presentor: Steve Norton, founder & visionary of Interact, a 501(c)3

Tuesday, January 24, 2017 4pm- 6pm

Inspiring others to edible ease: nutritious, easily-prepared, easily-consumed food

Presenter background:

Steve is the founder and visionary of Interact, a 501(c)3 that aims to brings edible ease to the disability community. Prior to founding Interact, Steve was a highly successful globe-trotting professional chef and event planner trained at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York. In 2012, he had a massive stroke that left him in a wheelchair and paralyzed on one side of his body. That was when he began to live by his mantra: Food is medicine and medicine is food.

Through nutrition education, portion control, meal planning and a positive attitude, Steve was able to transform himself. He lost over 100 pounds and was able to stop taking medication for his Type 2 diabetes by maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. It was that journey that led him to envision edible ease: nutritious, easily-prepared and easily-consumed food.

Training Objectives:

At the end of this class participants will be able to:

Create a nutritious, easily-prepared and easily-consumed snack

Understand the vital role food plays in one’s overall physical well-being and heath (i.e. that food is medicine and medicine is food)

Learn to make good choices when eating out

Topic to be covered: Edible ease: food that is healthy and easily eaten and prepared by people with disabilities

Presentation content:

--Steve's story about transformation

--Cooking and teaching about food prep

--Serve food and Q & A

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