The Praiseworthy Kitchen: An Innovative Cooking Guide for the Ultra-Orthodox Community

Ultra-orthodox women have no or limited access to the internet and use written media for resources and information.  After participating in our ground-breaking health promotion program in the Haredi community, women turned to us and requested healthy recipes that they can use in their kitchens. Addressing this need, we designed a unique cookbook, “The Praiseworthy Kitchen: Simple, Healthy, and Tasty Recipes”. a

    This colorful, hardcover cookbook includes nearly 100 recipes and photos of healthy, tasty, and low cost dishes made with simple ingredients found in the neighborhood grocery store. Every recipe underwent rigorous testing by a nutritionist and our staff, including taste-testing and evaluation for ease of implementation, high nutritional value, and aesthetic appeal. Some recipes were contributed by community members at the community cooking contest, while most recipes were contributed by chefs in Israel and abroad.a

This book is not just for recipes; however, it is a healthy kitchen guide.  Using the supplementary chapters, women can learn how to make any existing recipe healthier, integrate the research-proven heart-healthy Mediterranean diet into their kitchens, prepare beans quickly and easily, make an informed choice regarding sweeteners, and use a little planning to streamline healthy cooking throughout the week.  The cookbook is also peppered with comments and quotes about healthy lifestyle changes that the community women have made as well as short informative nutritional tips.  “The Praiseworthy Kitchen” is more than a cookbook – it is a tool to promote sustainable, healthy nutrition for generations. a

We will be distributing the cookbook to all 1,000 community women over the next few months, as the final component of our pioneering, community-wide health promotion project.. This program has increased the community’s awareness, skills and motivation to enhance personal and family health. Directed by our center’s health psychologist, Dr. Elisheva Leiter, this program included community leader trainings, school-based programs, health newsletters, walking projects with pedometers, neighborhood low cost healthy food and exercise options, cooking workshops, culinary presentations and competitions.a