Staff from the Royal Free London took part in a cooking class aimed at encouraging healthy eating this week.

Staff were given familiar ingredients and were showed how to make new recipes to demonstrate the simplicity and flexibility of cooking healthy food. 

Recipes included: a Mexican kale corn salad with onion, sweet corn, black beans, pumpkin seeds, lemon and salsa; ginger noodles with garlic, japapeno peppers, spring onions, coriander and rice vinegar; and breakfast tofu scramble with vegetables and spices.

Andrew Defur, who is a porter at the Royal Free Hospital, said: “None of the ingredients are that new to me, but the recipes are quite eye-opening. I never knew you could make healthy food this quickly.

“It is a bit different, as I am not using the things I usually use to cook, like cooking oils, but it tastes good and the fact that it is healthy makes it better.  It is quite startling to hear how much fat and salt is in cooking sauces, so cooking yourself with fresh ingredients like we have been doing in this session is much healthier.” 

Image: Andrew Defur, porter and Raten Davis, breast oncology CNS, taste their ginger noodles. 

Notes to editors

About the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

The Royal Free began as a pioneering organisation and continues to play a leading role in the care of patients. Our mission is to provide world class expertise and local care. In the 21st century, the Royal Free London continues to lead improvements in healthcare.

The Royal Free London attracts patients from across the country and beyond to its specialist services in liver and kidney transplantation, haemophilia, renal care, HIV, infectious diseases, plastic surgery, immunology, Parkinson's disease, vascular surgery, cardiology, amyloidosis and scleroderma and we are a member of the academic health science partnership UCLPartners.

In July 2014 Barnet Hospital and Chase Farm Hospital became part of the Royal Free London. Read 'A bigger trust, a better future'.