On a sunny spring morning, half a dozen internal medicine residents picked up knives — not for surgery, but to chop onions at Yale New Haven Health’s teaching kitchen.
Drs. Mahesh Krishna and Johnny Allsop were paired up at one counter. They finished each other’s sentences with easy banter.
“I'm learning to cook. I'm having fun. We're making peanut tofu stir-fry. I think making it together is what makes it interesting,” Allsop said.
"We're learning how to clean up each other’s messes as well,” Krishna chimed in. “Making things from scratch is a great experience.”
It was a bit of a learning curve for both. Krishna said his mom cooked for most of his life. Allsop also has little experience in the kitchen.
“So I grew up, honestly, on canned food, boxed foods,” Allsop said. “So not a lot of, like, making meals. So this is kind of new to me.”
Yale New Haven Health's teaching kitchen helps people learn to make healthy, delicious meals on a budget. The idea is that eating well also helps manage medical conditions such as diabetes.
There’s a reason why Allsop and his medical colleagues were there, too, marinating and sautéing.
“There is a large body of research that suggests that when providers start doing healthy practices in their day-to-day lives, they are more likely to talk to their patients about these healthy practices as well,” said Max Goldstein, chef and registered dietician at the teaching kitchen.
Since the program launched in 2023, Yale medical residents have referred 500 of their patients to this kitchen. More than 2,000 people from greater New Haven learned to cook nutritious meals last year alone, at no cost to them.
“When we first started, we had just a few patients coming, and they were largely coming from our weight management doctors,” said Dr. Nate Wood, chef and director of the culinary program. “And then we started to bring in our primary care residents, and the referrals skyrocketed.”
Internal medicine resident Dr. Xaviar Jones was already making plans to refer patients as he shaped bean and red pepper burgers. A native of Argentina, Jones learned to cook as a child, when his family was working.
He said he was impressed by the low cost of the meal he was making.
“I'm excited about referring some people from the Fair Haven community clinic,” he said. “They're in this, like, tough decision, where they're either buying their meds or having to eat. So I think this is something that we should be doing.”
Twenty six percent of all New Haven households receive benefits from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to DataHaven, a nonprofit.
The menus at the Yale kitchen are created with this statistic in mind.
“All the recipes for this class were designed to be in line with the SNAP budget,” said Danielle Sanders, chef and registered dietician. “This recipe only costs $1.21 per serving, and this one makes six burgers.”
Wood launched classes for patients in Spanish this month. It's the second most common language spoken by patients, he said.
“We have so many patients here who could benefit from this teaching kitchen, who don't speak English, and we've been keeping a wait list of these patients,” he said. “I expect that that will be highly successful, and we'll do a lot more of those in the future. The third most common language is probably Pashto. So I hope later this year to expand to that.”
Earlier this year, the American Medical Association launched a nutrition education initiative to give doctors and medical students the tools to help patients live healthier lives by eating well.
Back at the kitchen, Krishna and Allsop looked at their dish.
“I think imperfection is where flavor really blossoms,” Allsop said
“For a couple of novices it’s impressive, I think,” Mahesh chimed in.
Black bean burger recipe from the teaching kitchen:
Ingredients:
1, 15 ounce can – Black beans, no salt, drained and rinsed
½ – Red bell pepper, finely chopped
½ – Onion, finely chopped
½ cup – Cheddar cheese
1 clove – Garlic, minced
1 tablespoon – Cumin
1 teaspoon – Oregano
¼ teaspoon – Salt
¼ teaspoon – Black pepper
1 – Egg, large
¾ cup – Whole wheat bread crumbs
6 – Whole wheat burger buns
Preparation:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Mash beans in a large bowl with a fork or potato masher
- Add the red pepper, onion, cheese, garlic, seasonings, egg, and breadcrumbs
- Mix well until the ingredients are evenly distributed and the mixture sticks to itself
- Shape into 6 patties (each one will use ⅓ cup of the mixture)
- Place the patties onto the baking sheet in a single layer
- Bake until slightly browned and the internal temperature reaches 165F, about 15 minutes
- Serve on toasted bean burgers
Cost per serving: $1.21
Chef’s advice: Toppings can include lettuce, tomato, cheese, and your favorite condiments
Apple cabbage coleslaw topping for the bean burger:
Ingredients:
½ head – Red cabbage, shredded
1 – Green apple, thinly sliced
¼ cup – Red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ teaspoon – Honey
2 tablespoon – Lemon juice
¼ teaspoon – Salt
¼ teaspoon – Pepper
¼ teaspoon – Red pepper flakes (optional)
Preparation:
- Place the shredded cabbage, sliced apple, and sliced onion in a large bowl
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and optional pepper flakes
- Pour the dressing over the slaw mixture and toss to evenly coat. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes so the flavors can combine
Cost per serving: $0.84
Chef’s advice: Compared to a traditional slaw made with mayonnaise, ours has less saturated fat and also helps you get fruit into your diet.
To save time, you might consider the following (though it may be more expensive)
- Bagged coleslaw mix
- Pre-sliced onion
- Bottled lemon juice instead of fresh
