Family meal! With holistic health coach Barb Biagoli-Saratogian

Barb Biagioli is a board-certified holistic nutritionist and consultant who works with families to improve their health through lifestyle modification. (photo provided)

Saratoga Springs, NY – The Saratoga Performing Arts Center recently announced [email protected]’s first family-style event, Family Meal! , which features holistic health coach and nutrition consultant Barb Biagoli.

Designed to cultivate healthy appetites and tastes through meal planning strategies, recipes and activities for the whole family, the event will take place from 3-7pm on Sunday, March 5th including a workshop on family meal planning for adults at the SPAC School of the Arts, and “Food as Art” activities. for the kids at the adjacent Children’s Museum in Saratoga, culminating in an all-out family-style celebratory dinner at The Pines @ SPAC.

Elizabeth Sobol, president and CEO of the Saratoga Center for the Performing Arts, said in a press release. “Education is at the center of SPAC’s mission and we are excited to partner with the Children’s Museum of Saratoga to continue to provide the community with opportunities to learn and participate in the arts – whether it be performing, literary, visual or culinary.”

Biagioli will launch at the SPAC School of the Arts, a 90-minute family meal planning workshop for adults who want to cook healthy meals at home. Topics will include how to add more whole plant foods to your plate, how to make a complete meal of seasonal foods at home, and how to plan, prepare, and cook in batches for the week.

Biagoli will provide resources, handouts, and recipes to simplify preparing healthy meals for every night of the week. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own calendars or planners.

“Feeding a family can be challenging. But it doesn’t require perfection, it requires love, commitment, and consistency. Not only are family mealtimes essential to increasing children’s exposure to new, healthy foods, but they help build memories around the dinner table,” Biagioli said in the release. Inspire me to include real, whole plant foods on your plate, in new and fun ways, that support your place on your health journey.”

While parents participate in a pre-dinner workshop, children are invited to participate in “food as art” activities such as watercolor painting of cabbage at the Children’s Museum of Saratoga, led by the museum and SPAC education staff. Members of the SPAC education team will escort the children to and from the museum adjacent to the SPAC School of Art, in coordination with the adult workshop.

While this program is recommended for children ages 5-12, children of all ages are welcome. Any child under the age of 5 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Attendees will then gather for an all-inclusive family dinner at the Nancy DiCresce Room in The Pines, on the SPAC campus, from 5-7 p.m. to enjoy dishes including hummus three ways, chicken fajitas, tacos, and kid-friendly red lentils. Wine, craft beer, and cocktails will also be served. There will be activities for fussy eaters and a special “candy surprise,” inspired by artist Jackson Pollock, that participants will help create. Recipes will be available to recreate at home. Listings may change according to market availability.

After the runway stage, Spak has become a year-round gathering place to celebrate the art of food in building community while empowering individuals to understand how what we eat affects our communities and the planet.

Founded in 2020, the CulinaryArts @ SPAC initiative combines culinary excellence and education with great food emphasizing agriculture, socially conscious consumption, local purchases, and fair wages. Recently, CulinaryArts @ SPAC hosted a “Brain Health Kitchen” as part of their newest initiative, Food as Medicine.

CulinaryArts @ SPAC: Family Meal! Produced by Kim Klopstock from Lily & Rose and Pam Abrams. Additional support is provided by Four Seasons Natural Foods.

Tickets are $50 per adult and include admission for one child under 12 years of age. Tickets for each additional child under the age of 12 are $25.

More information on CulinaryArts @ SPAC: Family Meal! Available online at spac.org.