Cooking for Healthy Nutrition

Personal Project Report

How can cooking help students to eat a

healthier and more balanced diet?

MYP 5

Bavarian International School

January 2017

Word count: 3,441

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Investigating 3
My goal 3
The global context “orientation in space and time” 3
My personal connection 3
Prior Learning 4
Research skills 5

Planning 6
Development of the criteria 6
The Development process of the product 6
Self-Management Skills 7

Taking action 8
The product in response to the goal 8
Thinking skills 8
Communication skills 9

Reflecting 10
Strength and Weaknesses of the product 10
Evaluation of product against Criteria 10
Personal Challenges and Solutions 10
Understanding of my chosen global context and topic 11
Personal Development by completing this project 12
Summary of the impact of the Personal Project 12

Bibliography 13
References for Report 13
Entire Personal Project Bibliography 13
Cookbooks 15
Primary Sources 15

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 1. Investigating
My Goal
The purpose of my project is to make it easier for students to live healthily. There are a lot of different
things to consider for a healthy lifestyle, but one rather obvious part is a balanced nutrition. By teaching
students through a cookbook how to cook fresh dishes by themselves, this goal can be reached. The
focus is on secondary school students, which often are very busy during the regular school routine and
have no time or knowledge how to cook by themselves. The outcome of my project is, to make a
cookbook with easy, fast, fresh and healthy dishes, to make cooking and eating healthily more accessible
to students. Most ready-made meals, which can quickly and uncomplicated be heated up at home, can
contain much sugar and artificial substances. I want to show students that cooking also is fast and not as
complicated as they might imagine. Moreover, a fresh meal will be enjoyed and eaten more aware than
processed food, which usually is consumed in a rush without appreciating it.

My Global Context “Orientation in space and time”

I interpreted the chosen context as the way of how we live in today’s space and time. The connection to
my cookbook occurs the way that it addresses students, who have a - in our age - typical and busy
lifestyle. Cooking is not a priority in most student's lives. The reasons for this are not the hectic school,
but more likely things like social media and technology. In general, those even seem to make our lives
stressful. Common food today is fast food or microwave meals, often because people do not have time,
motivation and knowledge for the kitchen. However, studies show, that cooking is the main “ingredient”
for healthy nutrition, mostly because people are more aware of what they eat1. Today, sugar is hiding in
almost every processed food. Therefore, we eat it without even realising it is there. Significant issues are
obesity and diseases like diabetes, where sugar and bad nutrition cause specific types. In 1900, the
average person consumed approximately 112 grammes of sugar per day. In 2009, 50 percent of the
Americans consumed about 227 grammes daily2, which is more than twice as much.

My personal connection
My personal connection to the whole topic of cooking and healthy nutrition starts in England. When I
was 14, I decided to go to a boarding-school there. It was an amazing experience, but there was one big
problem: the school food. I did not have a choice than to eat the food provided by school. Those meals
did taste not only disgusting but also were not healthy. My school used vegetables and fruits as
decorations for the breakfast buffet, but not as something to eat. After a while, I started to feel unwell
in my body, because I became unfit and was often tired or unmotivated. I think this was due to the
unbalanced nutrition of sugar, fat and white flour. After my time in England, I appreciated healthy food

1
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-
future/news-room/News-Releases/2014/Study-Suggests-Home-Cooking-Main-Ingredient-in-
Healthier-Diet.html
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http://naturalsociety.com/sugar-the-toxicity-question-and-what-to-do-about-it/
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so much more and started to get interested in cooking, which I then also did by myself. I learned a most
from my mother. When she cooks, she explains to me, how to make different dishes and encouraged
me that way, to cook by myself. Healthy nutrition is crucial; therefore, cooking is a great way of getting
more conscious of what we eat.

Prior Learning
About the process of digestion (specifically about enzymes involved in those reactions), I have learned in
Biology classes in school. I always was interested in how our body works, which I got to know more also
from science magazines like “p.m.” or “Geo” (German magazines). I also started to read the book “Darm
mit Charme” 3 (“charming bowels”), which illustrates the process of digestion and the function of the
gut in an interesting and amusing way. Through this book, I gained a lot of knowledge about the
digestion system. I found it fascinating, how the nutrients that we eat, directly connect to the way we
feel. This book was an inspiration, to choose the topic of nutrition for my project and a vital source of
my prior learning.

photograph of my book with highlighted key-points

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Enders, Giulia. Darm mit Charme. Ullstein, 2014
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photographs of the magazines “p.m” and “GEO” and
photographs of my biology book from last schoolyear (GCSE)

Research skills
Because I am relatively new to the MYP, I only had basic research skills before. I understood how to cite
sources in MLA format and knew, that I should use different sources when researching a topic, they
have a different quality and accuracy. A new, but crucial research skill, which I developed during the
Personal Project is the evaluation of sources. It is important to use common sense as well as further
research on the authors and publisher, to make sure, that reliable sources are used. Another new skill,
which I used for primary research, is that I learned, how to set up surveys via "Google forms". I had to
decide, what type of questions to ask and when which way of answering is appropriate (yes/no, written
pieces or answers on a scale). For my project, I did two surveys, one for my research on how well
students from my grade eat, and another one to reflect and proof the concept of my product, which is
to address students with food, they can quickly cook during a rather busy day. Skill, which developed
through the surveys as well as through internet research is the refining of questions to get more
accurate results. Whereas in web-research, it is important to search for keywords, in surveys the
questions have to be phrased in an accessible and uncomplicated way.

Extracts from the first survey (google forms)

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 2. Planning
Development of the criteria
At the absolute beginning of the personal project, I wanted my product to be everything at once.
However, I needed to learn how to narrow things down and make all the points I wanted my book to be,
more precise and specific. When I thought about my product and what it is supposed to fulfil I
developed the Criterion, that the dishes in the cookbook must be easy to make and the students need to
know the approximate time it takes to cook something, to be able to plan when they prepare it. The
medium has to inspire students to cook, which should be proofed by a survey. The dishes should have
an exact, step-by-step instruction, which also enables unexperienced students to cook. The book should
contain 15 recipes to have a range of ideas the students can make by themselves. And, the dishes must
be healthy and balanced to improve the daily diet.
A criterion, which I decided to specify during the process, was that the dishes must be healthy and
balanced to improve the daily diet. The term “healthy” is extremely broad, so many different things are
considered as being healthy, and in my view, it cannot accurately be defined. Even after my research, I
could not exactly say, what is healthy, because there are so many different opinions and aspects. So, I
specified this criterion to one crucial point in our time: The dishes are required to have no sugar content.
It is connected to the global context, as my inquiry showed, that we never in human history ate as much
sugar as in today's time. By sugar, I mean the added sugars in processed food, not essential
carbohydrates, which are converted to glucose in the body. I also tested the effect of eating no added
sugars and no white flour for one week, to prove that this improves well-being. The criterion that it must
be motivating and inspiring was refined to make it more accurate. It is imperative that the product is not
only aesthetically pleasing, but also the design must enable the reader to follow and understand it
easily. In the end, my product hit all those criteria, except the part of the criterion, that the students
have to know the approximate time to make each dish because the measurements were very unreliable.

The Development process of the product

The process of the Project went through the whole MYP cycle of Investigating, Planning, Taking Action
and Reflecting. At the beginning of my personal project, I focused my research on sugar and healthy
nutrition. At the same time, I already cooked and photographed dishes. I decided, to cook and
photograph recipes, whenever I can and evaluate if those are balanced and should be included in the
book during and after the research. So, the cooking mainly was while the time I was investigating. By the
20th of November, we had to hand in 5-8 evaluated sources, which also was the time, when I finished
my background research. I divided my research into two parts, the background research, which was the
part of the MYP cycle “Investigating”, and the product-development research, which I carried out while I
was taking action and had to learn how to use the application “InDesign” to create my book. The
Background research was an important part of my project because I gained a lot of knowledge.
However, the progress seemed to slow down a bit, because I focused too much on theoretical

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knowledge, rather than taking action. In the time from November to December, I wrote the detailed
recipes and cooked the last few dishes. The Christmas holidays where the time, when I developed the
very basic layout further and fine-tuned my book.

Self-Management Skills
I always had good self-management and organisation skills. For example, I consistently use a planner to
organise my time and tasks, and I am a disciplined person about my schoolwork. New self-management
skills, which I developed during my project, was the breaking down of big tasks into smaller parts and to
plan those ahead. This ability was used, when setting up my action plan for the project. I discovered that
the breaking down of tasks is necessary to plan ahead and follow the process. Another skill, or even
habit, which I developed, is to avoid procrastination through personal deadlines. I cannot say, I never
procrastinate, but through goals, which I set for myself, I am more motivated. Deadlines sometimes can
be stressful, but in other cases, it also is very motivating, because they create a form of “good” time-
pressure. In my opinion, time-pressure can lead to more focus, because it sets a time-limit which only
can be reached when concentrating on the work. However, it might result in tasks with less quality when
there is not enough time. I have shared my self-management skills in the way, I helped my sister to set
up a planner and a planning system for her schoolwork. -

Photograph of my planner (schoolwork):

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 Extract of Action plan:

3. Taking Action
The product in response to the goal
The goal of my project was to make it more accessible for students to eat healthily and cook by
themselves, through creating a cookbook that contains fast, fresh and healthy recipes.
As I mentioned earlier, the “background research”, which focused very much on the actual problem of
sugar and unhealthy diet, did expand my knowledge, because I was able to understand better, how the
body works and why different nutrients are essential. A problem of my product was that I could not
share a lot of this new knowledge about the digestion in the book, because it would go too much off-
topic and the amount of information might be confusing, when using the book while cooking. At some
points, I mentioned, why a particular food is good, but I did not explain this in depth. I don’t think, I
should have done less research, but I believe that it would have to be more focused to follow the
process and directly have an impact on the product. However, my research using cookbooks to look for
layout inspirations and getting information about dishes lead well into the product. I have looked at
cookbooks to develop the layout which turned out in an organized and aesthetically pleasing form. All
photos, which are in my book are taken by myself. There you can see, how this part of cooking and
photographing was essential for the product and directly included in the final book.

Photograph of Layout of printed book

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Thinking skills
As already mentioned, I can plan ahead and determine the importance of tasks which is an important
thinking skill for higher productivity. A skill, which I developed more deeply through the personal project
is the process of evaluating because I had to evaluate sources, photos and recipes. I ask myself
questions, to assess, what qualities something has, and why. For the recipes, for example, I asked
myself, if it is easy and fast to cook, when it could be eaten or what kind of nutrients make it good.
Another thinking behavior, which was important when I carried out my research, was the simplifying of
more complex ideas. Sometimes, sources contained extreme much and complex information, and when
thinking about that, I had to simplify those. This mainly was the case, when I research how sugar affects
the body. Rather than studying complex chemical processes and formulas, I simplified those for myself
or sometimes looked at summaries of a topic, to not go too deeply into it.

Communication skills
Communication skills I had before the project were active listening to someone else, which is a way of
showing attention and respect towards the person but also results in a clearer knowledge. Also, non-
verbal communication through body language is a skill, which is important when empathising with other
individuals. During the process of taking photos of my cooked dishes, I realised how important the
communication through pictures and layout is. I always tried to take the photographs the way, that the
foods look delicious and the photos inspirational. When I looked at some of them after, I realised how
different a dish looks in various light settings or environments. As part of my research, I watched a
documentary about the way the look of the food, manipulates the decision of the brain to eat it. This
highlighted the importance of good photos for good communication. I always tried, to present the
dishes in a good light, which I created by either by photographing outside in the daylight or a bright
lamp. The background was important as well. As I used a red checkered tablecloth for the background
for the Bolognese, which is Italian food, I photographed a study snack of apples and a dip in the grass,
which is associated with nature and therefore has a calming atmophere. I expanded my vocabulary of
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the English language, with new words when talking about cooking. As I am not a native speaker, I
sometimes had to clarify or translate words to use in my book.

Contact sheet – photos from apples and dip in two environments

4. Reflecting
Evaluation of product against Criteria
The first criterion was that the dishes must be easy to make to fit in student's routine and the
approximate time to cook a dish should be known. This criterion was proven by a survey if the dishes fit
in an ordinary day of a student. 12 of 20 people clearly responded that they think, the dishes are good to
cook during a school day. Students responded, that the dishes look tasty and seem to be quick to make
when I showed photos of the dishes with a brief explanation. This reflects, how important the
communication through photos is. The second part of this criterion that the students have to know the
approximate time needed to cook a dish is not met. I decided not to include time, for the reasons, this
time depends on a lot of the cooking skills, but also the temperature of a stove or oven. It was hard to
measure the time the way that it would be reliable for all students. My second criterion says that the
students should be able to make the dishes even if they do not have experience with cooking. I reached
this by picking easy dishes for the book and providing a detailed step-by-step guide for each recipe,
which also explains the very basics of cooking. I included a page with Cooking Tips for beginners in my
book. The next criterion is that at least 15 recipes must be included. There are 20 dishes in the final
product. The fourth criterion says that the dishes must be healthy and balanced, which I specified by not
containing too much sugar and showing, how it affects myself not to eat sugar for one week. None of
the dishes in the book contain added sugar; only the fruit sugar in real fruits. I ate no sugar for one week
and observed how I felt physically and mentally. I got a positive result, and therefore I think, that not
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eating added sugar improves the body feeling.

Strength and Weaknesses of the product

The strength of my product are the very detailed recipes, which also enable students to cook if they do
not have experience. I think, that I included very good dishes, which are simple, balanced and look
attractive on the photos, what motivates to cook and try those. Furthermore, the layout of the book is a
strength. It is easy to follow, but through the photos nice to look at it. I was able to educate the people
over the book about sugar. It contains a page, which explains the most important things about sugar and
some related processes in the body.
However, there could be more recipes that contain meat be included, as this also is a part of balanced
nutrition. My book contains two recipes with meat and one with fish, but maybe there should have been
one or two more of this kind.

Personal Challenges and Solutions

An ongoing challenge, during the personal project, was that I sometimes felt stressed because it was a
huge amount of work, which scared me in the first place because I had never done a big project like that
before. As I mentioned earlier, planning and organising made it easier for me, because I could break
down the massive project into many small tasks, which could be done one at a time.
Also, the use of the InDesign application turned out to be a challenge, because it sometimes was very
complicated. So, I bought a book, which explained the details about InDesign step-by-step4. Before I
purchased this book, I watched YouTube tutorials to learn the basics. In my cookbook, I kept the layout
simple, which made it easier for me to use the application.

Understanding of my chosen global context and topic

The orientation in the space and time of today’s world sometimes can be confusing. In the world of
food, often the more artificial and processed the content is, the more fabulous and healthy are the
packages of the products designed. The food industry invests so much money in inventing new
processed products that there is the need to have those promising designs for the competition in the
market. In our human history, we have learnt that attractive looking food is fresh, healthy and can be
enjoyed without harming the body. But the stone-age human in us does not discard those primal
instincts, and the food industry takes advantage of this. Still, unpacked and the unprocessed food looks
like in former times, but even those fruits, vegetables and staple foods are today influenced by
conservation processes, genetic manipulation and other chemicals. A huge problem for the people’s
health are the tonnes of added sugars in processed foods because it leads to different types of diseases
like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and complications of the cardiovascular systems5. Poor
nutrition also has short-term effects, which I experienced myself and therefore realised how significant

4
Gruman, Galen. InDesign CS5 for Dummies. Wiley publishing, inc., 2010
5
Paetsch, Martin. "Verlocken süß - und verheerend ungesund: ZUCKER." GEO Wissen Ernährung 2016:
76-81. Web.
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this topic is.

Fresh cooked food6 Microwave food7

Personal Development by completing this project

In conclusion about the whole personal project, I think it will always have an impact on my thinking and
learning. It showed me, how important clear and accurate goals are. If I were to complete the whole
project again, I would make it less complicated but clearer and more precise. Also, I think, the criteria
could have been broader and not only focus on the quality of the recipes. When I was thinking about my
specifications at the beginning of the process, I did not think ahead but mostly focused the criteria of
the recipes themselves, rather than the book and its features. I am sure this learning can be included in
many different areas. The process, which I followed in the project also is a new thinking behaviour,
which can be used in many different situations.

Summary of the impact of the Personal Project

The personal project was a huge experience, which showed me how to reach a particular goal by
following the process of Investigating, Planning, Taking Action and Reflecting. I gained confidence,
because I know for myself, that I can do something like that, even if it might seem like a huge and
challenging task in the first place. I am sure this type of process and the newly developed skills, will help
me with projects and tasks of my future working life, as well as the IB programme. Specifically, the
research skills and time-management behaviours which I developed through this process will help me in
my future IB and MYP learning activities.

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Teaundra. Fresh Swedish MeatBalls over Egg Noodles. Digital image. Youtube. Youtube, n.d. Web. 10
Feb. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrI8WgArFm0>.
7
Maravilloso. 0,67€ Mikrowellenessen Aus Dem Wal Mart. Digital image. Amigos Unidos. N.p., 4 Oct.
2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <http://www.amigos-unidos.de/tag/essen/>.
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 Bibliography
References for Report:

1. Smith, Mike, and JH Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Study Suggests Home Cooking Is a
Main Ingredient in Healthier Diet." Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2017.
<https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-
future/news-room/News-Releases/2014/Study-Suggests-Home-Cooking-Main-Ingredient-in-
Healthier-Diet.html>.

2. Renter, Elisabeth. "Average Person Consumes 300% More Sugar Daily than 'Recommended'."
Natural Society. Natural Society, 16 Jan. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
<http://naturalsociety.com/sugar-the-toxicity-question-and-what-to-do-about-it/>.

3. Enders, Giulia. Darm mit Charme. Ullstein, 2014

4. Gruman, Galen. InDesign CS5 for Dummies. Wiley publishing, inc., 2010

5. Paetsch, Martin. "Verlocken süß - und verheerend ungesund: ZUCKER." GEO Wissen Ernährung
2016: 76-81. Web.

6. Teaundra. Fresh Swedish MeatBalls over Egg Noodles. Digital image. Youtube. Youtube, n.d.
Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrI8WgArFm0>.

7. Maravilloso. 0,67€ Mikrowellenessen Aus Dem Wal Mart. Digital image. Amigos Unidos. N.p., 4
Oct. 2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <http://www.amigos-unidos.de/tag/essen/>.

Bibliography for entire Personal Project:

"10 Guidelines of the German Nutrition Society." Deutsche Gesellschaft Für Ernährung E.V. German
Nutrition Society, 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2016. <https://www.dge.de/index.php?id=322>.

Bauer, Jochen. "Fitfuttern." Blutzucker, Insulin Und Leistung | Fitfuttern. Fitfuttern, 2007. Web. 15 Oct.
2016. <http://www.fitfuttern.de/2007/11/06/blutzucker-insulin-und-leistung/>.

Barnes, Ab Phillip Robert, and Ed O'Keefe. "Where People around the World Eat the Most Sugar and
Fat." The Washington Post. WP Company, 05 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/05/where-people-around-the-world-eat-
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the-most-sugar-and-fat/?utm_term=.2db9b91760f3>.

Braun, Stephan. "Guacamole Aus Mexiko – Original-Rezept & Zubereitung." LatinMag. Latin Mag, 24
Sept. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. <http://latin-mag.com/original-mexikanische-guacamole-
landestypische-zubereitung-und-rezept/>.

"CNN Student News - 08/25/16 - CNN Video." CNN. Cable News Network, 25 Aug. 2016. Web. 25 Aug.
2016. <http://edition.cnn.com/videos/studentnews/2016/08/24/sn-0825.cnn>.

Danbolt, Niels Chr. "Glutamate as a Neurotransmitter - An Overview." The Neurotransporter

Group. Center for Molecular Biology and Neuroscience, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
<http://neurotransporter.org/glutamate.html>.

Frey, Hannah. "Gesunde Snacks: Gemüsechips Selber Machen." Projekt: Gesund Leben |
Clean Eating, Fitness & Entspannung. Projekt: Gesund Leben, 11 Nov. 2014. Web. 05 Jan.
2017. <http://www.projekt-gesund-leben.de/2014/11/gesunde-snacks-gemuesechips-selber-
machen/>.

GalileoOffiziell. "Das Pausenbrot Von Heute | Galileo Lunch Break." YouTube. YouTube, 22
Oct. 2016. Web. 09 Feb. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxETwBdhHLs>.

Jacqui Pretty. “How to Write an Awesome Introduction for Your Non-fiction Book.” Linked in.
N.p., 18 Aug. 2014. Web. 3 Dec. 2016. <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140818005915-
47802955-how-to-write-an-awesome-introduction-for-your-nonfiction-book+>.

Lewin, Jo. "10 Foods to Boost Your Brainpower." BBC Good Food. BBC, 6 May 2016. Web. 30
Aug. 2016. <http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/10-foods-boost-your-brainpower>.

"Nutrients In Avocado :: Fresh Avocado." Nutrients in Avocado:: Avocado Nutrients, Benefits of

Avocados & Eye Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
<https://www.avocadocentral.com/nutrition/nutrients-in-avocado>

"Pimp Mein Essen." ZDFtivi - Pur +. ZDF, 2010. Web. 22 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.tivi.de/mediathek/detail.html?data=%2FtiviVideos%2Fbeitrag%2Ftitle%2F2323234
%2F2043928%3Fview%3DflashXml>.

"Quinoa." The World's Healthiest Foods. The World's Healthiest Foods, n.d. Web. 10 Dec.
2016. <http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=142>.

Smith, Mike, and JH Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Study Suggests Home Cooking Is a
Main Ingredient in Healthier Diet." Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 25 Sep. 2016.
14
<https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-
future/news-room/News-Releases/2014/Study-Suggests-Home-Cooking-Main-Ingredient-in-
Healthier-Diet.html>.

The Girl Gone Green. "How to Pack a Zero Waste Lunch | Back to School Zero Waste Style."
YouTube. YouTube, 05 Aug. 2016. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPNxJQOwL7s>.

Thesteelery. "How To: InDesign - The Basics." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Jan. 2012. Web. 13 Dec.
2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfhHvAscNFA>.

"Top 10 Cooking Tips." Top 10 Cooking Tips. American Heart Association, 18 Dec. 2014. Web.
13 Dec. 2016. <http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Caregiver/Replenish/Top10CookingTips/Top-
10-Cooking-Tips_UCM_301837_Article.jsp#>.
/.latest_citation_text

Torrens, Kerry. "The Truth about Low-fat Foods." BBC Good Food. BBC, 26 May 2016. Web. 22
Nov. 2016. <http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/truth-about-low-fat-foods>.

Cookbooks:

Mälzer, Tim. GREENBOX. München: Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, 2012. Print.

Woodward, Ella. Deliciously Ella Vegane Rezepte, Die Glücklich Machen. Berlin: Berlin
Verlag, 2015. Print.

Primary Sources - research carried out by myself (Kea Focken):

Self-Experiment “No sugar for one week”

Survey “Personal Project Survey”

Survey “Reflection Survey”

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