tudents attending Healthy Cooking 101 on Monday learned proper food safety, as well as how to prepare a dorm-friendly Mexican Pita Pizza recipe.

Micki Addison, a nutrition education coordinator, hosted the event.

Addison first focused on proper food safety. She stressed how important it is to follow safety protocol while cooking because foodbourne illness affects 76 million people per year.

She said illnesses caused by the bacteria of Campylobacter, Salmonella and E-coli are all commonly mistaken for the flu.

She offered suggestions on how to prevent illness. She said when people are cooking, they should use different knives between foods to avoid cross contamination.

Addison explained it is crucial for cooks to clean their cooking surfaces as soon as possible because bacteria doubles every second. She said in just five hours, one bacterium can grow to be 65,536 bacteria.

Addison also stressed the importance of keeping foods at the proper temperature to avoid the ‘temperature danger zone’ of 40-140 degrees.

She said cooks should be cautious of food allergies.

“Peanut allergies are the biggest one out there,” she said. “Some people can get sick just by smelling (peanuts), so people should be careful.”

Besides allergens, other hazards are prevalent when preparing food. Addison said people should watch out for physical hazards, such as broken glass, metal shavings or hair, in their food and improper use of cleaning chemicals.

Next, Kelly Gallagher, a senior dietetics major and Addison’s assistant, showed the audience how to prepare the dorm-friendly Mexican Pita Pizza recipe.

Addison said she chose this recipe because it is inexpensive to make.

“I realize college students are on a tight budget, so we try to make everything (affordable),” she said.

Heather Ditchfield, a freshman biology major, said she could see herself making the recipe in the future.

“It’s simple to make, and I also really liked it,” she said.

Addison suggested also swapping out the pita for a tortilla instead to make a burrito.

“Anything you could put on tacos works as well,” she said.

Healthy Cooking 101 will be holding three more sessions every Monday until spring break.

Mexican Pita Pizza recipe:

1 small whole-wheat pizza

1 tablespoon salsa

½ cup fat free refried black beans\

1 oz low fat pepper jack cheese

-Spread the salsa all over the pita

-Top with cheese

-Sprinkle with black olives/green onions if desired

-Microwave for about one minute

Sara Hall can be reached at

581-2248 or smhall3@eiu.edu.