MORRIS COUNTY

Denville nun's cooking leads to good health

Michael Izzo
@MIzzoDR
Students at the Assumption College for Sisters eat lunch prepared by Sister Maria Cecilia Landis, who cooks for over thirty of the students on the campus of Morris Catholic in Denville. She recently took a four-week class at Atlantic Health SystemÕs Chambers Center for Well Being and is making new and healthier meals for the students. February 23, 2016. Denville, N.J.

DENVILLE - An Assumption College nun has become the ambassador of American cuisine for the more than 30 sisters under her care at the school, the majority of whom are international students.

Sister Marie Cecilia Landis is the coordinator of the residential international student services at Assumption College in Denville, and part of her job is cooking three meals a day, five days per week for her students.

“I’m the house mother so I cook and run the house for them,” Sister Cecilia said. “This is a college but it’s also a home. It’s a totally unique place in that way.”

Sister Cecilia first began cooking for others as a student herself in high school, when she and a friend were paid $5 per meal to cook for the dozen or so nuns at her school.

“I cooked every day after school,” she said. “I loved it so much and I learned a lot about cooking in big numbers.”

Before Assumption moved from Mendham to the Morris Catholic campus in Denville last year, food was prepared by an outside company. But this school year marked Sister Cecilia’s return to cooking for sisters after an extended break, and she was quickly thrown back in the thick of it, cooking for more than 30 students, most of whom came to the school from around the world.

This year’s students come from the United States, Burundi, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Sister Cecilia said she noticed her international students were struggling adapting to American food.

“I saw in past years that many international students were having stomach problems because they aren’t used to the spices, processed foods, and hormones that are in American food and it was messing with them,” Sister Cecilia said. “A lot of their problems were with how the food is treated. And meals are big for international students. Sharing a meal is meaningful to them. They want it to be a happy time, but they weren’t able to enjoy it.”

So while Sister Cecilia was driving a student to a rehabilitation at the Atlantic Health System’s Chambers Center for Well Being in Morristown, she found out about their four-week cooking class, Cook Your Way to Good Health.

New to the Center for Well Being, the class includes a half hour of nutrition basics, followed by an hour-long cooking demonstration, with registered dietitians teaching the foundations of good health through food.

“I thought it would be a good idea to learn how to cook healthier for the students,” Sister Cecilia said. “I was thrilled to come back and use what I’ve learned in the course and they’ve really welcomed the healthy food. They want to learn to eat what we eat.”

Assumption President Sister Joseph Spring applauded Sister Cecilia’s efforts to help her students.

“Sister Cecilia likes to learn, that’s why we’re all here,” Sister Joseph said. “She’s experimenting with new grains, helping students get exposed to other things, because it’s hard for them to get used to new things.”

Sister Cecilia said she’s happy to make any effort to improve the lives of her students.

“It’s all about them. They’re making a big sacrifice coming over here,” Sister Cecilia said. “You can see they miss home even though they try their best to be cheerful. So for me it’s about being able to help them do what they need to do by cooking healthy and getting them adjusted for the next college they go to.”

But while the healthy cooking is for the benefit of her students, that doesn’t mean Sister Cecilia isn’t making use of it herself.

“It’s definitely helped me eat healthier too,” she said. “I’ve lost 15 pounds since the course started.”

Tuesday morning, Sister Cecilia was preparing turkey pot soup.

“Tuesday lunches are typically pot soups,” she said, adding Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the busiest days of the week for her.

Dinner will include quinoa, which Sister Cecilia said she never would have used had it not been for the course.

While cooking healthier takes some work, Sister Cecilia is happy to make the extra effort. Her big shopping day is usually Friday evening and can take up to four hours.

“I take my time and carefully read labels now,” Sister Cecilia said. “And it’s really calming and relaxing.”

Students cook on weekends, typically choosing to make rice-heavy dishes or other meals from their home countries.

Sister Cecilia also plans to start her own garden on campus so students can plant fruits and vegetables they wish to eat.

The first cooking course was an introduction to preparing healthy meals, and Sister Cecilia said she plans to take a second, more advanced course on nutrition in April.

Cook Your Way to Good Health is open to the public and runs Wednesday evenings at the Chambers Center for Well Being in Morristown. Topics covered include, healthy snacking, dining out, adding fruits and vegetables to diets, and reading food labels.

The four-week course costs $80. For more information or to register call 973-971-4890 or email ChambersCenterPrograms@atlantichealth.org.

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com

Students at the Assumption College for Sisters help themselves to lunch prepared by Sister Maria Cecilia Landis, who cooks for over thirty of the students on the campus of Morris Catholic in Denville. She recently took a four-week class at Atlantic Health SystemÕs Chambers Center for Well Being and is making new and healthier meals for the students. February 23, 2016. Denville, N.J.
Sister Maria Cecilia Landis rings a bell, calling students to lunch. Landis cooks for over thirty students at the Assumption College for Sisters on the campus of Morris Catholic in Denville. She recently took a four-week class at Atlantic Health SystemÕs Chambers Center for Well Being and is making new and healthier meals for the students. February 23, 2016. Denville, N.J.
Sister Maria Cecilia Landis takes a sip of her Turkey Pot soup, Landis, who cooks for over thirty students at the Assumption College for Sisters on the campus of Morris Catholic in Denville. She recently took a four-week class at Atlantic Health SystemÕs Chambers Center for Well Being and is making new and healthier meals for the students. February 23, 2016. Denville, N.J.
Sister Maria Cecilia Landis tosses vegetables for a mixed salad, Landis, who cooks for over thirty students at the Assumption College for Sisters on the campus of Morris Catholic in Denville. She recently took a four-week class at Atlantic Health SystemÕs Chambers Center for Well Being and is making new and healthier meals for the students. February 23, 2016. Denville, N.J.
Sister Maria Cecilia Landis stirs her Turkey Pot soup, Landis, who cooks for over thirty students at the Assumption College for Sisters on the campus of Morris Catholic in Denville. She recently took a four-week class at Atlantic Health SystemÕs Chambers Center for Well Being and is making new and healthier meals for the students. February 23, 2016. Denville, N.J.
Sister Maria Cecilia Landis adds mixed vegetables to her Turkey Pot soup, Landis, who cooks for over thirty students at the Assumption College for Sisters on the campus of Morris Catholic in Denville. She recently took a four-week class at Atlantic Health SystemÕs Chambers Center for Well Being and is making new and healthier meals for the students. February 23, 2016. Denville, N.J.