Cooking With Class: Dig In

Features by Amy Bevan / March, 2016

These days, area eateries are focusing their menus on local, farm-fresh, all-natural ingredients. Farm-to-table restaurants are becoming a staple in our Seacoast community. But what happens when we are home, rushing from work to an evening meeting or packing our kids’ school lunches? Are we making the best choices for our health, or taking shortcuts for the sake of convenience? Do we really know what goes into the food we buy and prepare in our homes every day?

Kath Gallant and Tracey Miller of Dig In have created a program to help people do just that. They believe that better health comes from cutting out processed food and focusing on all whole foods and all-natural ingredients. Dig In is a largely virtual, membership-based program that teaches the basics of how to adopt and maintain this kind of diet through recipes, program guides, instructional cooking videos, journaling, and weekly in-person classes. Sessions run seasonally and provide members with the tools and community support necessary to transform their eating habits.

“We feel that when people are more connected to their food source, their bodies will be happier,” says Miller, a health coach who launched the Dig In program with Gallant after hearing from some of her 30-day Wellness Challenge clients that they didn’t know what to do next.

As the owner of Blue Moon Evolution, Exeter’s whole foods market turned farm-to-table restaurant, Gallant is passionate about local, organic food and has always offered cooking classes with this focus. Miller, a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, complements Gallant’s cooking expertise with her passion for health coaching, and as such, participants get both a cook and a coach.

There are several membership options, starting at $30 a month. The program focuses on a different theme each week, and may include analyzing specific food challenges, eliminating certain allergens and ingredients like gluten or dairy, adding more greens and taking stock of your kitchen. The weekly meet-ups encourage live discussion on these topics and more, and members come away with helpful advice, information, and inspiration to live healthier lives.

“It’s all about knowing where your food comes from,” says Miller. “That’s something we are trying to inspire without being judgmental.”

Dig In
8 Clifford Street
Exeter, N.H.
603-380-1080