Bob Evans Farms Partners with Boundless WoW Program

Cooking is a huge step towards independent living, but it can be hard for our folks to find accessible recipes that still provide them with their daily nutrients. For Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, four Boundless adults teamed up with four food scientists from Bob Evans Farms to learn new cooking skills.

Bob Evans Farms is a proud partner of Boundless and recently worked with individuals from our Without Walls program (WoW).

WoW is a group-oriented day program offering community outings and volunteering, hobby and career exploration, recreational activities and more to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and behavior health challenges. Every day they are learning new skills to become more independent in their lives; recently one of our groups got to experiment with cooking with highly trained chefs and food scientists.

Carol, Heather, Shayna and Silvia are all enrolled in the Central Ohio WoW program. They are pictured above with the Bob Evans Farms staff left to right: Elizabeth, Shayna, Silvia, Mike, Heather, Andy, Gabby and Carol. 

Our ladies each selected a Bob Evans Farms recipe they were interested in trying. The recipes included products from their Bob Evans® and Simply Potatoes® brands. Then the two groups gathered in the Boundless SmartHome. The SmartHome takes the newest smart devices and uses them to make living spaces more accessible. Just in the kitchen we used our Samsung smart refrigerator, Samsung smart range oven with iGuardStove automated safety shutoff and Whirlpool smart microwave, compatible with barcode scan for easy cooking.

Recipes for Success - Dynamic Duos

Carol (Boundless) & Gabby (Bob Evans Farms)

Carol has never cooked before today but was our star pancake flipper, with Gabby from Bob Evans Farms, she made Protein pancakes. Carol loves breakfast with her favorite foods being sausage and bananas. She was excited to learn how to cook and is especially excited to show off her new cooking skills to her boyfriend. This recipe does require a hot skillet, but besides minor supervision, Carol was able to complete all steps by herself, impressing Gabby who dropped her pancakes on the floor the first time she ever made them.

Silvia (Boundless) and Mike (Bob Evans Farms)

Silvia was our most experienced chef as she cooks with her mom almost every night and likes to help her sister navigate the kitchen as well. That said, Silvia had no problem taking on the role of Head Chef in her and Mike’s partnership. Together they made a sausage breakfast skillet. Silvia even showed off her knife skills, chopping up the veggies. Silvia is a great example of how practice makes perfect.

Shayna (Boundless) and Elizabeth (Bob Evans Farms)

Shayna had one thing on her mind during our day in the kitchen and it was bacon. Every time you mentioned ‘bacon’ Shayna would turn to you with the biggest smile on her face. So, it figures that her and Elizabeth made candied bacon. The candied bacon is two simple ingredients, bacon and brown sugar. While this recipe was the most indulgent of the Boundless creations, Shayna was excited to add this recipe to her collection and continue to develop her skills in the kitchen.

Heather (Boundless) and Andy (Bob Evans Farms)

Heather was by far our most enthusiastic cook. The more she learned and got to help the more excited she got. Heather has cooked a little in the past but wants to learn more and start spending more time cooking. Together, Heather and Andy made apple cheesecake cupcakes. They also made great dance partners while waiting to heat up the apples in the microwave.

Make sure to follow us on our Facebook page for a new recipe every Wednesday this month.