Local residents can get some tips on cooking healthy foods and even taste test a dish or two during a series of classes the Diabetes Support Group will be hosting over the next four months.

The series, which is called “The Right Bite,” will hold its first class Monday, April 28 at the Alagasco in Selma. Callie Nelson, Dallas County Extension coordinator, said the classes will help those with diabetes understand what foods they should avoid and what they can do to make food taste better without putting their health at risk.

“They always want to know, what’s healthy and how to cook foods correctly, and that is what this series is going to focus on,” Nelson said. “It is going to help them prepare healthy foods as a diabetic.”

The series will teach how to prepare recipes and plan meals that are reduced in fat, sugar and sodium, use artificial sweeteners appropriately, control blood pressure and control portions among many other things

“We are hoping to give people the tools they need to be able to manage their diabetes so they can live a long, healthy life,” Nelson said.

The speaker for the four classes will be Valerie Conner, a regional extension agent who focuses on human nutrition.

“What I like most about this series is it really does simplify it for most of us,” Conner said. “You don’t have to be a nutrition specialist, you don’t have to know how to count carbs — it really will help simplify and give you some helpful tools you can take home and you can put into action at home.”

Conner said the classes will have six topics that will be covered in four sessions: sweeteners, portion control, reading the nutrition label, choosing the right fat, carbohydrate and fiber and ways to control blood pressure.

The support group is open to all who are living with diabetes, caregivers, friends and family.

For more information on the program, contact the Dallas County Extension office at 874-3200.