P.E. teacher and new athletic director, Emily Stevens, recently appeared with her family on ABC’s cooking show, Recipe Rehab, a show that teaches families how to make healthier versions of their favorite family recipes.

Stevens’s father in-law, Ron Stevens, was the first to contact the show and begin the process of being interviewed to get on the show. After submitting photos, doing a Skype interview, and filling out lots of paperwork, Stevens and her family were chosen to be on Recipe Rehab.

“We wanted to be on it just to do something as a family, to make lasting memories and to be apart of a T.V. show. [None] of us had ever been on a T.V. show before,” Stevens said.

The show, which aired on May 4, was filmed in November at Stevens’ home. The film crew included two camera men, one producer, a behind-the-scenes chef, and a gofer who set up the equipment, snacks, and dealt with communication.

“They recorded for about 12 hours to have enough footage to put together our part of the 30-minute program,” Stevens said.

The show was unscripted, so Stevens and her family came up with lines throughout the show.

“We just kept coming up with our own words and then the producer would have us try lines all different ways until it was how she liked it,” Stevens said.

Stevens especially enjoyed watching her kids do their part on the show. Both her son and daughter had multiple speaking parts and really looked like they were having fun throughout the filming.

“It was fun to see them speak in front of the camera,” Stevens said.

The Stevens family split into two teams to recreate the healthier versions of their family recipes created by two professional chefs.

After making the recipes, the family sat down to try them both out. Though the new recipes were different than the ones they were used to, the Stevens were pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the two dishes.

When the taste test was over, the Stevens rated the two dishes on overall taste, ease of preparation, and nutritional value, ultimately declaring the stuffed pork to be the best dish overall. Ron appreciated the improved nutritional value of the revised recipes which featured lower fat content and fewer calories because he had suffered from heart disease.

Stevens said she enjoyed being apart of the show and is glad her family was given the opportunity to have that experience together.

“It was a lot of fun, and so cool to see and have those family memories,” she said.