Cooking demonstrations you can taste!

 One of the very first things I discovered during my lifestyle modification is that you simply can't cook every day, it won't work.  You need to get 75% of the heavy lifting out of the way in one day and reheat for the rest of the week.  That's what I show people how to do.  That one day's worth of cooking takes me about three hours, that's why the demonstrations are three hours long.  For myself I make some variation of rice and beans, a composite vegetable dish or two, a salad or two and a soup or two as well as a breakfast cereal, either Whole Berry Oatmeal or Quinoa Porridge and that's why the demonstrations are as large as they are.  What I'm showing you is exactly what I do for myself every single week and it's been working since June 23, 2003! 

I’ve been a serious student of lifestyle modification since my own “heart episode” on June 23, 2003; both personally, by searching through the popular literature and then formally as a student under the expert guidance of the Medical Dietetics program at the Ohio State University School of Allied Medical Professions.

I first thought that everyone I read had a different idea about what healthy eating was, but it became clear to me that there was more agreement on the general principles of healthy eating than there was disagreement on the details. 

So what is it that we can all agree on?  Americans consume far too much salt, fat, sugar, meat and high fat dairy and we eat too few fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.  Much of what we eat too much of comes in the form of processed foods that provide the excess salt, fat, and sugar.  I don’t know any self-respecting nutrition expert, dietitian, medical practitioner, or public health official that would disagree with that statement.  Frankly, it would just be irresponsible to say anything different! 

If at a young age you decide to eat less salt, fat, sugar, meat, and high fat dairy, and move your body around some, you can almost certainly delay or even avoid the chronic illnesses that plague Americans today, that’s just a fact.  But if you already have a chronic illness you may be able to reduce symptoms and control the disease by changing the way you eat...that’s what we call “lifestyle modification.”  Your doctors can verify that, just ask them...if they don’t agree then get new doctors! 

Unless you’re from Seattle and your last name is Gates and you can afford to hire someone like me as your personal Chef – in order to be successful with a lifestyle modification – you have to learn how to cook!  There’s just no way around it!  Restaurants won’t do it for you and even the processed foods that claim to be “healthy” are still too high in salt, fat, and sugar to be apart of your lifestyle modification dietary protocol.  You are in control of your own health and the skills in the kitchen that I can teach you will help you make your lifestyle modification challenge successful!

Remember...it’s not enough to just know and be willing...we have to act!

Remember when everyone used to cook?  I’m sure some of you don’t, but I’m just old enough to have caught the tail end of it.  You used to be able to look around most neighborhoods between 5pm and 7pm and see families eating home-cooked meals together.  It just doesn’t happen anymore.  There are almost two complete generations of Americans for which food preparation was not part of average childhood experience.  If you could get a well-prepared, inexpensive, and healthy meal in a restaurant that would be less of an issue, but that’s not the way it works.  We train our Chefs to use prodigious amounts of salt, fat, and sugar...I know, I am one and that’s the way I was trained, both at the Culinary Institute of America and the School of Hard Knocks!

In 2003 I thought I was a culinary bad-ass, and after more than 25 years of experience in international resorts, I may have even earned that title, but when I approached having to cook without extra salt, fat, sugar, meat, and dairy I faced the hardest professional and personal challenge of my life!  I discovered that I really didn't know half of what I thought I did, you see, it's easy when you use salt, fat, and sugar.  But try cooking without those culinary crutches and it's another whole ball game entirely...now you have to really cook!  I had to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch learning to cook all over again from square one.  What I’ve learned in my own kitchen, on my personal lifestyle modification journey is what I’ve incorporated into the cooking classes that will be offered here at FoodCanHeal...and “Healthy Cooking Live!” is a small taste of that experience.  It’s just a hint of what is available in far greater detail through my “Healthy Food for Life!” cooking instruction series. 

 The Original!
Spring Edition v1.0!
Spring Edition v2.0!
Summer v1.0!
Winter v1.0!
Winter v2.0!
Winter v3.0!
Soups Only v1.0 Winter!
Soups Only v2.0 Winter!
Soups Only v3.0 Spring!
Soups Only v4.0 Summer!

 Summer Salads v1.0!
Transition Foods!
Vegan Holiday aka Christmas in July!
Introduction-Tasting!
Healthy Epicurean Gala Dinner!