I get this question ALL the time: "Do you like to cook?"
The short answer: "No." The longer answer: "I like to eat good food
therefore I cook." So I guess in a way I do like to cook? I'm still
trying to figure it out, so the verdict's still out. My mom is someone
who loves to cook & bake. She rarely uses the same recipe twice.
& when I do want her to repeat something that she made (that I
liked) she can't find the recipe because she has so many new ones
waiting to try out. Yeah, that's not me. The other thing about my mom is
she can read a recipe & just know if the recipe sounds good. Again,
not me. Cooking is just something that has never come easy for me. I
remember when I went away to college & was in my 1st apartment . I
had my mom give me a few recipes to get started so I wouldn't be eating
ramen noodles every night. Next to each ingredient she would write the
brand name of the item. This way when I was shopping at Publix I'd know
exactly what to buy. The store is confusing even for me & I'm a
dietitian! That's when I first started cooking & I've been cooking
ever since. I think in this last year I've been cooking even more &
really trying to make that saying, "let food be your medicine &
medicine be your food." Food really can be medicinal if we use it that
way (food can also be misused in many ways, but that's a blog for
another day).
But it got me thinking, how many people really truly
cook?? When I have patients in my office & I'm counseling them on
weight loss that is the #1 thing I tell them - check the frequency of
their eating out. If you're eating out you have NO control over how the
food is being prepared, not to mention the crazy portion sizes you see
that you start believing are real. Morgan Spurlock got criticized for
his movie Supersize Me, but he was simply showing how people eat out
three meals a day, easily. And while this might not be within a month
for some people, it might not be too far off from what people may do in a
three year period or three months for that matter. The point being
we've gotten away from cooking & if your goal is to be healthier or
if you're wanting to lose weight, the bottom line is that cooking, at
home, has to happen. Home economics isn't a mandatory class anymore.
Kids these days aren't learning how to cook. Granted there are many
famous chefs on TV that have helped the movement maybe somewhat. But
the truth is if we all used as much salt (butter, cream, etc.) as they
do on TV it'd almost be like we're eating out. Yep, I said it. It's the
truth.
I'm not here to tell you it's going to be easy. In fact I
was cooking yesterday & I should've taken a picture to show you what
a mess I made. I by no means am glamorous when it comes to the kitchen
(note to self: maybe I should document my cooking so people can get a
laugh.) I have a small kitchen, I make a LOT of dishes, & I
celebrate if I don't cut my finger/grate my finger (yes, that happened
last week.) But I keep my focus: I want to eat healthy, good for me
food. And that's why I go back week after week. My goal with each &
every dish that I make is to optimize the nutrients. I don't get
fixated on each & every vitamin but I do pay attention to the 3 main
nutrients: carbohydrates, protein, & fat. If the meal is balanced I
know I'm getting the nourishment that I need. Many people believe that
for vegetarians it's hard to get enough protein for the day. That's one
of the biggest myths out there. However, I will say this, as I've been
perusing many blogs/recipes/websites recently, there are many
vegetarians/vegans that are not getting enough protein. So it is a fine
line. I'm not asking for you to do something like that, but I do
encourage people to look at their meal & make sure they're balancing
their plate - half the plate should be vegetables, a quarter of the
plate the protein source (a deck of cards for size, roughly), & the
remaining quarter of the plate, carbohydrates. On the myplate graphic
they show a fruit & milk at the meal - your choice where the
carbohydrate is coming from. One could choose only grains to be their
carbohydrate at that meal. The key point being that sometimes we go
overboard with the carbohydrates. (I could pick on any culture, but I
had a Hispanic lady in my office the other day & when I was showing
her how her plate stacked up her 1st response was, "bomba!" A bomb it
was - rice, beans, yuca, plantains, & a soda!) The key really is
balance. I'm not here to make this cooking thing harder. My goal is to
get people thinking. Yes, I want you to cook, but I also want you to
cook things that are healthy for you as well provide the nourishment you
need in the right proportions. Sometimes my patients joke that I just
need to go home with them & show them how it's really done. Not a
bad idea, but as of now it's hard enough to get insurance to pay for a
dietitian visit IN the clinic.
So I leave you with this: explore on the Internet. Find
recipes that sound good to you, plan for the week, & get those
little kiddos in the kitchen learning how to cook! Sounds easier said
than done I know. It's easy to get in a rut when it comes to food. I
always tell people get a rotating menu going & start planning your
meals that way - this way you rotate so you're not eating the same thing
week after week. We all have our go to recipes. My encouragement,
explore a little, try a new recipe, you might be pleasantly surprised by
the outcome. That's what keeps me motivated - finding good recipes to
pass on. These are my go to pages for finding new recipes recently:
Every recipe I've ever tried from Cooking Light has turned out. I love them even more because they have the nutritional analysis below the recipe for you to be able to know exactly how much and what you're eating. Their section on quinoa recipes has a few of my go to recipes that I use all the time.
www.howsweeteats.com
I'm not sure how I came across this website, but I'm glad I did! While some of her recipes are a little time consuming, some are not. The best part - her food is SO flavorful and delicious. Some of the flavors that she marries together are ridiculous! Delish!
http://thesimpleveganista.blogspot.com/
I've found many a recipe on this lady's website as well. Her fruit tartlet was amazing!! See my picture below - if I can do it, so can you!
