Hosting My First Cooking Class: Bring on the Nerves

One of my favorite things about cooking is being able to share my passion for food with the people I love, family and friends. Recently, with the creation of this blog, I have been able to extend beyond just friends and family, although, only from behind a computer screen and some pretty pictures. Now that I am finally preparing to host my very own cooking class, this notion of ‘sharing’ has taken on a whole new meaning! (EEK!)

Why the nerves? Not because things typically go wrong or the confidence isn’t there, rather, because they always could go wrong.

Now that the time has come and the classes are only a week away lots of thoughts have come to mind… Is anyone going to come? Is the venue going to work? Are the attendees going to LOVE it? They have to LOVE it, right?

Months of preparation have gone into the creation of “Sushi Making 101”. Whether it be practicing on my family, ‘rolling’ out the details (ha-ha get it?), brushing up on sushi preparation tips, or purchasing more Asian-inspired kitchenware; all the pieces are definitely there. So again, why the nerves?

At the end of the day, I think this feeling is completely normal and I couldn’t be more excited! When you take pride in your work and the ability to succeed, that often comes with some nerves, like anything else. To be able to pull off this cooking class without a hitch would mean that this hobby of mine has really come full circle! I mean who doesn’t LOVE sushi, right?

It will be fine… I think… :-P

Stay tuned!

Here is the link: http://www.prosinthecity.com/event/cooking-classes-washington-dc-11963

Drop that BLANK: The Truth Behind What You're Eating

There is an alarming amount of information out on the web about what NOT to eat. After some careful reading, six food options made it to the list.

Smoothies

The smoothie craze has almost topped that of the frozen yogurt phenomena. Even though fruit is typically the number one ingredient and beneficial in our daily diets, this is definitely a food option to be knowledgeable about. In commercial versions of this blended drink, refined sugar often takes the place of the natural sweetener from fresh fruit. Wait for it… Many commercially bought smoothies have as much sugar as a can of Cola or a cupcake.

It doesn’t stop there, unfortunately. Most commercial smoothie companies, like Smoothie King, provide “boosters” on their menus to add to their smoothies. What they do not tell you is that the supplements used to give smoothies a “boost” are typically modified and contain chemical fillers. As a general rule of thumb, if you can’t find it in nature, it’s probably better to avoid it.  To avoid these gimmicks, it is best to make your smoothies at home with a tablespoon of real sugar, a dash of honey, or even Stevia.

Sauces

Sauces and condiments add nice flavor to foods that might need an extra kick but the downside is that a lot of times adding this “kick of flavor” means adding a shocking amount of calories, fat and sodium. Don’t let the components in things like ketchup fool you into thinking it is a healthy conscious option. To give yourself a better mental image, imagine a bottle of ketchup filled ¼ of the way with just sugar.

Eating at restaurants poses a pretty big problem when it comes to sauces too. For example, the grilled shrimp with garlic-butter sauce at the Olive Garden may not seem too terrible in hind sight. Although, the garlic-butter sauce in this dish helps rack up nearly two-thirds of your daily fat and about one and a half times your sodium limit for a day. One plate: 900 calories, 41g fat, 3,490mg sodium (health.com.) Well, maybe hind-sight is 20-20 after all. If you think that is bad; spoon a little honey-barbecue sauce on your grilled chicken breast and you might as well have deep-fried it with some parmesan and bread crumbs!

Granola

For an ingredient whose name is pretty much synonymous with healthy, it is hard to decipher if it is in fact a healthy food option or not. Granola is a tricky little bugger. This delicious cereal that pairs well with things like yogurt and molds perfectly into a bar form, actually contains a startling amount of sugar per serving. One serving of the popular low-fat Quaker brand contains 18 grams of sugar, as much as a Twinkie to be exact (shape.com)

For granola lovers, this is a sad realization; primarily because many other competitors aren’t much better as far as high sugar content. One brand that offers the same flavor, but half the sugar content, though, is ‘Nature’s Hand’. Be sure to always study the nutrition facts, and not just the calorie content.

Frozen Diet Meals

A frozen diet meal may seem like the perfect fix for a health conscious eater with no time to cook, but the real proof is in the puddin’, my friends.  More often than not, frozen diet meals don’t fill you up with nutritious vitamins and minerals. Meals like Healthy Choice simply fill you with sodium, sugar, and plenty of carbs. The biggest misconception is that people assume because they are only “300 –calories” they fit the perfect healthy, diet mold. The calories are definitely reasonable, but many of them pack as much as 500 mg of sodium in one serving. It’s important to provide your body with plenty of fruits and vegetables, yes, but not carbs on top of sodium on top of carbs.

Sandwiches

Sandwiches aren’t necessarily thought of when thinking about health conscious food options, although many a dieter loves a turkey or chicken sandwich once in a while (who doesn’t?). Take a step back and rethink tomorrow’s low-calorie turkey sandwich though. All deli meats for the most part are of poor quality. They are packed with sodium, nitrates, and made from animals raised on hormones. It doesn’t stop there; they may also contain chemical flavoring and dyes to top it all off. There is a way around this, though. When packing your next lunchbox, opt for fresher meats like REAL roast turkey or chicken from the deli. Ask your deli counter to give you the scoop on the freshest and healthiest of the bunch. (add a line about hummus and veggies for less meat)

Margarine 
Last but certainly not least on our list of what NOT to eat is margarine, which unlike butter, is made from vegetable oil. Many dieters (primarily vegetarians) stray from butter because it is made from animal products but there is a whole other story behind margarine’s makeup.  The butter-substitutes’ manufacturing process fills the tub with trans fat, which increases inflammation by damaging the cells lining your blood vessels, upping your risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer, degenerative diseases, weight gain, and bad cholesterol (self.com) Butter is sounding like a better choice between the two, huh?

In a consumer world where things aren’t always what they seem, it is more important than ever to be a smart shopper. Whether you are in it to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is imperative to know what really lies within the confines of processed food ingredients and the effects they have on our bodies. It is no coincidence that many articles on the web tell you to cook at home, buy less processed foods, and be picky about where your food comes from. When you hear “healthy”, “low-calorie”, “organic”, and the like, make sure you find proof in that puddin’ and keep all things in moderation.

The Truth About Salads

If you are anything like me, salads are a large part of your meal plan just about everyday. I’m not talking about just eating raw spinach leaves either. I’m talking a meal-sized, flavorful and filling bowl of salad.

Salads have become quite the hot topic these days. So many restaurants and processed food producers are making it a point to provide “healthy versions” of their meals, like salads, and often times they completely miss the mark. The victim in all this? Us. There are a number of articles out there which basically explain that unless you make your own salads at home with a sprinkle of lemon juice, it is best to stay away from them completely… Or atleast that is how I took it. :)  But, let’s not get dramatic. Here are a couple of important tips I recommend in choosing to go the salad route when eating out.

Portion Control

First things first. Many restaurants have an extensive, mouth-watering list of meal-sized salads that they offer.  You will see anything from Asian Chopped to BBQ Chicken Taco salads. They sound delicious, but wait until you hear what they weigh in at when consuming the whole thing. A salad like the full-sized Moroccan Spiced Chicken from one of my personal favorites, California Pizza Kitchen, weighs in at a whopping 1,370 calories.



Yum. Ok, never mind what’s in it, the portion that they provide you is two; sometimes three times the size of what you should consume in an average sitting. As a general rule of thumb, when ordering meal-sized salads, I would recommend immediately removing half of it from the plate, before dressing or eating it, and box it up. Hey, another meal for later or a great excuse to share with a friend.

Dressing

Salad dressings have earned a bad reputation with the health-conscious world we live in. It is discouraging that something that is considered a diet-worthy meal, like salad, can quickly become worse than a whopper because of its’ best attribute, the dressing. The amount of calories in dressing depends on how much oil and sugar is added when they are made; and when dining out, there is almost no telling how much of either there is.

Have no fear. A super simple alternative is asking for just some good ol’ oil and vinegar. Or if you are in the mood to get really crazy, even just some red wine vinegar tastes delicious, depending on the contents of the salad. Another thing to think about too is if you get a topping like chicken or shrimp which already has its own juices, even just a side of lemon could be a great compliment to the flavors that are already there.

If the salad just “can’t” go without the dressing in your opinion, only use one to two tablespoons with your entire salad. Be sure to remind yourself that many restaurant dressings contain upwards of 88 calories per tablespoon.  That can end up taking up over half of the calories you should be consuming for that onemeal!

Crusted

Everyone loves the thought of a “parmesan encrusted”, “panko crusted” something or other. Anything crusted is downright delicious, but something to be wary of.  Unfortunately when you see the word “crusted” you must make yourself assume it’s been lathered in cheese and gotten the frying treatment.
This is where I take a different stance than most salad articles out there though. I don’t think this is necessarily something to stay away from, but maybe tweak if possible. I would first ask if it is baked rather than fried. If not, then I would opt to get the chicken or salmon grilled. But to be honest, if you are only eating half anyways, go for it once in a while.

I think this topic is really important to have knowledge on if you are someone who eats salads on the regular. If you are like me, I don’t even just eat them for the nutritional value but because I love them, a lot. Making smart choices when it comes to dishes like these can make the world of difference if you add it all up over time.

What are some of your rules of thumbs when choosing to go the salad route? Please share!

Amateur Photography

After I began blogging about my recipes I quickly realized, my photos suck. Using my iPhone for snap & go, instagram-edited pictures can only take me so far in the food blogging world. My next task was to attempt to take some professional-looking photos.  I took my first stab at it this past weekend with hopes to make you all not only fall in love with the recipes, but drool over the food.

My Photography Day:

-Secure a camera from my boyfriend’s sister Judy (A Canon DSLR)

-Cook the food, duh

-Decide how I want the backdrop and table setting to look (I just used my dining room set-up)

-Make sure I was in the perfect spot for some natural lighting (My deck at around 3pm)

-Set up the backdrop (my yard/deck), my table setting, and the delicious deviled eggs that I tried oh-so-hard not to eat

…and here is what came out of it









I thought it was successful for my first try! The tough part is that I mostly cook on week-nights so this cooking on a Sunday thing will be a hard feat for me  But well worth the effort.  Stay tuned for more amateur photography coming your way!

A Case of the Mondays

For someone who absolutely loves cooking, even I get a “case of the mondays” sometimes when it comes to preparing meals in the kitchen. One of my favorite things about cooking is how much I enjoy it, so it is important to not force myself to do something when I am not in the mood.  Like any hobby, when it starts to become a forced priority, it is no longer considered a hobby.

For those of you out there who are the primary cook in the family, it is okay to order in a pizza, or pick up some subway once in a while. My point being to keep the idea of cooking a light, enjoyable hobby rather than a last resort. I had this epiphany yesterday when I was winding down for bedtime and still hadn’t made my “breakfast casserole” for the week.  I decided, when I don’t feel like cooking, I’m not going to do it.  So it was a Mcdonalds sausage burrito and iced coffee kind of morning for me.  Problem solved and a casserole that I can bake tonight!

Do you ever feel like you are forcing yourself to cook, do the dishes, or the laundry? Give yourself a day off here and there.  All these things can wait, I promise :)