Whole Lotta Stuff I Learned in Whole Foods Cuisine
Video editing is nearing completion for Whole Foods Cuisine II Online at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. This exciting class taught by Chef Rachel Albert will be chock full of amazing recipes and invaluable information about cooking healthier, more nutritious, smarter, safer, and more economically.
Having shot the video and done the editing for both I and II, I sort of feel like I have had the privilege of taking the class. As someone who has always loved to cook, I really enjoyed the assignment and I could not help applying what I learned to what I do in my own kitchen, both practically and creatively. For instance, after WFC I, one of the first things I did was go out and purchase a good Japanese-style chef knife. Kind of a no-brainer you say, but wow, just using it and keeping it sharp makes a huge difference in chopping, slicing, dicing and otherwise cutting vegetables, fruits and other foods.
For WFC II, we shot 25 videos—17 recipes and 8 technique segments. Between doing the video production for WFC I & II online, I absorbed a lot of very useful everyday lessons that I could begin applying immediately to my food-related behavior. For starters, I’d like to share three small changes I am already making.
Bag the plastic
Whether it is a proven health danger or not to use plastic to store foods, why chance it when the solution is so simple? I have started using glass jars and stainless steel containers whenever possible to store dry, wet, and even frozen foods. My mom did this for years, however I, shunning the formidable wisdom of mom, went crazy with the cute, matching, snap-lid containers. But glass jars are everywhere, so rather than tossing them in the recycle bin once they are empty, I’m now using the jars in place of ‘plasticware’, and transitioning the storage of non-food stuff into the plastic containers. The jars of food are easy to label with masking tape and a marker. Plus, I didn’t realize you can even freeze foods in glass containers as long as you chill it to refrigerator temp first and leave room at the top of the jar or container for the food to expand when it freezes. I even bring my water to work now in a stainless steel water bottle and fill it with filtered water from my home system. It stays colder and, it may be my imagination, but it just tastes better. Hmm, potential toxins leaching into my food from the synthetic material in the container, or not? Not a tough choice.
Aw nuts, spoiled again!
I may have been called squirrelly a time or two, especially when trying to sit still during a romantic comedy in a movie theater. Call me what you will, I do eat a lot of nuts. It’s just something I have done for a long time. I think they kept me alive through college. I’ve always especially liked raw walnuts and almonds and probably have a handful or so of each every morning. I call it ‘breakfast’. Most of the time I eat them up before they have a chance to go bad, but I learned something really valuable to me since I happen to be nuts for nuts; they go rancid faster when exposed to light and room-temperature air. Nuts keep longer and stay fresher when they are stored in jars in the refrigerator. Another easy, no-brainer for me.
Salads, of course
I hate repeating myself but I am going to. I hate repeating myself but I am going to. I mentioned main course salads after we taped Whole Foods Cuisine I, but here I go again. What a fast, delicious, nutritious and easy solution to lunch or dinner. My kids even like salads topped with chicken or leftover meat, especially when they are full of tasty veggies like carrots and celery. They are light and cool in the summer and you don’t heat the kitchen up making them. Again, in her recipes Chef Rachel Albert teaches about delightful salad additions such as pears, toasted pecans and dried cherries, and wonderfully surprising dressings that are easy to make, such as Pineapple Poppy Seed Drizzle and Lemonette Dressing. Yum.
These are just a sample of simple changes that can be implemented right away that can make a positive impact on daily food-related habits. Obviously in a 4-week class there is a whole lot more to learn in Whole Foods Cuisine.
To read more about Chef Rachel Albert and all she does directly from the source, go to her blog at http://www.thehealthycookingcoach.com/. If you scroll down, she blogs more about the class at SWIHA and about the video production. You can even see a fun video of outtakes I chopped together after the taping. Once the class starts, there will be postings of some actual videos of recipes and/or techniques on our respective YouTube channels.
You can enroll in the next online Whole Foods Cuisine class by clicking here. Or to check out the many other great classes offered online or on-campus at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, visit http://www.swiha.edu/registration/.
~Merry L
