Holistic Health and Me

Lights, Camera, Action… It’s Whole Foods Cuisine II Online

It’s amazing how some people get in front of a video camera and just shine with positive energy. That’s Chef Rachel Matesz, teacher of Whole Foods Cuisine at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts.  Maybe it’s all that healthy, nutritious, “whole” food. Whole Foods Cuisine  classes (offered both on-campus and online) include hands-on cooking and recipe preparation and food prep demonstration techniques. The Online classes offer the demonstrations on video.

On Monday we had our first of three full days of video production with Chef Rachel in preparation for Whole Foods Cuisine II Online, coming up in June.  In addition to our video crew (myself and videographer Ben Avechuco), we had three work study students on hand to slice, dice and otherwise assist Rachel prepare food for the taping. Thanks to Loretta, Angela and Anne for their great energy and hard work in the kitchen.

Rachel covered eight delicious recipes, four of which were tasty salads that we had the delight of being able to sample when we broke for lunch.  One was Salmon Salad with Black Pepper & Pineapple and ‘Lemonette’ Dressing. Yum! However, as much as I adore salmon, I think my ‘fave’ had to be the Broiled Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese, Cherries, Pears & Pecans with Orange Vinaigrette.  I’m a sucker for savory chicken and tangy blue cheese paired with the sweetness of fruit, all over baby greens with a light dressing. Nom nom!  A close second was the Parisian Style Potato Salad which was a wonderful surprise.  Being used to typical, mayonnaise-slathered potato salad, The Parisian Style looked so different as I saw it come together I wasn’t sure I was going to like it.  Tasting it, I was blown away at how light and yummy it was.

These salads were perfect fare for the day–filling enough to satisfy the whole hungry crew, while being light enough not to weigh us or slow us down.  I think the lighter, healthier cuisine even helped us stay focused and hold our patience while we had to wait for several minutes as the trash truck banged loudly through the parking lot on location where we were taping.

This fresh, light, healthy food is also a key way to stay fit for summer as the season to cover ourselves with less clothing quickly approaches.  The Whole Foods Cuisine classes are filled with information about how to buy, prepare, eat and store food that is healthier, less refined, more economical and simply more “whole”.

I eat a lot of salad already, but as the weather warms up, my goal is to eat more salad and generally lighter, more whole foods, especially for dinner.  These delectable salad creations from Chef Rachel are a great way to do it!

-Merry L.

Tags: Holistic Health, Whole Food