New Cook looking for some help.

[TheOnlyVenom]

Hey guys I am new to these forums and need help from any and all chefs. I want to start cooking healthy meals for me and my girlfriend because we are both a little overweight. Plus, its good to eat healthy in general.

This also goes hand in hand with my decision to explore becoming a chef. I just turned 21 and this is the first profession I am seriously starting to consider. So does anyone have any suggestions on to where I should start? Maybe some suggestions on books to read, or any information at all will be helpful. Thanks

Jesse

 

[Barb L.]

Just want to welcome you to Dc, many helpful ppl here - they will come. Enjoy a wonderful site ! Sorry can't help you out !

 

[jkath]

Hey Jesse - welcome!
First thought, when coming to healthy eating choices is for you and your girlfriend to visit your local farmers market. You'll find amazing produce and get great ideas for tasting these wonderful fruits and veggies. Another healthy choice is to grow herbs in either your garden or kitchen windowsill. Nothing makes a dish taste fresher than just-picked herbs (and it is so much better than salt).

 

[TheOnlyVenom]

Another healthy choice is to grow herbs in either your garden or kitchen windowsill. Nothing makes a dish taste fresher than just-picked herbs (and it is so much better than salt).

What grows the best on a kitchen windowsill?

 

[babetoo]

hi and welcome.

there many cookbooks , that have to do with eating healthy. google it and you should have a wealth of material. will answer specific questions here by many good cooks


babe

 

[TheOnlyVenom]

Yes you are right, the internet does offer a plethora of selections for healthy cookbooks. But in all honesty id rather come to a site, with real people, who have been cooking, to give me advice on what I should read, or what steps to take. Thanks for your input.

 

[Katie H]

Hi, Jesse. Welcome to DC. It's a sure thing you'll get plenty of help/advice here. Lots of helpful members. We're glad you've found us.

Just some quick and simple ways to eat healthier:

- Bake, broil or grill meats, poultry and fish
- Steam veggies and season with herbs
- If you must use oil, olive or canola are the healthy choices
- Choose fresh fruit if you need something sweet for dessert
- Don't skip breakfast
- Use smaller plates to force you to eat smaller portions and to give the illusion of having a full plate

Just a few suggestions to get you started.

 

[archiduc]

Hey guys I am new to these forums and need help from any and all chefs. I want to start cooking healthy meals for me and my girlfriend because we are both a little overweight. Plus, its good to eat healthy in general.

This also goes hand in hand with my decision to explore becoming a chef. I just turned 21 and this is the first profession I am seriously starting to consider. So does anyone have any suggestions on to where I should start? Maybe some suggestions on books to read, or any information at all will be helpful. Thanks

Jesse

Hi Jesse,

Where to start?

If you are a little overweight then you must do a little more exercise. Can you walk instead of taking the car or buy a bicycle?. Being overweight is simply the result of consumming more calories than your body requires so reduce the calories! You can do this in a number of ways:
1. Increase your energy output - go for a walk or a swim - every day;
2. Go out and buy a smaller plate/bowl than you are currently using and use this for all your meals;
3. Eat 5/6 meals per day but use fruit and vegetables as snacks;
4. Look at the methods you use to cook food - boil, bake, steam fry etc. Try to restrict yourself to one fried item per day.
5. Increase the proportion of raw food you eat each day - make snacks be your "raw food" delight!

If you want to become a chef - start applying for jobs in kitchens or go to College. Reading books will simply leaving you sitting on your ar** and achieve nothing. The reality is that if you want to be a chef you just have to get out there and join the masses. Also, start collecting recipes and recording YOUR ideas of food combinations.

Hope this helps,
Archiduc

 

[sankum]

Hey guys I am new to these forums and need help from any and all chefs. I want to start cooking healthy meals for me and my girlfriend because we are both a little overweight. Plus, its good to eat healthy in general.

This also goes hand in hand with my decision to explore becoming a chef. I just turned 21 and this is the first profession I am seriously starting to consider. So does anyone have any suggestions on to where I should start? Maybe some suggestions on books to read, or any information at all will be helpful. Thanks

Jesse

Hi Jesse,

Welcome. I am sure you will get great ideas for healthy cooking from this forum. Alos I thought you would be interested in this thread too.
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f12/who-s-trying-lose-weight-45592.html
Take a look. Good luck!

 

[LPBeier]

Hi Jesse,
You have been given a lot of wonderful advice regarding healthy eating so I will go so your second question and that is about being a chef.

I had been in cooking positions on and off for years, but when I was considering culinary school here are a few things I did:
- talked with a couple of chefs (a friend that I know and I went to a restaurant we frequent. I asked questions about their training, what they liked/disliked about the job, etc.
- I talked to friends and family and got their opinions of my ability with meals, etc.

Mind you I was over twice your age when I finally went and wish I had done it sooner; however, if this is something you really feel drawn to know the following:
-the hours can be horendous
- the pay can be minimal until and if you make it to an actual chef's position
- you don't need to go to school, many restaurants will do on the job training and even apprenticeships
- you need to really decide if you want to cook for a hobby or for a living because once it becomes your living, much of the "fun" of cooking at home may be lost.

Stick around here, read all the posts on general cooking and try out some of the recipes. I think you will find DC is a great place to be no matter what level of cook you are (home foody or trained chef or anything in between).

Hope this helps.
- I toured four schools just to see what it would be like

 

[TheOnlyVenom]

Wow I really appreciate all the advice. You guys have given me some base to go from. Is it a better idea to give cooking a go as a hobby, and if I enjoy it enough, then start to look into as a career?

 

[LPBeier]

That sounds like a good start. You can take a few courses in regular or ethnic cooking through your school board or recreation centres (at least you can here), which will give you the basics to build on at home.

 

[jkath]

What grows the best on a kitchen windowsill?

Best thing is to try a bit of each. Currently I've got sage & rosemary on the inside of the window, and spearmint, italian parsley, cilantro, & sweet basil on the sill outside.

 

[bazouli]

Hello, I am actually new to this site as well, I haven't looked around a whole lot yet, but I thought I would toss in a few thoughts. My wife and I cook together at home, both overweight and need to lose #'s, I'll be following this posting closely for that. We are Food Network addicts. Alton Brown/Good Eats is probably our favorite show because of the way Alton teaches. He also has a few books out, "I'm Just Here For The Food" is one that can help wrap your head around why things work the way they do. "Heat+Food=Cooking"-AB Visit Barnes and Noble, grab the book and read a few pages, that is what has helped me.

 

[quicksilver]

VARIETY, VARIETY, VARIETY. Dont' deny specific food groups. Everything in moderation. Better to eat 5 small meals, like tapas, than 2 big/skip one. Spices/herbs enhance and replace salt, butter, fat. Don't eat 'cause it's 12noon, lunchtime, eat when your body tells you to and only enough to sate your appetite. Drink water - lots. Don't eat before bed.
Don't get down on yourself when you've slipped and (here we go) don't let other people tell you what's right for you.

Don't diet. That only will temporarily help. Although I live to eat,as many here do, I think, you have to eat to live; meaning think of food as fuel - what does your body need?, not what does your head need?.

Who said "the best diet is to close your mouth"?
Lastly, but firstly; when you wake-up in the morning, EVERY MORNING, go to your mirror, look at yourself and say "I LIKE YOU. I REALLY LIKE YOU". It will make you smile (maybe the only one you'll get that day) and it let's you not take yourself so serious.
Remember too, ya don't see too many pencil thin chefs/cooks.

 

[LPBeier]

Quicksilver, I agree with everything you say!

Just to add to the "don't get down on yourself if you slip", also reward yourself once in awhile for being good - like have something you really like but only a small portion of it. If you deny, deny, deny your body of all those cravings, you are more likely to fall.

And I agree, DON'T diet!!!! Make your food choices a lifestyle!

 

[miniman]

What grows the best on a kitchen windowsill?

Just about any herb will do well. I would probably have parsley and basil as two key herbs and the any others you particularly like. I sometimes go to the supermarket & get a few of their live potted herbs & grow them on.

 

[DaveSoMD]

Jesse,

Another hearty welcome! I have been working on the healthy cooking for well over a year now. Everyone has pretty much covered what I would have said. So here are just a few more suggestions based on my experience.

Watch what you drink. Water is best, plain cold water, not flavored water as they have a lot of hidden calories and some use high fructose corn syrup.

REAL juice is another good choice, again read the lable and if it is not 100% juice pass it by.

Use fresh herbs and fresh fruit. I have fallen in love with fresh herbs, fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. Some of the pre-packaged herbs in the store have recipes on the back.

Stay away from as much pre-packaged / pre-processed foods as possible. It really is cheaper to cook from scratch.

Make a weekly menu and include left-overs one or two nights a week. You can make what I call Left-over Part II. Example, if I make a roast one night I'll make a pot pie with the left overs later that week. If I roast a chicken I make chicken salad or mile-high roast chicken sandwiches.

Cook, cook, read. cook, cook, ask questions, cook, cook. You WILL make some bad dishes, some mediocre ones and some really spot-on ones.

And the 2 things that were said before: everything in moderation (You CAN have dessert) and you will back slide and that is OKAY!

If you can find some of Jamie Oliver's recipes on line read them. His 'Naked Chef' days recipes used a lot fresh veg and herbs. I have most of his books and they are one of the places I for for inspiration.

 

[suziquzie]

For healthier help, I'd suggest a subscription to "Cooking Light" magazine. I have never been let down by a recipe in there!
They also have tons more recipes available online.

 

[Bigjim68]

I think that to be successful, weight loss food must be interesting. I grow fresh herbs in flower pots on my deck, and bring those that will not survive in for the winter, Most will produce enough to keep a kitchen going. In Virginia, thost that will make it outdoors are rosemary, chives, sage, and some others that will survive depending on the winter. I use herbs in lieu of salt, and seldom use anything that comes in a box or can. Most are full of salt and/or sugar. Fresh vegetable from the farmers market when available will work wonders. "Cooking Light" is a good read for interesting ideas.