Category: Cooking


The List

Filed under: Cooking, Food, Health, Uncategorized — 1 Comment
December 7, 2010

If there is one item I am reluctant to discard it would have to be my Canadian Living magazines.  From time to time, I enjoy re-reading  the old issues.  One issue featured cancer fighting foods.  As luck would have it, if you don’t have the issue you can find the info online and it is well worth  the read.  Here is my grocery list for today:

  • Oranges and grapefruits they reduce inflammation and inhibit cancer cell growth.
  • Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, brussel sprouts decrease risk of lung, bladder, breast, stomach and colon cancers.
  • Berries, they block proteins needed for cancer to grow .
  • Tomatoes they lower the risk of prostate cancer.
  • Green tea  stops the growth of  blood vessels that feed tumors.
  • Oregano and other herbs are antioxidants.
  • Cinnamon stops  the network of blood vessels that feed tumors.
  • Olive oil  may reduce the risk of breast, colorectal and prostate cancers.
  • Parsely has been shown to stop the development of leukemia cells.
  • Flaxseed stops growing cancer cells
  • Turmeric slows cancer cells.
  • Garlic  gets rid  of cancer causing chemicals in the body.
  • Rosemary  may help fight the carcinogenic effects of cooking starchy foods.

I think today, I will enjoy a berry fruit smoothie with a dash of flaxseed.  Green tea instead of coffee, a sprinkle of cinnamon on toast, an orange for a snack, tomato based oregano/garlic focaccia, a herb salad with  a splash of blood orange olive oil.

Tomorrow  I will try out rosemary and turmeric.

Comment

Reviewing a Cooking App on the iPad

Filed under: Cooking, Tech, The Toolbox — 8 Comments
April 12, 2010

Well I managed to pry my husband’s iPad from his hands for a short while so I could explore some apps.  One app I wanted to share with you was an app called Epicurious and I thought the best way to do this would be to give you a few minutes of video of me using the application.   I hope you enjoy the video.  If you are getting an iPad, this is definitely an app to put on – it’s free and loaded with 27,000+ recipes!

Tags: , ,
Comment

Food Education for Kids

Filed under: Cooking, Food — 7 Comments
March 22, 2010

During the March break my children and their friends participated in a cooking class at the Cooking School in Loblaws.  The class was very participatory and the children enjoyed themselves thoroughly. This got me thinking about what I’d written before regarding  educating kids about healthy food and cooking.  In my opinion, local grocery stores have a huge opportunity to create a win-win situation.  By offering programs, like the one my children just participated in, directly to the school system they will achieve three things:

  1. We educate and excite children about food and cooking. Doing this will cause children to think about what they eat and  may lead them to a healthier lifestyle.
  2. In the short-term children who are educated and excited about food, may apply that “child-like” pressure on their parents and in turn drive an increased amount of cooking in the home.  Increased cooking at home is good for our health, AND, it is good for grocery store sales.
  3. In the long-term, these children of today, become the market for the grocery stores of tomorrow.  If we don’t educate our kids on food and cooking, they will continue to embrace the trend of eating out and eating processed foods – and that will force grocery stores to change their business model.

Based on the our experience, I am definitely going to involve my children in similar programs.   Hopefully, the grocery industry here in Toronto, will reach out to the school system, and see how providers of food and providers of education, can come together to give our kids an education on food.

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

Healthy Eating on $7.50 Per Day?

Filed under: Cooking, Food — 3 Comments
March 15, 2010

I was thinking about the OSAP diet that was recently written up in the local paper.  The dilemma is that students should be able to eat healthy for $7.50 per day.  I guess looking at this from an outsiders point of view its eay to say ‘yes you can do it’ and lay the blame on the student who is faced to deal with this food issue.  The question deserves a deeper look.  Is it really doable?

My thought is that “Yes” it is doable if you have the know how.  The environment of today’s society doesn’t enable this kind of skill set easily.  We must consider that given the fact that home economics does not really exist in schools, the youth of today don’t get this info there. Couple that with the fact that family meal times have changed and aren’t as routine as they once were, and you compound this issue.  Lastly, our society makes it too easy to order out, order in, eat out, etc., you can see how the skill (art) of cooking is disappearing.  Without that art, it would be hard to get by on $7.50 / day.   Therefore we cannot blame these students if they were never given the opportunity to learn this valuable life skill set. Now in saying that, this has now become a valuable learning experience for these young people one which can carry them throughout the rest of their lives.  We would be doing them a further disservice by just throwing more money at this issue.  The government would be wiser to fund with private organizations, the programs for the cooking-know-how.

I have been playing the game Evoke and this week’s  mission has been on food sustainability and as I discussed in that blog in Canada it is not an issue of not enough food but rather not having the skills or know how on how to grow and / or cook the food.  I found a fabulous group called FoodShare.  I would highly recommend that students consider their Good Food Box.  This type of program / resource, can help students today, while hopefully, our government does the proper planning for tomorrow.

Comment

Explore and Learn

Filed under: Cooking, Food — 1 Comment
March 4, 2010

I’m going to keep this post short and sweet.  My  mantra  is explore and you will learn. This is what I learned yesterday.  I had the opportunity to attend another cooking demonstratuion at  the Loblaws Cooking School.  The guest chef  was Elise Burton, who  prepared her version of  the Classic Macaroni and Cheese, and Oven Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Garlic Butter.

The class was a lot of fun and the meal was delicious. I realize unless you have flexible work schedule, this kind of “lunch and learn” activity might not work for everyone. However if you can’t get to the class have the class come to you.  What a fabulous option, now chefs will come to your home and assist with your cooking needs.

Another option, if you are  tired of eating out and trying to cook at home, is Loblaws at Empress Market “On the Go Gourmet”, which offers you the opportunity to put together 5 entrees, (with fresh ingredients  in 1.5 hours) that you can freeze and use as needed.  It costs $100.00 and serves 2-3 people.  Something worth trying at home or in the summer time for outings to the cottage.

So, I’ve  got cookbooks, videos, blogs,  iPhone apps,  cooking demos,  and now I will add in home chefs and “On the Go Gourmet” in my quest for healthier eating.

Bon appetite here’s to life long learning.

Tags: , ,
Comment

Finding Wellness in the Kitchen

Filed under: Cooking, Health — 9 Comments
February 12, 2010

Yesterday , I wrote about cooking being like a sport  which needs to be practiced, or your skills become rusty.  In an effort to try and sharpen my skills I’m now registered in a cooking class given by my local grocery store.   I must admit that in my previous life I owned and operated a restaurant.  I loved it but the hours were gruelling. It may seem a little odd to have a cooking-physiotherapist but really food and fitness do go hand in hand.

In healthcare we seem to focus on illness and not prevention.  As a therapist I’ve seen this often.  We live in a world that is so jam packed with stuff that sometimes preparing a good old fashion home cooked meal is tough.   What I hope to do, in my limited capacity, is  attempt to be proactive, by exploring resources  that are easily accessible and doable in our  kitchens.

As the saying goes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Tomorrow I will……get busy in my kitchen.

Comment

Time to Train

Filed under: Cooking, Food — 4 Comments
February 11, 2010

I grew up in an Italian home.  My mother worked 6 days a week 12 hours a day,  and managed to make homemade pasta, bread, sauces, salami, baked goods….. the list goes on and on. I use to consider myself a fairly good cook.  I have a library of cookbooks that I read like adventure novels. My cooking skills have become rusty as of late. So, what happened? It takes years of practice to become an  athlete at the top of your game and more practice to stay on top.  Cooking, like a sport, needs to be practiced.

Tomorrow I will…….register in a cooking class.

Comment
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.