Personal Chef Here! Ask Me Anything!

drocknoel

Hey everyone! My name is Derek and I'm a Personal Chef in Michigan and I am also a consultant at a local gym. I just figured I'd offer up my advice on any food-related topic you might ask. Keep in mind that I am NOT a certified nutritionist or dietitian by any means (not yet, at least), but my profession and focus is based in healthy eating so I do have a pretty good idea about the subject.

That being said, ask away!

annetteh145

I am trying to find a good recipe for making a lo-carb protein/nut bar... I don't want to use honey or sugar, which is the key to getting everything stick together, but I want to avoid the high carb and sugar content. It should be either pure powered stevia or bake-able stevia. I am thinking of using pumpkin seeds, flax seed meal, walnuts, almonds (any nuts)... chia seeds. The only things I can think of to help it all "stick" together is to add almond or peanut butter. Another thought would be soaking the chia seeds (they turn into a slimy mess) then baking everything up to get rid of the moisture. I know I should just try it out but I don't want anything go to waste - I've had some experiences with baking with coconut flour and don't want to go there again! If you have any ideas let me know!

drocknoel

Yeah, coconut flour tends to make everything super dense. I'd go with almond flour instead. Coconut oil is a great alternative as well, since it is solid at room temperature. A few different recipes I've seen have as little as a teaspoon of pure maple syrup, but seeing as you're avoiding sugar content, I understand why you wouldn't go that route. The almond flour should mix with the water and form a nice little paste. Throw in a ton of nuts and seeds and it *should* hold together pretty well, especially when you add in chia seeds.

Otherwise if you're up to experiment with other ingredients or a bar I've personally made myself (with some modifications), here's a recipe for you that makes a pretty good bar (I would link directly to it, but unfortunately I can't =\ ). Instead I'll just credit Jamie Eason with this recipe!

Pumpkin Protein Bars
Nutrition (without walnuts): 1 square = 47 calories, .7 g fat, 8 g carbs, 3.7 g protein
Nutrition (with walnuts): 1 square = 63 calories, 2.3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 4 g protein

½ C Xylitol Brown Sugar Blend (Ideal) -You can use bakeable stevia in place of this.
1 - 4 oz. jar baby food applesauce -Or grate an apple (granny smith for a little tartness is nice!), or unsweetened apple sauce
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground clove
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large egg whites
1 - 15 oz. can of raw pumpkin -Or bananas/a fruit that can be kind of mushy
2 C oat flour -Or flour of your choice
2 scoops vanilla whey protein
½ cup almond milk
½ C chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.
Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.
Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.
Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated. Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and bake for 30 min.
Makes 24 squares.

Like I said, you can play around with the ingredients to find something you like. You can also add seeds to it if you want to up the protein. My favorite saying is "recipes are just guidelines!"

dickrocketjones

love the smell and flavor of curry. you got an easy healthy chicken curry recipe? emphasis on easy. I am all thumbs in the kitchen. thank you sir.

conniehv40

I am looking for a great beef barley soup recipe?

conniehv40

I meant to say more before I clicked. Thank you for this offer!!

Very nice of you!

crocktherock

Hey I can help with this, I LOVE curry (just had some tonight), and here's an easy way to make a great curry.

The first step is to head to your local indian grocers. They have tons of little jars and boxes of different pastes - tandoori, marsala, tikki, madrass and vindaloo to name a few. They have dried powders of the same thing, which also work.

cut onions and green pepper into strips and add whatever veggies you like. I like mushrooms, maybe zuchini.
Saute in a little oil

Cut up a boneless skinless chicken thigh and saute as well. No need to add any more oil

Mix 1/2 to 1 cup of plain yougurt with about 1 tsp of corn starch. You can use non-fat but it tends to get a bit watery. Add a tablespoon or more of the tikki paste (your preferance) to the yogurt and mix well.

With the veg and chicken in the skillet, add the yogurt mixture and heat through. Feel free to add a few raisens if you like, then serve.

The corn starch stops the yogurt from separating, and makes a nice, rich sauce. You may have to add a little chicken broth to thin.

RllyGudTweetr

I have a sensitivity to cherries and peaches (small doses make my soft palate itch; I've no desire to see what happens on larger doses). Are there reasonable non-pitted substitutes for these items in recipes?

dickrocketjones

thanks. sounds delicious. and damned healthy.

Sunbrooke

Bump

annetteh145

bump

gmallan

Hey I can help with this, I LOVE curry (just had some tonight), and here's an easy way to make a great curry.

The first step is to head to your local indian grocers. They have tons of little jars and boxes of different pastes - tandoori, marsala, tikki, madrass and vindaloo to name a few. They have dried powders of the same thing, which also work.

cut onions and green pepper into strips and add whatever veggies you like. I like mushrooms, maybe zuchini.
Saute in a little oil

Cut up a boneless skinless chicken thigh and saute as well. No need to add any more oil

Mix 1/2 to 1 cup of plain yougurt with about 1 tsp of corn starch. You can use non-fat but it tends to get a bit watery. Add a tablespoon or more of the tikki paste (your preferance) to the yogurt and mix well.

With the veg and chicken in the skillet, add the yogurt mixture and heat through. Feel free to add a few raisens if you like, then serve.

The corn starch stops the yogurt from separating, and makes a nice, rich sauce. You may have to add a little chicken broth to thin.

I make Thai curries often by a very similar method with Thai curry paste (green, yellow, red, Massoman) and a tin of lite coconut milk. Yum!

annetteh145

Yeah, coconut flour tends to make everything super dense. I'd go with almond flour instead. Coconut oil is a great alternative as well, since it is solid at room temperature. A few different recipes I've seen have as little as a teaspoon of pure maple syrup, but seeing as you're avoiding sugar content, I understand why you wouldn't go that route. The almond flour should mix with the water and form a nice little paste. Throw in a ton of nuts and seeds and it *should* hold together pretty well, especially when you add in chia seeds.

Otherwise if you're up to experiment with other ingredients or a bar I've personally made myself (with some modifications), here's a recipe for you that makes a pretty good bar (I would link directly to it, but unfortunately I can't =\ ). Instead I'll just credit Jamie Eason with this recipe!

Pumpkin Protein Bars
Nutrition (without walnuts): 1 square = 47 calories, .7 g fat, 8 g carbs, 3.7 g protein
Nutrition (with walnuts): 1 square = 63 calories, 2.3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 4 g protein

½ C Xylitol Brown Sugar Blend (Ideal) -You can use bakeable stevia in place of this.
1 - 4 oz. jar baby food applesauce -Or grate an apple (granny smith for a little tartness is nice!), or unsweetened apple sauce
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground clove
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large egg whites
1 - 15 oz. can of raw pumpkin -Or bananas/a fruit that can be kind of mushy
2 C oat flour -Or flour of your choice
2 scoops vanilla whey protein
½ cup almond milk
½ C chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.
Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.
Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.
Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated. Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and bake for 30 min.
Makes 24 squares.

Like I said, you can play around with the ingredients to find something you like. You can also add seeds to it if you want to up the protein. My favorite saying is "recipes are just guidelines!"

Thank you! This recipe sounds really good, too.
I will experiment with the almond flour paste (plus some peanut butter maybe) and make ONE mini bar first before waisting bags of nuts! I remember my mom used to make coconut cookies for x-mas, it consisted pretty much only of coconut flakes, egg white and sugar on top of a thin wafer... then slowly baked til semi-dry. I am assuming the chewy consistency came from the egg white/sugar... again... sugar! ughh

drocknoel

love the smell and flavor of curry. you got an easy healthy chicken curry recipe? emphasis on easy. I am all thumbs in the kitchen. thank you sir.

I don't have a recipe saved for curry, but I can walk you through an easy way to make it!

First off, crocktherock hit it on the head with the Indian grocers. With a little searching you should be able to find a pretty good premade curry mix (fun fact: the word "curry" actually is just a mix of usually 22 different spices) and a paste. Feel free to use either recipe. I always appreciate different recipes! We're going to use those as your spice base to make it as easy as possible.

EDIT - also a shoutout to gmallan who beat me to the coconut milk idea :P

Heat coconut (or olive, or I like blending the two) oil over medium heat.
Cut skinless chicken breast meat into chunks and saute for somewhere between 5 and 7 minutes.
Throw in some minced garlic and your favorite mix of vegetables (if you have frozen veggies though them out first!) and saute them until they have some nice color in them.
Add in the curry spice mix and stir well, making sure the spice mix doesn't clump up and covers everything.
Add some coconut milk and paste until you have the desired amount of sauce, then finish with a little soy sauce and lime juice. I also like to throw in a little bit of Sriracha and stevia to add a nice sweet-and-heat element to the dish.
Let this cook for a couple more minutes until everything is hot and it seems like the coconut milk starts to thicken a little bit.
Serve with whichever type of noodles you like.

I know I said little a LOT, but that's really all it should be. Dashes of everything, and feel free to play around. Remember, you can always add more seasoning but you CANNOT take seasoning away.

I am looking for a great beef barley soup recipe?

I meant to say more before I clicked. Thank you for this offer!!

Very nice of you!

No problem at all! I love being able to help people out!

As for Beef and Barley soup, the hardest part is cooking the barley. Everything else is pretty straightforward. I'll go ahead and tell you how to make it, but unfortunately the recipe I use is the same recipe as a restaurant I work at and I signed a nondisclosure agreement, so I can't share specifics =\

First off, the barley:
I recommend buying the quick barley from your local grocery store (Meijer/Kroger for me) and following the instructions on the box. The barley really turns out quite well! If you'd rather cook it from completely raw, I can walk you through that as well. It's pretty similar to cooking rice.

Cut beef into chunks, around 1/2" to 1" in size (I recommend a roast, they're cheaper than if you buy something like a tenderloin and the meat will become tender anyways!).
In a stockpot (or something you can use to make soup), heat a little oil over high heat. Sear the beef chunks until brown on all sides.
Add your favorite beef stock/broth to the pot and stir, making sure to scrape up some of the residue left on the bottom of the pan (Fun fact: this stuff is called "fond" and adds a TON of flavor to the soup).
Let the soup simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the beef is tender (this really depends on what type of cut you used in the beginning, but rest assured the beef WILL get tender eventually).

While the beef and broth is simmering, saute carrot and celery until the carrot just barely begins to soften (it should still have a good bite to it!).
Add the onion and saute until it starts turning translucent.
Once you are done sauteing the veggies, add them to the broth!
At this point I also like to cut up yellow squash and zucchini to add towards the last 10 minutes of simmering, but it definitely isn't necessary.

Season the soup to your taste with salt and pepper and add the barley. Wallah, you have yourself a pretty darn good beef and barley soup!

drocknoel

I have a sensitivity to cherries and peaches (small doses make my soft palate itch; I've no desire to see what happens on larger doses). Are there reasonable non-pitted substitutes for these items in recipes?

I'm guessing you're sensitive to nectarines, apricots, and plums as well? If you are, then you're most likely allergic to all stone fruits.

That's a tough one. You could always try dried cranberries in recipes that call for dried cherries, but besides that there aren't too many things that emulate a cherry's flavor. You might have to stick with fruits like blueberries or raspberries (or other fruits that turn into a pulp quite easily). I'm sorry I don't have a real answer right now, but I'll ask around for you!

sitayaksha

I am trying to make a vegitable beef soup and I have not found a good recipe that has all the ingredients that I want to use( beef, red potatoes, celery, cabbage, onion, garlic, carrots and noodles) and I am so confused on how to use a recipe builder to make sure I have the calories accurate. Do you know some place to find a good recipe and how to put it into the builder to get it right

conniehv40

thank you!!!

I am going to keep checking back!!

KristenCook2

Bump

madhatter2013

Any low cal, high protein crock pot recipes would be great for me. I have all the time in the world in the morning to put something together but no time in the evening except to eat it. I use the crock pot to stay away from just making it easy and getting fast food. Always stocked with chicken, beef, fish and pork.

RllyGudTweetr

I have a sensitivity to cherries and peaches (small doses make my soft palate itch; I've no desire to see what happens on larger doses). Are there reasonable non-pitted substitutes for these items in recipes?

I'm guessing you're sensitive to nectarines, apricots, and plums as well? If you are, then you're most likely allergic to all stone fruits.

That's a tough one. You could always try dried cranberries in recipes that call for dried cherries, but besides that there aren't too many things that emulate a cherry's flavor. You might have to stick with fruits like blueberries or raspberries (or other fruits that turn into a pulp quite easily). I'm sorry I don't have a real answer right now, but I'll ask around for you!

It's actually just those stone fruits, as well as (apparently) birch bark, that cause the issue.

TKhamvongsa

What's the most effective way to make beef jerky? LOL I'm addicted but I want to learn how to make them versus buying time.