Professional Culinary Chef would like some feedback on food

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ourenchantedcottage
ourenchantedcottage Posts: 19 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello, Everyone!
I am a professional culinary chef, pastry chef, and ex- restauranteur and here for the same reason, most of you are here, to lose weight, support, and to support others. Here is the thing, I have always loved to make new creations. I will be posting in the near future recipes that not only have flavor (I hope) but can be healthy for someone that will be watching their weight. Because, I believe that if we are going to be successful at being healthy it is going to be a change in attitude, lifestyle, and foods.
There are some things in life that are constant, we all have to consume food and it has to be desirable to want to eat that dish again and again, besides now being healthy. But these food recipes that I am creating I want others that are not on a fitness program to desire.
I know that there are so many food recipes and ideas out there, but as a professional, I can truly say as my colleagues concur, that many of those recipes either are written to fail or lack taste. Some are so complex that people just don't have the time to prepare them.
So, here it is in the nutshell (low carb, right?), I was hoping to find people that would like to discuss food and what they are looking for in their meals, in return I will do my best to create dishes that will please your palette.

So let's all be creative on our journey to good health!
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Replies

  • NEOHgirl
    NEOHgirl Posts: 237 Member
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    I am a bit of a foodie and I will eat anything, I just make sure to keep my portions reasonable. I tend to stay away from fried things and cream sauces, but if I really want them I will have them. It's easy enough to make healthy things flavorful, you just need be thoughtful in the amount of seasonings, fat, etc. Don't be afraid of any of those things, just use enough to make it tasty. PS: not sure why the "low carb, right?" phrase is in there, no need to do low carb unless you medically have to or want to. It's an easy enough way to cut calories if that's the way you want to go. For me fiber is important (mom died of colon cancer), so I make sure the carbs I eat are all from veggies, fruits, and whole grains. Good luck.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    I feel that tasty food, especially calorie controlled food, need not have esoteric ingredients or weird substitutions. People need to try things such as roasted and grilled vegetables for example.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I tend not to trust recipes from any chef who doesn't understand that simple preparations of fresh ingredients is an excellent way to enjoy food (not that there isn't a place for more complex recipes, but it's just one way to create excellent meals). Many of these dishes are pretty easy to fit into calorie goals. I don't agree with you that many of them lack taste. Maybe it's just the sources you're going to, but I think we're in a golden age of cooking right now. As an enthusiastic home cook, there are so many ideas and inspirations that I can hardly keep up.
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
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    When I go out to eat, I look for dishes that let the ingredients shine. Quality meats and veggies that the chef can showcase to perfection. I like just enough sauce to highlight the dish, not enough to drown it. Super complicated presentations or preparations aren't all that appealing to me. I'm also not particularly interested switching out ingredients just to come in at a lower calorie count. If a dish is best made with beef or pork, please don't substitute turkey or chicken unless it will make it taste better or be presented in a new way. I have no fear of carbs, but I think most restaurants get the ratios wrong on the plate - they should serve much smaller portions of those. I don't need a mountain of potatoes with a normal serving or meat. My philosophy is that I should have roughly equal portions of the main components of a dish, so that I can eat a little of each in the same bite (carb/meat, anyway - veggies are sometimes different) and finish at the same time.

  • vxCricketxv
    vxCricketxv Posts: 27 Member
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    I love a good salad, however I never order one from anywhere. Generally, it's because the restaurant versions are loaded with calories that are near the equivalent of a cheeseburger. And like an above poster said, not enough protein. It may be weird, but I don't like cold salads either. The flavors seem to get lost. This post has inspired me to find some simple grilled romaine and veggie recipes! No iceberg lettuce...ever...on anything. :D
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    locally sourced (I love farm to table restaurants) - that are clean and simple like others have said - let the ingrediants shine for themselves
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Another home cook here. I also care more about balancing the macros and watching the overall calorie count. Carbs are not the enemy! I also try and reduce salt where I can to take care of other health markers.

    Foods and food prep I'm rather obsessed with lately include caramelizing onions and slow roasting curries. Just because they are such a calorie bomb, I typically reduce the cheese topping on a recipe to a quarter or a third. A very good, sharp cheddar can be so much more flavourful than a mountain of blah cheese. This, I am sure, you know already.
  • thewindandthework
    thewindandthework Posts: 531 Member
    edited July 2017
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    I'm not a recipe follower, but I do appreciate food ideas presented as formulae and concepts. To give two examples:
    • For a reduced fat vinaigrette, I do equal parts acid, oil, and emulsifier (as opposed to the much oiler traditional ratio).
    • 400F for 20-40 minutes (depending on cut size) works to roast pretty much any fleshy vegetable, and only scant amount of oil is necessary.
    General guidelines and formulae like those, which I can tailor to my personal tastes, access, and seasonality, are of much more use than carefully worded recipes.

    When I do look at recipes, it's more to get ideas for flavor combinations and cooking techniques which I then mix and match to my liking.

    As far as my own cooking goes, I love playing with flavors from all over the world, especially spices and herbs! Not much is more exciting than stumbling on a fantastic combination of flavors that's new to me. I remember in the late 90s realizing how brilliant peanut butter, chilis, and cilantro were together, and it opened me up not just to that combination (which I still love, btw), but to trying all kinds of different flavor profiles.

    Also--and this has nothing to do with your question, but maybe you can help--if you have ideas for what to do with this Nigerian okra powder I bought on a whim, I'd be totally open to that. I'm not much of a soup or stew person, so its use as a thickener is lost on me. I guess I need to start experimenting with it in sauces.

    Would you be presenting these recipes in a blog? A website? What do you actually have in mind?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    So you are asking people on this site to contribute ideas for recipes that you are going to then sell to people on this site?
  • thewindandthework
    thewindandthework Posts: 531 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    So you are asking people on this site to contribute ideas for recipes that you are going to then sell to people on this site?
    OP didn't say anything about their actual intentions; it sort of sounds like they were just going to present recipes. My assumption was a blog or something, which would be monetized with ads. It's a valid question, though; I asked about it in an edit in my post above before I saw your post.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    I'm a foodie and home cook. I'd love to talk about recipes and test your creations. If you really want to get into recipe writing, I'd strongly recommend The Recipe Writer's Handbook by Ostmann & Baker. I learned a lot from it.

    I do have a couple of observations that may inform your decision-making.
    --There's no reason for healthy food to be tasteless but there's also no reason for salt and sugar to rule over other flavors.
    --Too many so-called healthy recipes seem to have been developed with only an awareness of what the popular press is touting at present. Some are seemingly unaware of recent findings. For example, there are still folks out there trying to associate low fat with low cholesterol whereas this has been debunked.
    --There are too few recipes for whole grains. When whole grains are included wheat (emmer, spelt, freekeh, bulgur, etc.) and rye tend to be ignored.
    --There's a need for more recipes out there for simply adding flavor to one or two main ingredients, for example, dressings and seasonings for vegetables, fish, chicken, etc., that don't add up to a casserole and don't require much time to create. Like I just figured out that you can make a pretty good french mustard cream to drizzle if you just mix together 2:2:1 cream:sour cream:mustard and heat it up in the microwave. Yes, it's not a low calorie addition but if you only use a tablespoon at a time, it goes a long way to turn a bag of frozen green beans into something special.

    I've got a bunch of recipes at https://www.justapinch.com/me/heidicookssupper -- some are better than others and some are better written than others.
  • ourenchantedcottage
    ourenchantedcottage Posts: 19 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    So you are asking people on this site to contribute ideas for recipes that you are going to then sell to people on this site?



    Okay, Maybe I did not make myself clear. I have no intention of ever selling you anything. This is just for ideas that we can learn from each other. If I design a recipe, I will give it away. I am not that type of Chef that lies about what is in the recipe when others ask for it, nor do I try to make money off anyone. I beg forgiveness if that is was USMCMP thought. This is about cooking and fun. But I do put together ideas for people that give me ingredients. I hope that clarifies some issues that may be out there. Please- you can contact me by email.
    I am putting up some recipes and hope that everyone who wants can try them and give me feed back. I will always give my education away free.
    That said, let's have some with food!


  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    Where do you intend to share the recipes. As far as I know there's no way to share recipes on MFP no matter what the site says. It doesn't work and has been promised as coming soon for the several years I've belonged to the site. Did I miss something?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »
    Where do you intend to share the recipes. As far as I know there's no way to share recipes on MFP no matter what the site says. It doesn't work and has been promised as coming soon for the several years I've belonged to the site. Did I miss something?

    People often post recipes (and pictures) in the "Recipe" area, that could be what OP has in mind.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    As a diabetic, I'm always looking for recipes which are limited in carbs and low on the glycemic index. I enjoy learning new cooking techniques.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,617 Member
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    Darnit, I was hoping you'd send out samples. :)
  • ourenchantedcottage
    ourenchantedcottage Posts: 19 Member
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    HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »
    Where do you intend to share the recipes. As far as I know there's no way to share recipes on MFP no matter what the site says. It doesn't work and has been promised as coming soon for the several years I've belonged to the site. Did I miss something?

    I thought That I can let everyone know on this thread that I made a recipe available with the name of the recipes. I thought that is why they ask if you want to list the recipes. Am I wrong about that?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    ourenchantedcottage wrote: »
    HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »
    Where do you intend to share the recipes. As far as I know there's no way to share recipes on MFP no matter what the site says. It doesn't work and has been promised as coming soon for the several years I've belonged to the site. Did I miss something?

    I thought That I can let everyone know on this thread that I made a recipe available with the name of the recipes. I thought that is why they ask if you want to list the recipes. Am I wrong about that?

    If you post the recipe here or create a new thread with recipes it is okay. If you create a blog or Facebook page or a personal website to share your recipes it is a violation of the advertising policy on MyFitnessPal. That could be partially why they are asking.

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