What do you first think of when you think of healthy food? Many people are immediately turned off when they hear it, they think of a meal that includes salad without dressing, steamed vegetables, buckwheat or brown rice and a piece of grilled chicken without sauce. That does NOT sound appetizing.
We all want to enjoy our food not have it be flavorless "healthy" food. But there is a misconception around healthy food. Food CAN be both healthy and delicious and there is even room for desserts in a healthy lifestyle. Healthy food does not have to cost more money or be prepackaged and labeled as "healthy" or "natural". Last night I went to a lecture by Udi Barkan and Osher Eidelman titled "The Simple Revolution" (direct translation). The entire lecture I felt like they had crawled inside my head and stolen all my thoughts. Everything they said directly correlated with everything I am trying to say on my blog and it was so refreshing to finally hear 2 dietitians and chefs making a difference in the way people think about healthy food. Because they are both dietitians AND chefs they have the knowledge both about nutrition and the body as well as how to create amazing, presentable and delicious meals. After all, we eat with our eyes and healthy food can and should look good and presentable.
Presentation is especially important when feeding toddlers and kids. How many times have you tried to offer something to a child only to get a harsh refusal before they have even touched the food? To me it happens all the time with my 15 month old. Even if it is a food I know my son has liked in the past or the day before, if it is not presented in the right way he might not even try it. It is so frustrating!
In the lecture Osher mentioned a time when they gave a workshop for kids and parents on healthy eating and at the end they had them try the healthy foods they made. But the kids barely wanted to try it and didn't enjoy it. So at the next workshop they decided to try something else with the same food - they had the kids leave the room for 5 minutes while they cleaned up the mess and organized the tables with pretty plates. This time the kids LOVED the food. The only explanation for this is that the kids bought into the presentation and look of the food and it worked to get them to enjoy it. It's really those simple actions and taking just one more moment of thought into preparing food that can make the difference in getting you and your kids to eat well.
Another unique perspective that Udi and Osher bring to their "Simple {Healthy} Food Revolution" is that since they are both chefs; they know about how to create exciting and tasty recipes that will make you love eating real whole foods. One of the main roadblocks people face in eating and preparing healthy food at home is that they assume they do not know how to cook. They think that in order to prepare healthy foods they need to have fancy equipment, buy specific foods at the health food store and then know how to chop it the right way, how to cook it and how to serve it. Though they are chefs who know all about how to cook the perfect high quality restaurant meals they also believe that cooking healthy food does not have to be difficult and fancy. Everyone knows how to boil pasta but boiling a cup of lentils seems so much harder when in reality it is done in exactly the same way.
Cooking healthy food is not difficult and you don't need a degree from culinary school or a lot of money in order to prepare simple delicious and nutritious food for the whole family.
A second roadblock we face in today's modern world in preparing healthy foods is: time. We are all busy sitting in traffic to and from work and come home tired. All we want is to call for some delivery and call it a day. In the lecture Udi and Osher gave some tips on making sure healthy food is available in your fridge at all times so that you can come home tired and still be able to pop something in the microwave or the oven and have a nutritious meal that takes less time to make than deciding where to order from. You just have to plan ahead a little and prepare an extra batch or two of whatever you make over the weekend and either freeze or keep in the refrigerator for the next few days. Another tip they gave is to keep cut up vegetables and homemade salad dressings in the fridge to help get you to eat more vegetables.
The key is to make healthier options available so that it is EASY to consume them.
One last thing about making the foods available that I really loved is that they discussed items you should keep in your pantry and how to shop for vegetables so that you always have options. Instead of going out to buy the exact items you need at the supermarket each time you want to make dinner, buy a variety of different things to encourage you to be more creative in the kitchen. I can totally relate to this, I never really worked with shopping lists for fruits and vegetables. I like to just browse the produce section and choose a couple of whatever looks the freshest and that I know won't go bad too soon. That way, you save time by making less trips to the market and you learn to use what you have rather than worrying that you don’t have the exact ingredient a recipe calls for. I think this also forces you to be creative in the kitchen. It may seem intimidating at first but with some practice and trial and error you WILL succeed.
Eating healthy IS easy, delicious, simple and inexpensive.
By making small changes in the way we think about eating in order to add nutrition whenever possible and make it taste good we can cook healthier and more delicious foods. This I think sums up their main message and also what I believe in. They also advocate for the Mediterranean Diet, which as you know by my 2 posts on the topic (1, 2) I am a big fan of as well. I hope they will be successful in reaching as many people as possible with their Simple Healthy Food Revolution.
To learn more and for their recipes check out their facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/UdiandOsher/?ref=py_c
Sheet Pan Dinners Made Simple:
Sheet pan dinners are my go-to on busy nights. I love that I can put a bunch of veggies and protein such as chicken breast or tofu, put it in the oven and play with my son while the oven is making dinner :-) Bonus points since, using parchment paper to line the sheet pan makes for super easy clean up. The options and flavor combinations are endless when it comes to preparing sheet pan dinners but here are some of my tips:
Tools:
- 1 sheet pan
-Parchment paper for lining the pan
- Oven set on 175-200C (350-400F) with the fan on.
- Small bowl for mixing the spices
Spices:
There is no need to use any store bought sauces when there are so many easy sauces to make at home that are just as delicious and much cheaper and healthier. If you like teriyaki you can use salt, pepper, a little brown sugar, ginger powder, soy sauce, lemon juice and olive oil. Another go-to combination of mine is salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric, cumin, garlic and olive oil. There are so many more combinations it just takes a little imagination and I promise you will find something you like.
Vegetables:
You can cut them up in large pieces as pictured above or much smaller in cubes depending on time and preference. When the pieces are large, you should brush the olive oil and spice mixture. If you cut the pieces small, toss them with the olive oil and spice mixture. Almost any vegetable will taste great when baked in the oven but some things that I like to use that have similar baking times are: zucchini, bell peppers, green beans, tomatoes, broccoli, eggplant, mushrooms and whatever else you have. If something is harder such as carrots, just cut it up smaller so that it has a similar baking time.
Protein:
This is definitely not a must, you could use leftovers or something frozen. My favorites especially for a weekday are chicken breast cut into slices, fish and tofu cubes but you could also use chicken thighs or steak. For the chicken breast and tofu, mix together with the veggies using the same spice mixture.
Carbohydrates:
Sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash and potatoes are great options but you could also use something leftover or make rice or pasta on the side.
1. Place all ingredients on your prepared sheet pan and place in the hot oven until the veggies and meat are golden browned and fork soft to your liking.
2. Dinner is served :-)
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