Teaching 'Losers'

At work, we have the ‘Biggest Loser’ challenge and yes, it is a take off, of the TV show, promoting weight loss in a healthy and fit way. Obviously our company can not provide trainers or cameras to make sure people are losing weight in a positive manner (no fad diets, cabbage soup diet, grapefruit diet, weight loss drugs, etc), so our department decided to help by giving friendly tips and advice. My co-worker Gabel who has a Masters in Food Science, gives lectures on measuring body mass index, effects of mass calorie consumption, how to cut these amounts of calories down, and interpreting those blasted nutrition labels! My contributions are cooking classes while my other co-worker, Amy calculates the calories of the meal, while giving tidbits of the menu, such the team effort! The idea is provide people with the confidence of picking out fresh vegetables, fruit, grains, and lean meat while using a wide range of cooking techniques and flavors to prepare a nice meal. I forgot to mention we all work at a major frozen food company, ironic indeed.

For the first class, I found myself in front of 30 colleagues walking through searing chicken, the ins and outs of the supergrain, ‘Quinoa’, white vs. wheat (bread and rice) and the greats of seasonal produce at the local farmer’s market. In my second class, I encouraged discovering new cuisines/flavors, the benefits of pork ('the other' white meat), and discussed 5 exciting cooking techniques (braising, roasting, sauteing, stewing, poaching)!

On the menu, this last time.... grilled peaches…ahhh, peaches, you say, yes, that’s what my students said. Come on, let’s try to look at the old conventional peach differently, I said in class! It’s versatile and wants to be different, no more cobblers or eaten plain! I marinated my peaches in a butter simple syrup, then grilled it, adding another dimension of caramelization. BTW, simple syrup is a ratio of 1 to 1 water to sugar, my rendition of butter is for extra fat….oh, I mean flavor. Topped with ice cream, WOWsers! If you’d like to see my recipes for class, drop me a comment and I’ll be happy to share via email.

FYI, here’s what’s in and fresh for Spring at your local supermarket:

English Peas, Fava Beans, Morel Mushrooms, Asparagus, Radishes, Cauliflower, New Potatoes, Strawberries, Rhubarb, Artichokes, Ramps, Green Garlic (pictured), Blackberries, Vidalia onions