Picture - Broccoli, tomato sauce, cottage cheese, fresh herbs on spaghetti squash.
I started cooking professionally as a way to learn how to cook for myself. I figured, what better way than in a restaurant. Eleven years later I still didn't know how to cook for myself. Don't get me wrong, I knew how to make food taste good, but I didn't know what to feed myself to keep myself healthy!
What I used to do • Use wheat products everywhere - pasta, bread, sauces and/or fill the plate with starches and lots of carbs
• Balancing flavours with more sugar, more salt, more butter
• Deep frying and cooking with polyunsaturated oils in abundance - canola, vegetable, etc
• Empty calories taste so good, add texture, mouthfeel and fill the plate
What I do now
• No wheat, I personally have an intolerance to wheat, I learned this while working in a pasta restaurant - I cook a lot less carbs and more vegetables. For example, this dish is spaghetti squash in place of pasta
• One thing I learned in fine dining was the importance of quality ingredients, this is something I took with me, freshness makes a difference
• More vegetables and take into account fibre
Now I blend both worlds and make healthy food taste good