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Happy Thursday from The Green Kitchen!

Wow, four back-to-back days of cooking and I think I’ll take myself out for lunch. Oh wait, I have some fabulous leftovers in the frig. Do you choose to eat out for convenience? Shouldn’t eating out be a real treat? A restaurant that makes the best ___________? A special occasion or reason to celebrate? Isn’t that how it used to be?

I think I am a fairly decent cook, else I wouldn’t have chosen to be a chef as a career. So when I am out and about and tempted to stop for fast food or something convenient, I first think about what is in my frig at home. 9 times out of 10, there is something there not only more delicious than fast food, but certainly more healthy.

It always comes down to choices. What tastes better? What’s healthier?

Choosing to eat healthier should be a no-brainer. And here at The Green Kitchen, we can help you with that.

This is just a sampling of what my clients have in their refrigerators this week: Chicken Cacciatore over Fresh Spinach and Roasted Spaghetti Squash, Pomegranate Turkey with Fresh Steamed Broccoli, Chicken and Arugula Quesadillas, Oven-Roasted Salmon with Butternut Squash Puree and Grilled Asparagus, Local Cerdito Sausage with Grilled Carrots and Steamed Peas, Grilled Boneless Pork Chops with Green Beans and Mashed Potatoes, Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup with Salad.

Why not let The Green Kitchen help you with those choices? Give us a call. We’d love to help.

cheftammy@greenkitchenrichmond.com
Or 804-687-7099. And check out www.greenkitchenrichmond.com for some great testimonials.

Good Saturday morning. It’s been a couple of very busy weeks for The Green Kitchen and I’ve been remiss in my blogging duties.

For those following my Whole30 journey before, I lasted 2 weeks. Am I afraid to admit failure? Not in the least. But I really don’t consider it failure. I did lose 4 lbs in just those couple of weeks. The lesson learned was how certain foods made me feel once I returned to eating them. I noticed during those 2 weeks on Whole30 that I had more energy and yet when I went back to certain foods, my energy level declined. So now, I am more aware of my food choices.

Recently I had a conversation with some women in the business mentoring group that I belong to centered around my question of why is so hard to develop good habits? In particular, good eating habits. Their answer was simple. And that is to make a conscious decision when choosing what to eat – ask yourself “is this going to make me feel good or bad?” And that means not only within your body and how it functions but also emotionally. Emotional eating can wreck havoc on one’s self and I have been guilty of that for years. Drowning one’s self in a bag of chips or carton of ice cream because you’ve had a bad day will not make you feel any better. It will trick you to feel comforted.

It can be likened to shopping for the right clothes. You go to different stores, trying on different outfits until you find the right one. We have to do the same thing with food. Make the smart choice so you can look and feel good about yourself.

The Green Kitchen has been fortunate enough to work with clients suffering from various illnesses and diseases. We recently had a big “win” of a doctor referral. His patient suffers from anti-inflammatory issues and needs to change her eating habits. He referred her to me and we are working together creating meals with the right ingredients to combat her issues.

How about you? What are your dietary challenges? Do you suffer from an illness or disease? Or do you just not have time to cook or possibly just don’t like to cook? Why not let The Green Kitchen help you with those challenges? Give us a call. We’d love to help.

cheftammy@greenkitchenrichmond.com
Or 804-687-7099. And check out www.greenkitchenrichmond.com for some great testimonials.

 

Good and beautiful snowy Wednesday morning everyone. Please stay safe and warm.

My day began with black coffee and a mission to take down my Christmas decorations. With 2 dogs, there is no point in trying to keep the house clean in this weather, but I can at least get it back in order.

And now to Whole30. I have had a few weaknesses, admittedly so. I was out with friends last Friday for a nice dinner and decided to have cocktails. It had been 12 days. Since then I have had some of the other “no-nos”, a little pasta, a little bread, a little cheese. Part of me feels like a failure, however and more importantly, what I’ve realized is how those “no-nos” have made me feel. A little pasta left me feeling very bloated. And I can’t quite put into words the comparison of eating “dead foods” v. “live foods”. But wait, maybe that is the perfect explanation. These fillers of bread and pasta leaves one feeling full, but uncomfortable. One does not realize what exactly their diet consists of until they omit some things.

So, I retract the statement of feeling like a failure. A quote I heard recently is that “I don’t fail, I learn”. I am learning how to eat better and how certain foods make me feel. And on the upside, I have lost 3.2 pounds since beginning January 3rd. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, the picture below is a meal I cooked for a client, who is recovering from cancer. I am cooking from a book titled Cancer-Free Kitchen. Aren’t these colors beautiful?!

This is what The Green Kitchen does. We specialize in menus literally catered to our clients’ needs. We are also working with a client who needs an anti-inflammatory diet. And another who is off carbs completely.

What are your dietary needs? Let’s meet and discuss how The Green Kitchen can help. cheftammy@greenkitchenrichmond.com
Or 804-687-7099. And check out www.greenkitchenrichmond.com for some great testimonials.

A new year! A new journey! Happy New Year everyone. And this will be my motto this year – a new journey!

So, as curious minds want to know how my Whole30 program is going – I’ve lost nearly 3 lbs. I started black coffee on December 30 and that was also the last day I had any alcohol. I’ve had an underlying headache that seems to come and go, which I’ve learned it’s a “sugar withdrawal” headache. Never have I heard of such until now.

Resolve and resistance are the words that come to mind for myself particularly. When my physician told me 18 months ago that I couldn’t eat 20+ things due to my diabetes, I scoffed at her, went home and started exercising. I didn’t join a gym or hire a personal trainer. I started walking and using that “clothes hanger” of a recumbent bike that lives in my spare bedroom. By June 2017, I’d lost nearly 40 lbs and my A1-C came down to 5.4 – the normal range! Resolve!

Truly the answer to bettering ourselves is all in our mind. One must resolve to do something about it. It’s as simple as that.

So what have you resolved to do for yourself this year? Exercise more? Eat better? No one will prioritize you more than yourself. It’s not being selfish. It’s being generous. The better you take care of yourself, the more you will have to offer to others and the world around you.

Follow this chef on her own personal journey of eating better and taking care of herself. Better yet, join her! The Green Kitchen would love to work with you with any dietary concerns and if you are interested in the Whole30 program, I can help with that as well!

www.greenkitchenrichmond.com or cheftammy@greenkitchenrichmond.com or 804-687-7099!

Here’s to a fantastic 2018 for all of us!

A new year! A new journey! Happy New Year everyone. Waking up this morning to our second snowfall of this winter. Kind of has me worried about the rest of winter. But it is still beautiful to look at and the air is so fresh. Love it.

So let’s hear them – your new year’s resolutions that is. In the past, mine have always been to lose weight and save money. But I quit making resolutions because they didn’t seem to ever work. If you stop to think about it though, it’s what’s in us that doesn’t work. It’s one thing to speak a commitment and another to uphold it.

2017 brought a lot of changes for me, all good I am happy to say. I jumped off the deep end in marketing The Green Kitchen and it is starting to pay off. I became involved with a great business coach and group and learned how to focus. I am still learning. Just like anything else you begin, results take time.

And many of you know I have diabetes, but am managing it quite well with medicine and exercise. In June 2016, I began losing weight and over the course of the next year, I lost close to 40 pounds. My A-1 C came down to a normal range and in June 2017, my doctor cut my meds in half. Vacation in August almost ruined me though, and with an injury to my hip, the exercise has had to stop for a while. But at my last appointment, my numbers have only increased slightly and the doc is still happy with my progress.

And now to 2018. I won’t call it a resolution, but I have started Whole 30 – no alcohol, dairy, grains nor added sugar for 30 days. At first, I truly thought no alcohol would be hard, but here we are on the second day, and I am realizing it’s the no breads or dairy that will be tough. Committing to this and even on just the second day, has made me painfully aware of my diet. So wish me luck.

And if any of you out there would like help with your dietary “resolutions”, The Green Kitchen would love to help you on your journey. Email me at cheftammy@greenkitchenrichmond.com or call 804-687-7099. Happy 2018.