The Art of Cuisine

Healthy Snacks for Everybody

These recipes are practically the Holy Grail of acceptable school snacks—suitable for the "allergy classrooms" at your child's school: no meat, no wheat, no dairy, no berries, no nuts. If only you'd found them sooner!

Safe Healthy Snacks

• Oatmeal Crisps recipe —Flourless, crunchy oatmeal cookies with a little bit of chocolate thrown in for good measure. If you are looking for a dairy-free cookie, you can omit the chips or seek out chocolate that has no milk solids and finely chop.

• Sunflower Seed Butter Cookies recipe —Perfect for kids (or anyone) who is allergic to peanut butter. Just check the label to be certain the sunflower seed butter wasn't processed in a plant that also processes peanuts. These are also gluten-free.

• Corn and Coconut Muffins recipe —Coconut takes the place of flour in the lightly sweetened muffins, while

buttermilk keeps them nice and tender. Angel flake coconut is what you'll typically find on the supermarket shelf-no need for a trip to the health food store. These will freeze successfully; wrap well and keep frozen up to 3 months.

• Snack Mix recipe — This savory take on a classic makes a great classroom snack. If you know your audience and that like things a little spicy, add a touch of chili powder or cayenne to the mix before baking.

• Fruit Power Bar recipe —The jury is out about oatmeal and gluten, although it seems that most people who are gluten-intolerant can handle oats. But if oats cause a problem these bars are for you. Quinoa flakes are gluten-free in addition to containing a fair amount of protein. Look for quinoa flakes in health food stores and some specialty shops.

Gluten Free Southern Spoon Carrot Cake

This is a recipe I revised from Betty Crocker. It is a healthy alternative to helping with a lower carb or gluten free diet. It is a very moist and high in fiber cake. If you try it please post comments on this recipe.

Recipe Link:

http://www.theartofcuisine.com/Recipes/Gluten%20Free%20Southern%20Carrot%20Spoon%20Cake.pdf

Please note all recipes are copyright by The Art of Cuisine and can not be posted on any other site without permission. 

Southern Carrot Spoon Cake

This cake is so moist that you have to leave it in the pan and spoon it out. This is not the prettiest cake, but the best tasting. You can manage to get it out of the pan to decorate it if you put parchment paper on the bottom of the cake pan (grease the paper and the pan) before pouring in the cake batter. Alternatively,just pour the cake batter into ramekins and make a fancy dessert. However, my family just leaves the cake in the pan and decorates it. This is a great cake for potlucks or holiday gatherings.Enjoy

Recipe Link:

http://www.theartofcuisine.com/Recipes/Southern%20Carrot%20Spoon%20Cake1.pdf

Why a personal trainer is making himself obese… on purpose

I read an article on yahoo today about this personal trainer making himself obese. Normally I share weight loss tips, but I had to share this one. I want others to know about this guy and his success. I wish him luck...

Yahoo Article

Watch Video

You can follow his journey click here.

What do you think of the NuVal Score system?

I don't know if any of you are aware of what you will be seeing in our grocery stores soon. It is called The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System, which helps you quickly and easily compare the nutritional value of the food you buy.

The system scores the overall nutritional value of food on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the NuVal™ Score, the higher the nutrition.Grocery stores will be posting this information soon.

What they are saying about the NuVal System:

The science behind it.

The NuVal™ System was developed by a team of nutrition andmedical experts from leading health organizations and universities.Using a patent-pending algorithm, the system considers more than 30 of the following nutrients found in food and beverages then summarizes their nutritional quality in a single number:· Carbohydrates· Protein · Fat· Fiber· Vitamins· Minerals. The Score considers how these nutrients influence health outcomes and relate to USDA and Institute of Medicine dietary guidelines.

How the NuVal™ System benefits you.

The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System helps you make informed decisions about food quickly, easily and with confidence - right inthe supermarket aisle. Why the NuVal™ System is so important.

The NuVal™ System considers more than 30 different nutrients,nutrition factors, and their impact on health outcomes to give youa fair account of a food's true nutritional value.

The NuVal™ System puts better nutritionright at your fingertips.

In addition to the overall nutritional score, you'll also find other vital attributes right on the NuVal™ shelf tag, including:· Gluten-free· Good source of fiber· Low saturated fat· 100 calories or less· Low sodium· Good source of vitamins Want To Learn More About NuVal™?

For more info, visit the Nuval™ Nutritional Scoring System website. (Click here)

To see NuVal Video & Website

Paleo Pulled Pork Wraps

Paleo Zesty BBQ Sauce

Well it just so happens that I created a delicious Paleo barbecue sauce last week when I made some BBQ Pulled Pork for my Paleo Pulled Pork Wraps. I wanted to make BBQ Pulled Pork but I wanted it Paleo, so I researched a bunch, to make sure all ingredients would go along with the Paleo Diet. I ended up getting a nice lean range feed pork roast putting it in a Crockpot and pouring this sauce all over it and slow cooking for 8 hours. It was just delicious and my clients are asking for more. Hey, some of them don’t even know that it is good for them and made with healthy ingredients.

Zesty Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

3 large cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 onion

1 6oz can tomato paste (preferableorganic)

1 to 1 1/2 cups of beef stock (I made my own but if you buy, you want it without salt and No MSG - Organic is best)

1 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon fresh black pepper

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons hot sauce or ½ teaspoonof cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Blend in food processor garlic and onion until minced. You want your BBQsauce a little chunky but the more fine you dice these, the better the flavorwill spread through the entire sauce.

2. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Start with 1 cup beef stock and addmore depend on how thick you want your sauce.

3. Bring sauce to heat on stove with a low setting.

4. Cover and simmer. Stir frequently and taste regularly. The longer yousimmer, the more consistent your flavor will be. I simmered for 20-30 minutes.

5. Enjoy!

Extra can be stored in refrigerator.

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Proceeds from this interactive cookbook will help the Sacramento Children's Home, with 25% of proceeds will go to helping the children and this wonderful cause. From an author thoroughly versed in light, easy, delicious cooking comes the ultimate guide updating classic American and gourmet dishes presenting new delights. Most of the recipes include are a healthy version of your family favorites and have ingredient variation, or time savings make-ahead serving suggestion almost all recipes come with a color photos, and Chef Linda has included some shopping list for each recipe and healthy tips to help make a delightful cooking experience.

Few things in life give me more pleasure than food, whether eating or cooking for the people I love. In addition, I’ve always known that somehow, some way, I would find my calling in the food world. For obvious reasons, I felt most comfortable around Italian food; it's what I grew up loving.

With everyone, feeling pressed for time and money our increasingly busy schedules, it’s easy for homemade weeknight meals to disappear from our lives. But never fear, Chef Linda Galyean is here to save dinner—and your sanity—with recipes that will help you put delicious affordable dinners on the table quickly and easily.

Chef Linda has garnered legions of fans with the tempting and time-savings healthy meals she cooks on television food segments. She takes it to the next level, creating week-by-week make-ahead meals and food plans that include healthy scrumptious sinful recipes made. For More Info

Look at all you get

We are having a tamale making party this Friday!

 It has been a while. By popular demand, my customers have asked me to make them again. It is time to make tamales again. They go fast so order now!

Click here to see our party photo's from Last year

The Art of Cuisine is making Organic Low Fat Gourmet Tamales again this Friday. These parties are so much fun for my crew and I. We just have a blast doing them; they are a lot of work but well worth it. Most people are nervous to try my Healthy Organic Tamales. Until they try them, and I love the reaction. You do not notice these are healthy for you. They are very moist and melt in your mouth. They do not leave you feeling tired or that heavy feeling. They are even Heart Friendly. Now how many tamales can you say are that and taste good! 

I am making more Gourmet Pork by popular demand. They are more traditional and so are my chicken tamales. I sold out of my Gourmet Pork tamales in just a few days last month. Therefore, I am making another batch of those traditional ones. I will be making Gourmet Chicken tamales and some not so traditional ones too. I will be making Lamb and my Vegetarian Italian Tamales that will become a new menu item if my clients like them. The lamb tamales are made for my Gluten Free Plado diet clients. The Italian Tamales are nothing Mexican about them. They are made with seasoned polenta, eggplant, zucchini, carrots, parmesan cheese, and lots of other veggies in a Italian tomato sauce. They will just surprise you how good they are. If you like, Italian food then you will love these. Even meat eaters love these veggie tamales. Plus, at Christmas time they make a great side dish. Hey, what a veggie dish all bundled up in one. You could get your daily servings of veggies in one of these tamales. I might make more gluten free tamales if enough people show interest in them. Email me and let me know if you are interested in more varieties of gluten free tamales and I will make another batch of different meats if enough people show interest.

One of the secret ingredients is Olive Oil.

These are all healthy made with olive oil instead of lard or shorting. Healthy for your heart and made with Organic meat and veggies. All of the Tamales have hidden veggies that most don't even notice but the veggies give flavor and vitamins. They came out the moistest tamales I have ever made and I think I have perfected the recipe. Try some and let me know what you think. I guarantee they are one of the best you have had.  I have restaurants wanting these tamales and my recipe. 

Click here to see book

No, I am not giving this recipe out. If you want something close my The Art of Cuisine Cookbook (above link) has a Beef Tamale Recipe and a Low Fat Chicken that are crowd pleasers and close to what I am making. I have changed the recipe and perfected it more and made it even more healthy.

I will do pictures and post them my blog for all of you to see the fun tamale party. So, check back next week and I will have more pictures up.

Gourmet Tamales if anyone wants any they are $20.00/Dozen

Phone (916)934-9230

Email: artofcuisine1@yahoo.com

Have a great weekend,

Chef Linda

Temperature Guide to Get the Best Out of the Best Types of Oil

Newest Client Question is "What's the best type of oil to cook with?"

With so many different types of oils available today, it can be hard to know which ones are the best for your health… Certain oils high in omega 6 fatty acids are not beneficial to us, causing an imbalance of  anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids and inflammatory omega 6′s.  When you cook oils that have high omega 3 OR 6 content, you damage them and they become oxidized and transform into free radicals, which harm the cells in our bodies.

Certain oils are better for you when heated and others should be eaten at room temperature on salads, etc. Among the best oils to cook with and to enhance your meals:

• Coconut oil
  
• Palm oil
  
• Olive oil
• Ghee (this is clarified butter for all you dairy eaters)

Here’s an easy-to-follow temperature guide to help you cook with any type of oil:

Oils that tolerate very high temperatures, frying, or browning

The following oils can be used to cook at high temperatures because their good properties will not be lost with the heat.

• Coconut oil
• Ghee

Oils that are great for cooking at medium temperature or lightly sautéed

To get the best out of the following oils, you can cook with them at medium temperatures.

• Olive oil
• Palm Oil
• Tallow (rendered animal fat)

Oils that should only be exposed to low temperatures or for baking

The following oils should not be heated at all before eating them. If you apply any heat to them, their properties will be lost and will become harmful to your health.

• Flax seed oil
• Fish oil
• Cod liver oil
• Nut Oils

In addition to these, all the other oils mentioned above can also be used at room temperature, providing many health benefits and much needed beneficial fats.

Cooking Tips:

Keeping Olive Oil and Other Oils Fresher Longer:

Moving then off the kitchen counter is only the first step. Here's how to prolong the life of the oils in your kitchen.

Shelf Life

Unopened: 1 year, Open: 3 months

Do check the harvest date printed on the label of high-end oils to ensure the freshest bottle possible. (Some labels cite an expiration date, which producers typically calculate as 18 months from harvesting. We think unopened olive oil can go rancid 1 year after the harvest date.)

Do move olive oil from the countertop or windowsill to a dark pantry or cupboard. Strong sunlight will oxidize the chlorophyll in the oil, producing stale, harsh flavors.

Don't buy olive oil in bulk. Unless you are me. I use so much with my cooking that I go though a very large Costco or Sam's Extra Virgin in a few months. But I am cooking for hundreds of people. Just note that once opened, it has a very short shelf life.

Checking for Freshness

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet. If it smells rancid, throw out the bottle. (This test works for all vegetable oils.)

Other Oils

Here's a quick guide to storing open bottles of oil in your kitchen. For optimal flavor, replace these oils 6 months after opening.

Store in Pantry

• CanolaCorn
• Peanut
• VegetableStore in Fridge
• Sesame
• Walnut

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Frying:

I don't fry very much but I get this question often too.

Here's a trick that takes the guesswork out of determining when frying oil is hot. Simply place a kernel of popcorn in the oil as it heats up. The kernel will pop when the oil is between 350 and 365 degrees, just the right temperature for deep-frying.

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Another Good Cooking Tip:

I had this question a couple years ago and posted the answer. I will repost it with this blog.

Question:

"Even when stored in an airtight container in a dark cupboard, used frying oil can taste fishy and stale after more than a month. Is there a better way to store it for re-use?"

Answer:

A cool dark cupboard is fine for the short term, since exposure to air and light hastens oil’s rate of oxidative rancidification and the creation of off-flavors and odors. But for long-term storage (beyond one month), the cooler the storage temperature the better. We fried chicken in vegetable oil and then divided the oil (strained first) among three containers and stored them in various locations: in a cool, dark cupboard; in the refrigerator; and in the freezer. Two months later, we sautéed chunks of white bread in each sample and took a taste. Sure enough, the oil from the cupboard had turned fishy and unpleasant and the refrigerated sample only somewhat less so, while the oil kept in the freezer tasted remarkably clean. Why? Though an absence of light is important, very cold temperatures are most effective at slowing oxidation and the production of peroxides, which are the source of rancid oil’s unpleasant taste and smell. That’s why storing oil in the super-cold, dark freezer is your best bet for keeping it fresh.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Happy Healthy Cooking,

Chef Linda

My brain just does not work anymore….

I had a client inspire me to write this blog. She sent me and email stating she went to email me three times and got side tracked. It seems I do this all the time lately and I am hearing the same from more women in my circle. I ask myself is it the added stress we put ourselves under every day? Is it more stress these days because of the economy? Yeah, right let's blame the economy. I am so sick of hearing that! Is it our environment? Is it the foods we eat and the microwaves we use eating our brain cells? Alternatively, is it the cellular waves in the air interfering with our brains? On the other hand, is it just we are getting old and our brain is not producing as it was.

I am not the only one trying to figure out how to get smarter or at least keep what little smarts you have. I have given up on us getting smarter. I am looking for ways to boost our brainpower and let me tell you it is big business. In addition to ever-popular alertness boosters like coffee and Red Bull, pills like Focus Factor and Brain Advantage are hot items, with customers shelling out $70 per month or more to stay on top of their mental games. Ginkgo biloba, an herbal supplement billed as a memory enhancer, generates nearly $1 billion in annual sales in the U.S. alone. Some folks go even further: as the prestigious journal Nature recently reported, 20 percent of scientists responding to a survey admitted to taking so-called cognition-enhancing drugs like the stimulants Ritalin (to aid focus) and Provigil (to stay alert without caffeine’s jitteriness), without apology. “It is my duty to use my resources to the greatest benefit of humanity,” said one respondent. One-third said they’d even feel pressure to give their own children these drugs if other kids in their circles were also using them. No, I will not resort to doing that to my children or even myself.

There is no way I am ready to pump myself with drugs in order to remember something more quickly, I did want to regain control of my mind, and, if I could,head off cognitive decline. The main question I ask now is could improving my diet help? I began scouring the science to find out. I also wondered whether the American diet I’ve been spoon-fed (and am currently spoon-feeding my children) was to blame for my mental malaise. I wanted to figure out whether a smart menu at each stage of life could fend off dullness and make me—and my family—sharper.

I am still researching and testing these diets, but here is what I found.DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, a long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid in the omega-3family that’s found in fish and their roe (particularly fattier types like salmon and sardines) is the magic nutrient du jour. I have seen literally hundreds of studies investigating its power to prevent cardiovascular disease.Now the focus has turned to the brain: dozens of studies report that mother animals deprived of DHA have offspring with memory, sensory and visual problems, and that supple menting them with DHA improves their performance on learning, memory, and problem-solving tasks. This makes intuitive sense: DHA forms the back bone of much of the brain cells’ membranes.

So, I found that test have been done when the mother eats omega-3 foods, the baby is in the womb and after birth, could have the same positive effect on human infants. Researchers collected umbilical cord blood from 109 newborns. They analyzed the DHA concentration in their cord blood (a good measure of how much DHA the mother consumed during her last few months of pregnancy), and then tested how well the infants performed on tests throughout their first year. They found that at 6 months and 11 months, infants whose cord blood had the highest concentrations of DHA performed better on a number of different tests—such as recognizing faces—than those with lower levels. “The mother’s intake during the third trimester, when the brain’s neurons and synapses are developing at a veryrapid rate, is most important. When we focused on that period, we found the most evidence of beneficial effects,” researchers say. I say "Wow, that is huge to any of my clients that are soon to be mommy's". I will pass this info on to everyone I know, just another good reason to write this blog.

So what does that tell me? Yes, we are what we eat, and we need to really analyze what we are feeding our children even before they are born and even the first stages of life. So, I want to get this information out there to my readers and let you know it is not too late. Try these few changes to your diet and let me know the out come. 

Here is a list that I found on Eating Well’s website

Smart food for every age...

Are you getting enough of the right nutrients to support healthy cognitive function and improve memory? EatingWell’s quick guide to food solutions willshow you how.

1)      Go fish.

Women who eat fatty fish,such as salmon, during their third trimester of pregnancy have babies who tendto perform better on cognitive tasks. Researchers think the omega-3 fatty acidDHA is needed during this time to build neurons and their connections. Can’t do fish then take an Omega-3 supplement or even buy Omega Eggs. The whole family can benifit from this.

Food solutions: Salmon and other fatty fish, DHA-fortified eggs and yogurt.

2)    Infant/Baby

Add Iron. By 5 or 6 months,babies have used up the iron stores they’re born with and need to get iron fromfood or supplements to support brain development.

Food solutions: Iron-fortifiedcereals

3)    Child/Teen

Morning fuel. School-agedchildren should start their day with low-glycemic-index breakfast foods.

Food solutions: Bran cereals,oatmeal, or whole-wheat bagels.

4)    Young Adult

Got iron? 10 percent of women areanemic and new studies show that being even mildly iron-deficient affectslearning, memory, and attention. Luckily, restoring iron levels to normal alsorestores cognitive function.

Food solutions: Dark leafy greens,beans, meat, or soy.

5)    Older Adult

Eat your antioxidants. People who eat more brightly colored fruits and leafy vegetables have less cognitive decline than those who don’t; antioxidants in produce may mop up free radicals and protect neurons from damage.

Food solutions: Berries and other fruits, greens and turmeric (which contains curcumin).

So, what I have concluded from doing this blog is that I will be adding more Omega to my clients menus. I will now use Omega Eggs, and Add more Fish to my Menus. Plus, include a lot more Antioxidants on the menu too. This should help keep my family and my clients healthy. Which is my main goal.After all my family and I eat from the same menus as my clients.

Thank you for reading this blog. Please give me your input and if you know something that works, please share with my readers.

Healthy Happy Cooking,

Chef Linda