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How Cooking Makes You Smarter

January 25, 2017January 25, 2017 Rachel Sherwood

With the discovery of fire humans first learned how to cook. Cooking is what sets us apart from other animals. The argument can be made that cooking and cooking alone is what played the developmental role in creating our advanced species, turning us from naked apes to modern humans. Humans are so much smarter because we can cook!

Cooking breaks down fibers making nutrients more readily available, so our digestive systems required less energy to get the calories we need to live and function well. Research suggests that this increase in readily available and easily digestible calories lead to our increased brain size. We no longer had to spends hours chewing raw foods just to survive we now had more than we need to provide energy to live and extra time to do other things leading to more advanced human development over centuries. This is still true even today when we have become so “smart” that we now have machines that make food for us so we have even more time to do other things.

But my questions to you is: Have we gotten too smart and advanced in allowing so much of our food to be prepared by machines? Outsourcing the act of cooking to companies so much are we actually starting to go the other way. By not cooking are we a becoming less smart and connected?

When we cook we are using a variety of cognitive skills at the same time to create a meal. Even before we touch the ingredients a meal idea is formed and organized. To plan a meal takes anticipation, strategic ability, advance planning, and problem solving. The actual physical “work” of chopping, mixing and kneading uses hand-eye coordination, develops motion control. As meal time nears jugging the cooking times and preparing several items at ones takes concentration, visual, spatial awareness and memory skills as we multitask ensuring all the pieces come together just as we had planned hopefully. If not you are back to problem solving and improvising “Plan B” for dinner.

Making and sharing a meal is also a way to stimulate social skills and language development in young children. The activity of dining together actually helps us stay mentally fit. Several research studies show that sharing a meal together is good for the overall health and wellbeing of the entire family. Cooking not only helps our brains stay fit but also keeps us happier because we are connecting and creating community together while sharing a meal.

Dr. Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist at Stanford, explains a study related to how food choices influence mood. She writes:

“Now, most of us think that eating out is a treat, and that indulgent meals are a special reward. But this study found that women were significantly happier and less stressed after eating at home, and after eating healthier meals.”

She concludes,

“The home is a privileged environment that nurtures healthy eating and in which healthier food choices trigger more positive emotions.”

I believe fully that food is needed for us to live and cooking is an essential life skill we all need to lead happy, healthy, quality lives but through food we can also learn about math, science, art, history and culture. Through cooking we allow for so much more than just filling our stomachs. Cooking helps us stay smart, happy and leave a legacy.

For more ideas on how to incorporate these elements in your everyday meals contact me today for a free phone session and find out how to enhance your strengths and create more value in your family meals.

Did you miss an earlier post?

Here are the earlier New Year, New You Topics:
Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail
Lose Weight by Eating More
Cut Your Grocery Bill Without Cutting Coupons

Cut Your Grocery Bill Without Cutting Coupons

January 19, 2017January 25, 2017 Rachel Sherwood

Welcome back to the New Year, New You series. Is your resolution to save a little cash this year? If so this post if for you. Besides who could not benefit from a little extra spending money if you are tired of clipping coupons, but you still want the best deals while shopping. Try out these top 10 ways to shop smarter and save. Following these techniques, both your stomach and wallet will stay full.

Tired of clipping coupons, but you still want the best deals while shopping? Try out these top 10 ways to shop smarter and save. Following these techniques, both your stomach and wallet will stay full.

1. Don’t Shop From the Middle of the Shelf Product placement in grocery stores comes with a premium price tag. The national brands and most popular items are conveniently placed at eye level and are easy to reach. Shop the top and bottom shelves to find the best deals. Look for store brands, generic and private labels. These items are just as good if not better than national brands and they almost always come with a lower price tag. Many of the products are actually made by the same manufacturers as national brands, only ending up at the store with a different picture on the same can.

2. Cut Costs With Your Knives Don’t buy already cut-up produce. These items usually contain a preservative to keep them fresh after they are cut and you are paying a premium for this processed product. By learning how to use your knives efficiently, keeping them sharp and knowing what knife is best for a particular task, you will enjoy cutting items and cutting your bills. This also goes for meat products, as well. Instead of buying a package of boneless chicken breast and a package of thighs, buy a few whole birds when they are on sale and cut and package the pieces into portions that are easy for your family use. To sharpen your knife skills, sign up for The Cutting Edge class which will be offered this spring. Check upcoming newsletters or the Classes page on our website for more info as it comes available.

3. Stock Up the Savings When the items you use more often are on sale…

Continue Reading “Cut Your Grocery Bill Without Cutting Coupons”

Mashed Cauliflower

January 12, 2017January 12, 2017 Rachel Sherwood

Mashed Cauliflower

1 large head cauliflower. About 6 cups of flowerets
4-6 cloves garlic, peeled
¼ cup butter or extra virgin olive oil + ¼ cup if roasting
¼ cup cream
¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Clean cauliflower, remove the core and break into 1-2 in flowerets pieces.

Cook Cauliflower: Choose your desired cooking method, I like roasting best for flavor but this method takes longer. If you are shot on time try boiling or microwaving.

Roast: Heat the oven to 375 degrees, place prepared cauliflower flowerets and peeled garlic in a roasting pan, drizzle with extra ¼ cup butter or olive oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, stir to coat. Place pan in the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes until tender. (covered un covered?)

Boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon salt to the water. Add prepared cauliflower flowerets and garlic. Boil for 7-10 minutes until tender.

Steam: Place a steamer, insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add cauliflower, cover, and steam until tender, about 15 minutes.

Microwave: on high for 4-8 min until cooked and tender (covered un covered?)

Remove cauliflower from the chosen cooking method and place in a bowl. Combine with remaining butter or oil, cream cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Mash with a potato masher or two large forks to get desired consistency.

For a smoother mash place half of the cauliflower mixture with the butter/oil, cream and cheese in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. (a blender will be smoother than a food processor) then combine with the remaining half of the cauliflower to mix and mash together to achieve desired consistency.

For a smooth puree add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor. Again a food processor will not be completely smooth. Add additional cream or milk to tin down and reach desired consistency

To make a cauliflower Gratian: cook and process cauliflower as desired, place in a buttered baking dish and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until hot and broil for the last 5 minutes to brown the cheese on top.

Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.

Lose Weight by Eating More

January 12, 2017January 13, 2017 Rachel Sherwood

I am not going to lie to you: change is hard. We all say we want change but so often when change actually starts to happen, we experience resistance. We really do like things the same and when change starts to occur, we become uncomfortable. Only about 8% of people are successful in achieving their New Year’s Resolutions but your chances for success are higher when you work with someone. I am here to help you achieve your goals. Whether it is eating better, staying healthy, losing weight, saving money, learning something new or spending more time with loved ones, you can achieve all of this through food. Over the next few weeks, I will share some thoughts and secrets for success. This week is all about change.

Read my story on How to Lose Weight by eating more and get recipes here

Over the past year, my husband and I have made several changes as we figure out this new life with baby and now budding toddler. It seems every day is a change and a challenge but, with that, there are also several wonderful joys and blessings that come with these growing pains. One of the biggest changes for our family was changing my diet to eliminate gluten and refined sugars.

At first this was really hard, ok extremely hard. The first few months, I was so tired, hungry and frustrated as I was learning how to cook to incorporate this lifestyle. So many favorites and easy “good foods” like jarred pasta sauce were now off limits. I kept looking at all this food that I “couldn’t have.” It really didn’t get better until I did a complete pantry purge and got rid of all these non-acceptable foods. Then, I filled my house with all the things I could have.

This was a profound moment and a mind shift for me. Instead of thinking about and looking at all the food I could not have, I now had so many options of all the things I could have. It was easier from this point and I have had a great time discovering wonderful new healthier alternatives to the things I love.

The trick is to focus on what you can have not what you can’t. Subconsciously, we will always want what we can’t have. My focus shifted very strongly toward all real, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods. I am actually eating more food now than I ever did before, but I weigh significantly less. I am consuming only high quality calories that my body can process easily. It sounds easy but it is true, eat less junk and more real food.

One of my favorite alternatives is cauliflower, as I have found this to be a very versatile vegetable. It can be used in so many ways from pizza crust

(Cauliflower Pizza Crusts)

and “bread” for grilled cheese to a great substitute for mashed potatoes. Try out this recipe for mashed cauliflower next time you are craving starchy mashed potatoes.

(Mashed Cauliflower)

With all change, there will always be an uncomfortable sticking point that we must push through to see benefits and experience the rewards of our work. I did learn how to cook differently and create simple ways to eat real food without wheat or any refined sugars. Focusing on just these two things, I now sleep better, look better and have more energy than I ever had before. Now I am not saying that everyone should or needs to change their diet to see results, but I do highly recommend looking at how much processed or store-bought food you consume vs. homemade. Homemade alternatives will almost always be a healthier option for you as they will contain less salt, fat, sugar and other chemical preservatives to keep them fresh and tasting good over long periods of time. Start small and notice what comes up for you.

People often ask if I will go back to eating wheat and my answer is I don’t think so. You see the thing with real change is that it is not will power that is driving me. I don’t have the attitude that this is something “I have to do.” I have created ways that are easy, fun and now a sustainable part of my everyday life.

If things are hard we often don’t stick to it over long periods of time. I don’t feel deprived, I feel healthy, alive and refreshed. I can help you do the same. With the Impressions At Home System™ you can bypass the simple mistakes and take the fast track. Working with an expert can help show you the easiest way to achieve your desired results and keep you accountable for what you say you want. Together, you can be happier, healthier, more organized, save money and so much more creating benefits for the whole family.

Contact me today to talk more about what program is best for you.

For complete, hands-on guidance to make cooking, entertaining and everyday meals simpler, the Impressions at Home System™ is designed to create confidence in the kitchen, improve culinary skills and promote a healthy lifestyle. There are three programs to choose from to fit your specific needs. All three programs start with a solid foundation to set up for success. You will receive the Confident Cook Assessment to gauge where you are so we can maximize your current skills and overcome your biggest struggles. Programs include The Confident Cook, Effortless Entertainer and Meals Made Easy.

Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail

January 5, 2017July 25, 2017 Rachel Sherwood

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and your new year is off to a great start. I love this time of year: it always feels like a fresh start to begin again creating new and exciting outcomes for the year ahead. Many people make New Year’s resolutions to help create a wanted change. Some of the most common resolutions involve staying fit and healthy or losing weight, saving money, getting organized, learning something new and finding love or spending more time with family. Do your plans involve something like these? Did you know that you can achieve all of this by re-looking at how you approach food, cook and dine? Really, through food you can be healthier, save money, create ease with organization, discover new flavors and techniques and make real connections with loved ones.

This is the start of a new series focused on bringing out the best you. It all starts with making a commitment. Many people create these resolutions with good intentions and convictions of “sticking to it” but so many fail creating extra stress, guilt and sometimes resentment. Did you know that only According to the University of Scranton. Journal of Clinical Psychology only 8% of people are successful in achieving their resolution. Although we may say we want change actually doing it and continually taking action seems to be much more difficult.

The problem that most people come up against is that all change requires some degree of emotional discomfort which typically generates stress, anxiety, and frustration. This emotional roller-coaster leads us right to feeling that we have failed, feeling we have let ourselves down rather than creating the change we want. To create changes that we want we create discomfort, which creates stress that we don’t want and this usually makes us self-sabotage our efforts creating failure. Ok, ok, it is not all doom and gloom! You really can achieve the results you want and create success but it does take a little work. Here are a few ways to help you get started. Each week I will focus on a new topic helping you create the change you desire.

Create the change you want with these steps from Dr. Joseph Luciani.

It starts with you. No amount of will power or self-determination will ever create long lasting results. We are humans and we are naturally wired to find the easiest and most comfortable ways of doing something. If it is not easy and practically fit into our lifestyle we won’t continue doing it unless we create self-discipline around it. Dr. Joe says, “ You’re not born with self discipline; you acquire it. Like a muscle, you need to develop your self discipline muscle one challenge at a time”.

Read more about Dr. Joe success tips here (Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail)

Resource: http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/

The good news is you don’t have to do it alone. You are more likely to achieve success working with a partner .You can bypass the simple mistakes and take the fast track when working with an expert that can help show you the easiest way to achieve your desired results and keep you accountable for what you say you want. Together you can be happier, healthier, more organized, save money and so much more creating benefits for the whole family.

Contact me today to talk more about what program is best for you.

For complete hands-on guidance to make cooking, entertaining and everyday meals simpler the Impressions at Home System is designed to create confidence in the kitchen, improve culinary skills and promote a healthy lifestyle. There are three programs to choose from to fit your specific needs. All three programs start with a solid foundation to set up for success. You will receive the Confident Cook Assessment to gauge where you are so we can maximize your current skills and overcome your biggest struggles.

All programs include these foundation sessions: