Cooking Classes For A Healthy Lifestyle

Several months ago, Fran and I went to a breast cancer fund raiser put on by her sister, Maryanne.  It was great fun, and Fran won lots of prizes.  One of the prizes she won was a cooking class for 4, at the home of Freddie Pakier.  Freddie is a well known cooking teacher in San Diego, and a nutritional coach.  She is very knowledgeable and entertaining.  Fran invited Janie, Maryanne and myself to join her for an evening cooking class, titled Silent Inflammation.  I was excited to go.  I am stuck in a rut, making the same dishes over and over, and frankly, Ron and I are sick of it.  This class gave me inspiration to try something new.  Here's what we ate and learned.

Freddie talked about knowing your CRP.  That stands for C-Reactive protein, something a blood panel can test for, but you have to ask your doctor to include that test in your blood panel.  You want yur number to be less than 1.  She talked about low glycemic foods, especially good for diabetics.  She talked about eating real food, eating organic fruits and veggies and grass fed beef, eating lots of greens and eating whole grains in moderation.

The best veggies to help maintain a low glycemic load dozens of veggies, mostly green.  This list does not include carrots, corn or beets, all high sugar vegetables.  Other foods to avoid to keep your CRP low include sugar, flour, processed food, gluten and dairy and starchy foods.  Obviously it is impossible to avoid all of these foods, but recognizing that they lead to a higher CRP and also lead to weight gain, may help you eat them in moderation.

Our menu at the class included split pea soup first, followed by a delicious arugula, cabbage and lettuce salad, steamed veggies with glaze, marinated and baked cod, and sweet potatoes with curry and olive oil.  It was a delicious meal, low in calories with a low glycemic index.  Dessert was a frozen strawberry and banana sorbet.  What a satisfying meal!

Thanks, Fran, for taking me to Freddie's cooking class. It was informative, fun, and delicious, and got me out of my cooking funk.  I especially loved the sweet potatoes, and will make them soon.