Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 4: Day 4

Day 4 was my favorite day of all. It was a delicious trip to India! I loved everything we made on this day, and I am planning to make these recipes very soon so my family can enjoy the amazing food as well!

We made a fresh cucumber salad, a delicious rice pilaf, vegetable curry, garlic naan, and a traditional dessert called Halva! Not everyone was a fan of the halva( I enjoyed a small portion at a time!) but everything else was a huge hit!

I only got a picture of everything already on the plate, so no individual pictures (sorry!).

Lets start with the cucumber salad. It was a fresh mix of veggies, seasonings and a light dressing. Delicious, fresh and a perfect addition to the meal!

Next, my personal favorite of the meal, a rice pilaf! We used onions, almonds and raisins to make this dish amazing! I loved it so much and I cannot wait to make it again! We actually cooked it in the oven and added peas when it came out of the oven!

Then we worked on our vegetable curry. We used a variety of veggies: potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, cauliflower and peppers. We cooked it in a coconut milk/curry sauce until the veggies were tender and soft. So amazing and so full of flavor! I loved this dish so much!

We made garlic naan next. As you may know, I make naan at home often, but their method and recipe was a bit different from mine and it was cool to learn something new! We cooking it in the oven and then brushed it with a garlicky butter when it was done! Delicious and a perfect addition to this Indian meal!

For dessert we made halva. It is a sweet cookie-dough like dessert, that takes some getting used to. We cooked it over the stove and then let it cool in the fridge. We scooped it out and topped it with chocolate chips and crushed pistachios. It was very sweet and a little bit went a long way!

Well, that was Day 4 of our Cooking School at Whole Foods! Only one more day left! This day was by far my favorite day( expect for dessert. There I liked the Latin dessert best!)!

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New post every Monday and Friday!

Keep healthy and safe!
H. Banana

Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 3: Day 3

Day 3 of our Cooking School was a trip to Asia! We made a lot of traditional dishes from several different regions and we learned a few tips to making amazing Asian food!

We made Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Chicken Satay, Peanut Sauce, Vegetable Lo Mein, and Almond Cookies. Everything was delicious, and we learned how to use chop sticks! My sister and I were both really proud of ourselves when we finished our meal using only the chop sticks!

 

The first thing we made was the Chicken Satay. We made a quick marinade for the chicken with yogurt, curry powder, garlic and ginger! Then we threaded the chicken on to skewers and grilled them on a grill pan. They smelled amazing and tasted even better!

Then we made Vegetable Lo Mein in a wok. We learned the method of stir frying the right way( quick and hot is the key!) then we added noodles and a soy sauce and the dish was finished! It came together so quick it was almost unbelievable! It was delicious!

 

Then we learned to roll Spring Rolls. The filling was a veggie-pork mix that was made ahead of time. We rolled the filling into some wrappers and the instructors fried them for us. They we really yummy and a great addition to the meal!

 

 

To finish the meal we made some almond cookies. These are a traditional Chinese sweet and they were really yummy. A super simple recipe and method make these cookies a great treat for any time of the day and year!

Well, that was Day 3 of our Cooking School at Whole Foods! Stay tuned for Day 4 of this post-series!

Please share this post with a friend and family member! Follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

New post every Monday and Friday

Keep healthy and Safe!
H. Banana

Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 1: Day 1

   This past week my sister, Emma, and I attended a cooking school at the Whole Foods Market near us. The cooking school is called Salud!  and this class focused on different cuisines from around the world. We learned a lot about different cultures, ways to prepare food, and we ate a lot of tasty food! I want to share with you the food we made, the things we learned and how much we enjoyed the class!

The School
Salud Cooking School is the cooking school inside Whole Foods. There are several other Whole Foods that have this same school, so check the one near you. I know the one close to us didn't have one, so we drove to a Whole Foods that did have one. The instructors and staff at the store and school are all very helpful, cheerful and nice! They have classes on all different topics and all different age groups! I encourage you to look into the Whole Foods near you and see what classes their school offers!

Day 1
The first day of class I forgot to bring a camera, so I don't have any pictures (Sorry!) but we did make some delicious food that is worth talking about! This day was Italian Food day, so we traveled to Italy to make some of their classic dishes!

We made homemade pizza dough and topped it with a homemade marinara sauce and cheese. Then we made lasagna with some more of the marinara sauce and a ricotta cheese filling. Next we made a amazing kale Caprese salad with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese!  For dessert we made a teacup tiramisu. Their recipe was a bit different from ours( we use coffee and Kahlua in our recipe and they used chocolate milk---more kid friendly I guess!) but it was still really yummy!


I loved the pizza! It tasted just like the pizza you can buy in the Whole Foods deli(big surprise there!) The crust was a simple dough that we let rest and rise, then we stretched it into personal-sized pizzas. The we topped it with some marinara sauce we had made and then some cheese!

Next was the lasagna. Now, I'm not a huge fan of lasagna, but my sister, Emma, is and she assured me it was delicious! The method was simple enough, we made a ricotta cheese filling and spread it between some lasagna noodles. Then we rolled them up and topped them with the marinara sauce and cheese!

The salad was my favorite dish of the day! It was light and flavorful all at once! We used kale( Quick Tip for working with kale. After you tear it off the stem and into bite sized pieces, massage it for a few minutes with your hands. This softens the leaves up and makes for a better bite! Just make sure you have clean hands!) tomatoes, mozzarella cheese balls,  and pine nuts! Then we made a spicy vinaigrette to dress it with!

Finally, for dessert we made a kid-friendly version of a tiramisu. We made a mascarpone cheese mixture(classic to a tiramisu) and used eggs to make it into a pudding. We chilled that to help it set. Then we soaked lady finger cookies in chocolate milk and placed them in teacups. We topped the cookies with our pudding mix and shaved chocolate on top! I have to say, I like our recipe better, but their take on a tiramisu was interesting and yummy too!

So that was Day 1 of our Cooking School experience! My sister and I had so much fun the first day, that we couldn't wait to go back the next day! Be on the look out for Part 2: Day 2!

If you liked this post, please share it with a friend and family member! You can follow the blog via email and Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

I post every Monday and Friday, so follow the blog to stay up to date on all things healthy living!

Keep Healthy and Safe!
H. Banana

Resisting Temptation

With all the holiday treats being made at my house this week it has been hard to resist just gorging myself on them! I myself have made cookies, fudge, caramels and other sweets (Yes, I know.. I'm being a hypocrite!) but that doesn't mean I have to eat it all! I allow myself to have a small portion of a treat, and I make sure that I get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day! But, I do find it hard to stop at just one cookie, one small piece of fudge or a small bite of caramel, so what do you do? How do you resist the urge to replace every meal with sugary sweets? Here are a few tips that I use and have found helpful!

#1 Portion control.
As stated before, keeping an eye on the size and amount of treats you consume is important. Its also important that you don't feel deprived from your favorite foods. Let yourself have a small bite or serving, but stop there. Your future self will thank you!

#2 Drinking Water.
I have stressed this in other post, but I will say it again! Not drinking enough water can make you feel hungry and can cause you to have a little more than you planned, food-wise. I try to have a large glass of water with every meal and one every hour or so. If you are out and about, carry water with you either in a water bottle or a cute cup!

#3 Activity!
Getting moving for at least 30 minutes a day is a must. It will keep you from eating because you are bored and it can be made fun!

#4 Healthy Foods.
Make sure there is a large variety of healthy foods for you to snack on instead of the sugary ones! I love to have fresh fruit and veggies already to enjoy any time!

#5 Enjoy
Make sure you aren't mindlessly eating your treats as you do something else. Keep your mind on the item you are eating and make sure to enjoy it so you don't have to get another one!

#6 Creativity
You can get so creative with the different healthy winter treat! I have made several cookies, treats and drinks that are healthy but delicious. Let me know what healthy winter treats you enjoy!

Well that it! I know it is similar to other post I have posted, but this is a struggle that I almost constantly have during the winter and I wanted to share with you ways that I have found of over coming it!
I won't be posting anymore for a few days because I am on vacation! Yay! So don't expect a post for a little bit (Not too long though)
Keep it healthy and safe!
H.Banana