It’s a New Year, I do not know about you, but Im kind of over the New Years “Resolutions”. I think I like the idea of New Years “Intentions”… what are your intentions in 2020? What do you intend to do with your life in 2020? What do you intend to eat in 2020, where do you intend to travel?
I have been doing a lot of thinking this past week of what my intentions might be with Bella Bistro Culinary Studio. How do I intend to create new foods, new classes, new ideas, new interest, new recipes, new travel, new ways of bringing people together. What will my voice be for 2020, some of you are saying Chef Shelly you have a voice or is that a mouth??? Yes I have a mouth, that sometimes I get in trouble for, ok yes I have had to apologize for it before. But I am older now and hopefully am learning to know when to keep it shut 🙂 (I am not promising anything) But after many hours of thought I have found my voice and intentions for Bella Bistro Culinary Studio and myself personally for 2020.
My voice and my new hash tag for 2020 is “BELLA HEART HEALTHY”. What exactly does that mean you ask? I have found that I do not fit into any particular trendy, buzz word, hip for the moment diet trend. I have tried everything that is currently out there to educate myself for cooking classes and events for my clients. Vegetarian, Vegan, Plant Based, Keto, Low Carb, Mediterranean, Standard American Diet and the list goes on and on….
Heart healthy, what is it? If you google it, you might come up with Definition for heart–healthy eating: Cut the fat and salt. … One way to begin is to create a daily meal plan that emphasizes vegetables, fruits and whole grains and limits high-fat foods (such as red meat, cheese and baked goods) and high-sodium foods (such as canned or processed foods).
My quest for heart healthy eating has led me to add some new books to my library for 2020.
In my descriptions of these books I will provide links for you to purchase through amazon if you wish. Bella Bistro is part of an affiliate program with amazon, but there is never pressure to purchase anything.
With all of my culinary travels to Italy I was very interested in two books, The Blue Zones Kitchen https://amzn.to/36mQoGv and The Longevity Diet https://amzn.to/2QJJN2d. Each year I am beginning to spend more and more time in Italy, in particular the south – Puglia and Sicily. When I am not leading culinary/wine tours and I am staying with friends, or have rented a small place the daily diet is quite different then when you are vacationing. When I am leading a tour I am wanting to show my guests all the best of the best of food and wine. There is a lot of eating and drinking going on. But this is not a typical week for the locals.
In southern Italy a big part of the daily diet is fresh vegetables, fruit, pasta (good pasta with whole grains), bread (again good bread with whole grains), fresh seafood. The meats that are eaten are not on a daily basis, maybe once a week, twice a month, for special occasions. Just like the wonderful pasties, they are not for daily consumption but for special occasions or when you are meeting someone for espresso.
I enjoyed reading The Longevity Diet by Valter Longo PHD who happens to be Italian. He also incorporates the Fasting Mimicking Diet, there is also a 5 day Prolon Fasting Mimicking Diet you can purchase if you feel a need to cleanse and give your body a reset.
I am really enjoying the Blue Zones Kitchen, for the travel photos, the deep research in culture, community, food & cooking. I am marking pages of foods that I will try. I like Dan Buettner’s idea of creating your own community of friends and family for healthy eating, living, happiness and daily activities.
The next set of books is for pure research of cooking and learning more about vegetarian and vegan cooking. That is something they did not teach in culinary school. The Healthy Air Fryer https://amzn.to/2SPZ9ox… yes I broke down and bought an air-fryer, like I need one more cooking device. About a year ago I purchased one and returned it because I really did not like it. So many of my client’s are requesting classes and recipes with the air fryer so guess what. I had to sneak one more large Instant Pot box in the house. I did some research and the Instant Pot Vortex 6 Quart Air Fryer was rated high on the list https://amzn.to/39BQgVA If you live in Arvada Colorado, the King Soopers at Candelas is always having sales with your King Sooper card on Instant Pot products and accessories.
I really like Jamie Oliver’s VEG book https://amzn.to/2ZPvC00, its vegetarian and not vegan. If you are looking to incorporate more veggies in your diet, or try a meatless Monday, I have several recipes marked in this book. Next up Vegan Bowls https://amzn.to/2tvpJIV this book is very fun. Most every recipe is easy, super colorful, many different flavor profiles. You do not have to be a vegan to decide you would like to eat this way one meal of the day, or a couple of days a week. Decide what is healthy for you. The Clean Plate by Gwynth Paltrow https://amzn.to/2sJjcKQ focuses on clean eating. Recipes including chicken, seafood, veggies, some really good recipes.
Sorry for the bad word, I told you that sometimes my mouth gets me into trouble. The Wicked Healthy CookBook https://amzn.to/35nMJH6 , I really like this cookbook. This book would be for those who love to cook, some recipe are more involved. The recipes and food in this book are what you would like to see in restaurant if you were a vegetarian. I will be playing with a lot of these recipes.
Bella Heart Healthy
Is whats going on for 2020. I love this quote “80% Healthy + 20% Wicked = 100% Sexy. We have all read and heard to eat well 80% of the time and enjoy yourself a little 20% of the time. For me I have been keeping a food journal, keeping track of food, that make me feel good, and foods that make me feel not so good. I will be incorporating a vegan/vegetarian diet into my weekly routine. I have found that for me I feel better eating less meat on a regular basis, but thats just me. I encourage you to keep a food journal for a week and find what foods make you feel good. Find your Bella Heart Healthy. It does not have to be what everyone else is doing. Focus on you.
“Bella Heart Healthy” is foods, cooking and recipes that will be heart healthy. Cutting back on the fat and salt. … emphasizing vegetables, fruits and whole grains and limiting high-fat foods such as red meat, cheese and baked goods, and high-sodium foods such as canned or processed foods.
There is another component to “Bella Heart Healthy”. A healthy heart is a happy heart. A happy heart is created by you, yourself being the happiest you can be. Surrounding yourself with friends and family, cooking, eating and drinking with them. This might involve a splurge night of cooking and eating and creating a meal from a favorite cookbook, or going to a new restaurant, and you may splurge on a meal and that is ok! It involves traveling and diving into a new cultures and cuisines. That may mean splurging a little, pizza, pasta, gelato, in my case pasticciotto a crazy good pastry in Puglia.