Wholesome Chef Class #1

I met kale for the first time yesterday. And chard! Leafy greens were the words of the day at the Wholesome Chef's New Year New You Class in downtown Lexington. The lady who taught 5 of us the first few steps on how to eat more healthy is named Paula. She not only talks the talk but also walks the walk - something that is always something you want to see in a nutritionist. Paula is more than just a nutritionist, she's a health coach! If only I had the money... in fact, if my weight loss continues to stumble, I may be forking over some money...

But I digress! We started of the class with Paula making us a smoothie with kale, spinach, banana, peach, almond mild, and chia. I tried to recreate it this morning:

It didn't taste quite as good as Paula's. But honestly, if you had told me that I would be making GREEN smoothies at class yesterday, I'm not sure I would have gone. I think of these green smoothies typically as fad and just gross. But the smoothie tasted really good yesterday!! I'm drinking it right now as I'm writing the blog and it's filling as well as tasty. I think it's going to take some work, but this may be a good replacement for my protein drinks - add some protein powder to this green baby and that'll be one filling and healthy drink! And another step away from processed food.

But I learned a ton in the class yesterday and highly recommend Paula's classes in the future. Some of the other highlights:

• Kale chips - you can make them yourself and are rather tasty. You can change up the spices using olive oil, garlic, cumin, pepper flakes, etc...
• you can freeze avocados, onions, and even bananas! 
• The Dirty Dozen - know them and avoid them! Well, the unorganic versions, at least.
• Chia - Never heard of it before and had trouble finding any at the local grocery store. It's similar to flax seed only better. 
• use EatWild.com to find healthy local meats including meats which are directly shipped to you! It seems as though there are two farms which ship to individuals in Kentucky!
• cut and prepare your food on the weekend - did you know you can keep potatoes cut in water? Well, I didn't. 

Paula ended the class with providing us with seven vegetarian meals (mains, side, and dessert.) Many of the main courses contain beans. I'm thinking that I may just have to explore with beans. Why not? I'm not the biggest friend of beans, but this is also just due to lack of bean experience. If I want to change my lifestyle, I have to branch out!!

My goals for the week: 

1. Drink one green smoothie every day
2. Make one main course suggested by Paula
3. Explore all the local health store to see what I can buy where (it's a three-day weekend!)