Chef of the Month Spotlight: Chef Dan's Top Healthy Living Tip!
Chef Dan’s Top Healthy Living Tip
Chef Dan is widely known for his unique take on healthy cooking. Yes, he stays generally healthy by regularly training in martial arts and focusing on living a health-focused lifestyle overall, but the recipes he promotes consistently are designed to be nutritious, delicious, easy to transport or refrigerate as leftovers, and are simple for most recreational cooks to make in their home kitchen! If you follow cooking shows or have taken cooking classes elsewhere in the past, you know how unique this perspective is in the industry.
In his award-winning cookbook Mix Match, Make Take, Chef Dan shares, “Our concept is quite simple. Every healthy meal is constructed of four basic components: a fresh protein, fresh vegetables, flavor (sauce), and a foundation of a whole grain or root vegetable.” This meal combination will ensure that you feel satiated, that you’re getting plenty of whole, well-rounded nutrients, and it includes easy elements to remember.
As a quick example, we might suggest filling your plate with a pan roasted chicken breast or sautéed salmon, basmati rice, steamed vegetables, and a delicious balsamic vinaigrette!
For the cooking beginners out there...
Chef Dan’s top tip for when you’re just starting out in the kitchen is to start smaller in your mind. Don’t jump into the most advanced recipe in any cookbook to try it out because it will take much longer than you think and may make you feel defeated at the end.
Chef Dan believes that following a recipe or purchasing pre-package flavor combinations (things fajita and italian seasonings) in general is kind of like practicing painting with a paint-by-numbers kit. They’re a great starting point to get you used to spending time in the kitchen and they allow you to practice some of your basic skills.
Though it’s when you really start to enjoy cooking that you’ll be “painting” on your own! Play around with the flavors and re-develop the recipes a bit to fit your own, personal tastes and preferences. Once you learn how to cook, you can continue to learn for the rest of your life!