MY KITCHEN

Why Culinary Medicine Is Important

Most people know that vegetables are good for them yet, only 1 in 10 children and adults are eating the daily recommended
number of servings.  While there are likely a number of factors at play, a major barrier is that vegetables haven’t been presented as delicious and craveable. A key goal of this culinary medicine course is to present healthy food choices as unapologetically delicious. A key barrier to eating healthy foods is the wide availability of tasty, fast, cheap, unhealthy foods. Another key goal of this course is for students to understand that healthy food can also be tasty, fast, and inexpensive...if you know how to cook and meal plan. For those less worried about financial aspects of their diet and more worried about time constraints, the lessons learned in this course are translatable to learning how to eat healthier on-the-go and make quick, tasty meals in minutes.

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Setting up the Kitchen

SETTING UP THE PANTRY, REFRIGERATOR AND FREEZER
This this unit will help you learn about the items, components and ingredients of a plant-based kitchen.  You will develop strategies for setting up your pantry, refrigerator and freezer.  You will also learn important tips for shopping that will keep you on the plant-based path.
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One of the first steps in embarking to whole food, plant-based home cooking is to set up the kitchen which largely includes the pantry, freezer and refrigerator.   This step doesn't happen overnight and it's an individual process that can be intimidating to start transition from the customarily processed and packaged food cooking to fresh, whole foods.  But as you start cooking with more plant-based goods, you will eventually reduce purchasing and relying on packaged, highly processed foods.  Healthy behavior change is a process and it's an individual progress.  You might go headfirst, while others may slowly move step by step.  Whichever approach you are at, beginning to make the change is critical for future success and could be easier than you might think.

Navigating the Grocery Store

Often times, we never leave the grocery without buying items that we don't actually intend to purchase.  One of the most daunting aspects of preparing for home cooking can be shopping for ingredients because navigating the grocery store can sometimes be overwhelming.  But by developing and sticking to a few simple strategies, you can possibly sustain a healthier, faster and less expensive grocery trip.

HEALTHY SHOPPING TIPS

Create a list before getting inside the grocery store and stick to it as much as you can.  Remember that stores are carefully planned and purposely designed to put shoppers off track and encourage you to buy more items that you do not intended purchase.  This is why it's necessary to take time to be familiar with your store layout, make a note on your prepared list and try to stick to it.  In most cases, fresh foods are placed on the perimeter of the store, while processed and packaged foods are stocked in the interior aisles.

Another very important tip you should never miss is to never shop when you're hungry.  Cravings can always lead to what we commonly call "impulse shopping" or "over-buying."

Have a regular shopping frequency, ideally 2 to 3 times per week.  That big trip once a week may seem like it saves you money, but a few short trips, especially at off-peak hours, can actually make your life easier and healthier.  This is especially important when keeping to a plant-based whole food diet because frequent trips ensure you get the freshest produce and reduce the likelihood of having food in your fridge go to waste.  Throwing away rotten food is the same thing as throwing away money

Choose the produce that will give you the best quality at reasonable cost.. 

• Avoid produce that is bruised or damaged.  If you need to buy fresh-cut items, make sure it is well chilled and refrigerated.
• Choose ripe fruits and vegetables over unripe.
• Buy whole spices and grind them yourself for optimum freshness and flavor.
• Choose fresh herbs whenever possible for superior flavor building within recipes.
• Organic produce is ideal, but may not be always practical.  Take time to review discussed evidences in the video clips

One important purpose of setting/resetting your kitchen is to create a space for food that is free of clutter and functional in its use of space and choice of ingredients that should contains foods that will improve cooking and health.  Having a kitchen  cluttered with unnecessary ingredients will make movement more difficult to stay organized and maintain focus to achieve your goal.  

Items purchased should be mostly whole, plant-based foods.  When packaged foods are necessary, we highly encourage to carefully read the labels to make informed decisions.  Setting-up the kitchen may be a bit tedious and overwhelming, but taking it step by step, will eventually lead to a kitchen that can run efficiently and has easier access to the things you need.

REFRIGERATOR AND FREEZER

Fresh Fruits	Fresh Vegetables	Essential Items Condiments and staple ingredients
Fresh fruits Frozen fruits Dried Fruits Fresh fruit pastes ​Fruit spreads	Dark greens Salad lettuces and mixes Seasonal fresh vegetables Tubers and starchy vegetables Fresh herbs ​Fresh spices	Non-dairy milks Whole grain breads and wraps Vegetable stock ​Frozen grains and beans

PANTRY

Grains and Beans	*Canned & Jarred	Condiments	Seasonings	Snacks
Whole grains Whole-grain flours Whole-grain cereals Whole-grain pastas Varieties of beans Dried beans Sprouted beans *Canned beans	*Tomato products Miso ​*Beans Mushrooms ​Corn	*Vinegars *Hot sauces *Nut and seed butters *Tamari *Soy sauce ​*Salsas	Quality sea salt Finishing salts Dried herbs, spices Spice mixes Nutritional yeast ​Granulated and liquid sweeteners	Dried fruits Raw nuts and seeds *Whole-grain crackers Fruit bars

*Make sure that items don't have added oils, and is low in sodium when applicable.

The Pantry

Below are the number of items that will be useful to prepare or purchase in preparation for the task in this module.  As you determine specific recipes that you will be making for each module, it is necessary to also review the suggested shopping list as a useful tool to help make sure you get all the ingredients you need.  You may likely already have a number of items in your pantry that are recommended in this course.  

The purpose of categorizing the items listed below is to give you a board checklist of all the general ingredients used in this course.  However, based on the shopping list template, it will be up to you to mark off the items you need for each module.  In most modules, you will be given a choice of recipes to make, so get in the habit of planning your meals based on your course recipe activities, and take your completed list with you to the store each week.

Some modules in this course are more cooking intensive than others.  Ensure you carefully review each lesson before deciding on the ingredients you will need for the task.  As you learned in the previous task, taking a list with you to the grocery store is a great way to stay organized and on track as you shop for the week.

PANTRY ITEMS
Items in your pantry can be stored at room temperature, in airtight, sealed containers.

Dry Grains & Legumes
There are over 800 different types of legumes.  They come fresh, frozen, canned and dried.  Try to vary your choice of beans or grains throughout the task and try something new.  Be sure when choosing canned beans that they are sodium-free.

• whole grains such as: brown rice, quinoa, oats, etc.
• dry lentils (green, black, split, red, etc.)
  
• beans (white beans, kidney, black beans, mung, adzuki, pinto, garbanzo, etc.)
  
• whole grain pasta
  

Seasoning
When choosing dried herbs and spices, look for non irradiated organic spices that are free from fillers.  Almost all herbs and spices are beneficial to your health and add a ton of flavor to your dishes.

• Sea salt (recommended only for finishing which we will explain more in coming lesson)
• Black pepper (in grinder)
  
• Herbs and spices that you love or would love to try
  
• Nutritional yeast
  
• Vanilla beans or vanilla extract
  

Whole Food Fats
These ingredients are very calorie dense and we strongly encourage you to only use them in small amount.  Be sure these are without added oils and sodium when applicable.

• nut and seed butters
• olives and capers (not packed in oil, and rinsed well before using)
  
• raw nuts and seeds as cashews, almonds and flax seeds
  

Vinegars
Having a nice array of vinegars will allow you to vary your dishes and dressings.  Some of the most common culinary vinegars include:

• ​balsamic vinegars
• apple cider vinegar
  
• rice vinegar
  
• cane vinegar
  

Sweeteners
There are many plant-based sweeteners that let us indulge ourselves now and then.  Here are few of the sweeteners that you will see.

• dried fruits as dates and mangoes
• liquid sweeteners such as pure maple syrup or brown rice syrup
  
• granulated sugars such as date sugar, cane sugar, coconut sugar
  

Canned, Boxed & Jarred Goods
These items help you make healthy food in a pinch.  Read the labels to make sure these ingredients are low sodium and contain no added oils.

• tomato products
• vegetable stocks
  
• tamari, soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos
  
• Hot sauces and other condiments
  

Refrigerated Items

• non-dairy milks (choose unsweetened varieties)
• miso 9from sweet white to savory brown or red)
• tofu and tempeh (don't rely too heavily on this category; enjoy a varied diet)

Frozen Items
use the freezer to stock up on ingredients that are great additions to your meals.

• frozen fruit for dessert
• frozen vegetables
• frozen beans and grains

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Unit Task

In this activity you will have the opportunity to organize your kitchen, which will help you prepare for cooking throughout this course.  We are not grading you on how plant-based your space is.  We understand that you, your family or roommates may choose to eat other foods, but we will be looking for an indication of the effort you put into organizing your space.

Take two photographs showing four separate spaces in your kitchen that have been cleaned out and organized- your refrigerator being one, and a dry-goods pantry or cupboard the other.  Remember that the images need to be clear and well-lit.

These images should reflect a kitchen where some new effort was made to organize, reduce or remove processed and animal-based foods (to the extent it makes sense in your home), an otherwise show a good set-up to support plant-based cooking.  If you are not 100% embracing the lifestyle, please attempt to demonstrate that you have made significant change - it's not enough to show a few new ingredients.  Be detailed in your description so your instructor can fully understand the adjustments you made in preparation to cook for this course.

Each participant resets their kitchen at their own pace.  It's a journey, not a race.  Be sure to accompany each photo with a short title and then a detailed description of what you did to re-set the space in each case.

submit unit task here

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Advance to the next module

Submit the required task and advance to the next module.