Author: traleeculinarygangsters

Chef, food truck owner, Gardner, forager, blogger, author , columnists,

Sid on diets

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WHY QUICK FIX DIETS DON’T WORK

At one stage or another in all of our lives we’ve tried a diet of some description, usually in a desperate bid to shape up for a holiday or upcoming event. If you’ve never found yourself in this dilemma, then you are truly blessed genetically!

While you may lose weight on a quick fix programme, chances are that you’ve put it back on just as quickly. Others will succumb to deprivation, boredom and misery within the first 7-10 days and feel like a failure, so they turn to their reliable friend ‘FOOD’ for comfort and so the vicious cycle continues.

Whether it’s the cabbage soup diet, the grapefruit and water diet or some other potion that guarantees rapid weight loss, the results are never long lasting.

The basic science is that the human body needs a variety of food groups to sustain healthy living. When you crash diet, generally you are consuming far fewer calories that normal. You would assume that this should automatically result in weight loss, but actually your body goes into starvation mode. When this happens your metabolism slows down. Your metabolism is your body’s engine, it determines how many calories you burn. That means that if your metabolism slows down, your body has to work much harder to burn the same amount of calories it would if it was functioning normally. For example, let’s say you normally burn 300 calories during a 30 minute session on a treadmill. If your metabolism has slowed down, you may only burn 200 calories for the exact same session. Now you have to work 3 times harder to get the same calorie expenditure to help you lose weight. That really sounds like too much hard work for no good reason.

Rather than obsessing with these quick fix diets, what you really need to do is adapt a longer lasting lifestyle change. Yes, it may take more time to achieve your goals but the results will be more permanent.

A few simple tips to get you on the right track

Do not deprive yourself too much, just have everything in moderation.

Eat at regular intervals and don’t allow yourself to get over hungry.

Keep a daily food diary for a week. It will give you a clear indication of exactly what you are consuming. Sometimes you may not realise just how much you’re eating.

Decrease your intake of alcohol.

Opt for higher fibre wholefoods and decrease the amount of processed foods.

Drink plenty of water in its pure form. Not in the form of dilute fruit squash.

Obviously exercise is a major factor in any weight loss programme. Dieting alone is not sufficient.

If you would like more information on this subject call for an appointment    PHONE 0873848818

By Richard Sheehan, Nutritional Therapist Dip NT M.I.A.N.T.

#cupcakehour souffle

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Read your souffle recipe. Then, read it again

 

Measure and weigh all the ingredients before you start cooking

 

Make sure all the equipment you are using is scrupliously clean and grease free

 

Ensure all your ingredients, especially the eggs, are at room temperature. Do not use cold eggs

 

Prepare and grease soufflé dishes, either large or individual ones, before you start making the soufflé mixture

 

Preheat the oven, so once the soufflé is made and in the dish it can go directly into the oven

 

Be warned. It is not an “Old Wives Tale” that opening the door while a soufflé is cooking can cause it to sink, it is true

 

Don’t start to cook unless you know you can serve it directly to the table. within no time, a souffle will slowly start to sink. If you want to show-off

 

Work quickly and calmly, and most of all have fun; there’s no greater joy than cooking for oneself, family or friends

Know what your eating

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE EATING?

The vast majority of health experts recommend eating a balanced, healthy diet to maintain or lose weight and to optimise your overall feeling of well-being. But exactly what is a healthy diet?

The basic components of a healthy diet include the right amount and balance of:

Protein – found in fish, meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs, nuts and beans.

Fat – found in animal and dairy products, nuts, seeds and oils

Carbohydrates – found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and other legumes.

Water- the most vital of all nutrients essential for life

So, you may say I’ve got all of those core food groups in my everyday diet but yet I feel unwell, constantly tired and unmotivated or I can’t seem to shift a few stubborn pounds. Well this is where food producing companies globally are managing to fool us through very clever marketing ploys. Let’s take a look at some of the more common foods which may not be as beneficial to our health as we are lead to believe.

Low Calorie Ready Meals

A calorie is simply a measurement, just like a teaspoon or an inch. Calories are the amount of energy released when your body breaks down food. The more calories a food has, the more energy it can provide to the body. It’s the source of the calories rather than the amount of calories that we should focus on. For example an apple contains more calories than a chocolate chip cookie but clearly we know which one is healthier. Many ready meals are marketed as low calorie but often contain high amounts of salt and even worse, artificial flavourings and preservatives. The most common of these is MSG (monosodium glutamate). This flavour enhancer is found in most ready meals, packet sauces and soups, crisps etc.  It is seen by many experts as a major health concern because it contains a toxin which over excites the cells in the body. This is thought to be associated with digestive distress, behaviour problems, weight gain and a long list of other symptoms.

No Added Sugar Soft Drinks

Every day we see this food labelling marketed as being healthy because the bottle of fizzy drink or dilute squash contains no sugar, therefore lower in calories. But do we stop to think what makes it so sweet instead? No. We continue to allow our children to consume vast amounts of this sweet poison. One of the most controversial artificial sweeteners is called Aspartame. It is found in virtually every ‘no added sugar’ soft drink, but often disguised under a more attractive name. It contains chemicals directly linked to weight gain, depression, neurological disorders, anxiety, heart palpitations and many more.

A good habit for all of us to get into is to start taking note of the ingredients list on food and drink labelling. Generally if you can’t pronounce it you’re better off without it.

 

Richard Sheehan, Nutritional Therapist

Dip. NT mIANT

 

Gangster profile sid sheehan

profile-pic-sid

 

Business Bio

 

 

Nourish by Nature is Kerry’s first combined Cookery School and Complementary Therapy Centre. Run by Sid and Angela Sheehan, it offers a unique experience for the healthy eating enthusiast. Sid is a Chef for many years and also a qualified Nutritional Therapist while his wife Angela is a Reflexologist and Hawaiian Massage Therapist. Both Sid and Angela passionately believe there is a direct link between what you eat and your mental and physical well-being. They are committed to inspiring people, to take responsibility for their own health, by sharing with them their knowledge and experience.

There are a range of demonstration classes from Home Baking to one Pot Dishes, Basic Cookery to Fresh from the Sea. Some of their more dietary specific classes include Healing with Wholefoods, Cancer Fighting Foods, Hormone Balancing through Diet, Gluten & Dairy Free and many more. Their diverse range of evening classes has something to suit everybody’s needs. Another popular service they offer is a themed dining experience where individuals bring their own wine/beer. The school caters for small groups of up to ten people hence making each class very personal and relaxed.

 

More information can be found on

http://www.nourishbynature.ie

Email nourishbynaturelistowel@gmail.com

Phone: 087 3848818

 

Nourish by Nature Listowel

Nourish_by_Nature

james on cooking demo

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My first cooking demo at Tralee food fare.
my day began at 10.00 in the morning where me and paul went to collect the freshest of ingredients by the sea shore for my dish we collect a verity of sea vegetables from there then we headed straight to the demo
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. Where I bought my shell fish locally at quinlans.the fish I used for my dish where crab claws, mussel and langoustines prawns.
as the time neared for my first demo under the name Tralee culinary gangsters
I could feel this pressure to preform in front of a crowd to start to grow in me when we went on the stage
I could see the crowd growing Kevin went on first to start his dish then Paul went on back to Kevin,
next up was myself when I got up there first I was nerves as hell I could fell my hand shanking trying to remember the order in which I was adding the ingredients into the frying pan was something different what I usually do on a day to day basics I was now trying to remember how to do it but the minute I turned the gas on and lit fire to it and I could hear and see the butter melting and sizzling I relaxed
and said I got this and before I knew it was over I had produced this dish which was all about flavour and freshness everything that was in that dish was hand picked that morning and all the fish was bought a minute before I went on stag. the excitement inside me after we came of stag all I want to do was go back up again .hopefully this well be the first cooking demo of many to come under the Tralee culinary gangsters .
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follow the culinary gangsters on twitter chefnoelk  @boilingjames  @chefpaulcotter @parsnip78

#cupcakehour macroon

macroons

Aging the egg whites dehydrates them, resulting in a firmer, more stable meringue

Be sure to bring the egg whites back to room temperature before using.

 

old almond meal causes a macaron to lose its glossy luster.

Liquid food coloring can alter the texture of your macarons, making your batter too runny

I use gel color and add it while whipping the meringue.

Don’t be afraid to use a little too much: incorporating the almond meal mixture slightly diminishes the potency of the color

The idea is to press out just enough air from the batter so that it runs off your spatula thickly, slowly, but consistently

If you find that the tops of your macarons are cracking in the oven, allow your piped macarons ample time to dry with the next batch

You’ll know they are adequately dried when you dab the tops with your finger and nothing sticks

Forgo the unreliable temperature gauge in your oven and get a trusty oven thermometer instead

Try using a wooden spoon handle to prop open the oven door just a smidge for the first two minutes of baking

. Get ready for a baking adventure, but when you create the perfect, airy-light macaron, it will all be worth it

macroon recipe

macroons

125g/4oz ground almonds

  • 200g/7oz icing sugar
  • 3 free-range egg  whites
  • 2 tbsp. caster sugar
  • ½ tsp cream of tartar
  • pinch red powdered food colouring

For the chocolate filling

  • 200g/7oz dark chocolate chopped
  • 200ml/7fl oz double cream
  • 1 tsp brandy
  • 15g/½oz unsalted butter

 

  1. Blend the ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor until well combined. Set aside.

  2. Using an electric whisk, slowly whisk the egg whites in a large bowl at a low speed until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk in the cream of tartar and caster sugar until the mixture is smooth and glossy, increasing the speed of the whisk as the mixture stiffens.

  3. Gently fold in the food colouring and blended ground almonds and icing sugar until the mixture resembles shaving foam.

  4. Spoon the macaroon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm/½in round nozzle. Pipe 5cm/2in circles onto the baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. If a peak forms, wet your finger and smooth it down. Sharply tap the bottom of the tray to release any air bubbles from the macaroons, then set aside for 60 minutes (the macaroon shells are ready to go in the oven when they are no longer sticky to the touch).

  5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160C/315F/Gas 2½.

  6. Bake the macaroons in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully peel away the greaseproof paper and set aside to cool completely.

  7. Meanwhile, for the chocolate filling, heat the double cream and chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth and well combined. Add the brandy and butter and stir until smooth, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.

  8. Use the filling to sandwich the macaroons together then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

gangsters demo

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Puy lentil stew. 5-7 full portions
1 onion
1 leek
3 sticks of celery Roughly chopped small for frying
3 carrots (medium sized, because they have more flavour)
1 parsnip Diced
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper Sliced or juilliened
1 medium courgette Small dice.
3 medium potatoes Diced
250g of green puy lentils.
1/2 a glass of white wine.
3 vegetable stock cubes
700ml’s of water Start
: Fry off the onions, leek and celery with a little olive oil. Not to hot as you don’t want them to brown. Add seasoning (salt & pepper) as this will help the flavour and stop the browning. When the onions are soft and the flavour has been extracted add the white wine, carrots, parsnips and peppers. Reduce the wine. Then in a little boiled water from the kettle mix the stock cubes in a bowl until dissolved. Best to have this ready before hand as this is a quick recipe. Add the water and the lentils and bring to the boils and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the potatoes and cook until the lentils are cooked ( they will be soft to mushy to eat) Finally just before serving add the diced courgette. If cooked for to long the courgette will go mushy and not nice therefore it’s the final thing. Bring to the boil and serve.
Wild mushroom sauce
1 generic tub of wild mushrooms (shiitake a my favourite) chopped
1/2 a finely diced onion
1/2 a glass off white wine
250mls of pouring cream
2 table spoons of garlic butter
Fry off the mushrooms and onions in a hot pan in the garlic butter. Add the white wine when the onions are soft and the mushrooms are browned. Add the white wine and reduce until halved. Add the cream, bring to the boil and serve with a smile. For a more intense flavour in the sauce, some people may add dices of bacon at the frying stage but this is optional
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Salsa Verde
25g capers
3 garlic cloves
50g wood sorrel
50g wild mint
50g wild chervil
100ml olive oil

Wash all wild herbs
Puree the garlic with the blade of your knife and add to a bowl
Chop all the herbs and capers finely and add to the garlic
Add olive oil to bind
Salt and pepper to taste

Rosti

3 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
Butter

Wash and peel the potatoes
Grate the potatoes into a bowl
Squeeze all excess moisture from the potatoes
Finely dice the onion and add to the potatoes
Mix well and season with salt and pepper

Heat a non stick pan to a high heat
Make little rounds of the rosti mix (use a scone cutter to form a nice neat circle)
Place these rostis in the pan and colour then until crisp and golden brown on each side

Place in an oven at 180 degrees Celsius to finish cooking