HEALTH AS CULTURAL CAPITAL KEEPS US SMALL

Posted on by Laura Geraty – By

women banning together to explode concept of health as cultural capital

Get ready…this dietitian is a (proud) feminist. We need to explode the idea of “health” having cultural capital. Let me elaborate.

In my work I know acutely that challenging feelings about one’s body are not the exclusive experience of any gender identity. And yet, impossible societal standards for women’s bodies are especially suffocating. 

Explicitly and implicitly, our culture teaches women that beauty is our commodity. In the 21st century “health” has become a code word for beauty and both are defined by thinness. Beauty sounds superficial; “health” does not.

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NOVEMBER 6 VIRTUAL COOKING CLASS

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Come cook with me this Sunday, November 6 from 4-5:30pm ET. Cooks of all skill levels are welcome and our menu is vegetarian. $40 per Zoomer. Sign up here!

Our Menu

Deconstructed Lasagna with Roasted Wild Mushrooms and Salsa Verde

This “lasagna” is a one-dish meal with a big WOW factor that can be prepped a bit ahead. That means it’s an ideal back-pocket dinner party recipe, which we all will be in need of as we officially enter the holiday season.

It is at once deeply earthy and comforting with crispy, umami-packed mushrooms and milky cheese, and vibrant and fresh with the salsa verde, spicy arugula and lemon. The dish is equally loaded with textures in a way that I find compelling – chewy noodles, crispy mushrooms, snappy greens and crunchy hazelnuts.

Finally, this recipe is a roadmap, not a mandate. Once you have the idea, you can riff on the lasagna depending on what vegetables you love and the season, or simplify it so it would easy to pull off even on a weeknight. We’ll talk about all of these ideas in class.

As always, after you register I’ll send you an invoice and more information about the class including our grocery list, recipes and answers to common questions. Hope I get to cook with you!

SEPTEMBER 25 VIRTUAL COOKING CLASS

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Come cook with me this Sunday, September 25 from 4-5:30pm ET! Cooks of all skill levels are welcome and our menu is vegetarian-friendly. $40 per Zoomer.

Our Menu

Build Your Own Farro Bowls with Roasted Squash and Spiced Chicken (or Chickpeas)

arugula, apples, cucumbers, fresh herbs, goat cheese, almonds, tahini drizzle

About our menu:

There is so much to love about this menu.

First, and always, the taste. The combination of chewy farro, deeply caramelized squash and spiced chicken or chickpeas; crisp, sweet apples and nutty tahini drizzle is perfection. It hits all my notes and hopefully yours too. I’ve entered fall cooking territory with this one.

Second, the format. Are you familiar with build-your-own meals (BYOs)? BYOs are those in which you prepare a bunch of ingredients and then allow your diners to build their own bowls/plates from them. There is so much to love about this way of cooking / eating. If you have a family, this is the easiest way to please everyone and keep meal times fun – a major win for fostering a lifelong healthy relationship with food for our kids. I’ll continue to wax poetic about them in class and provide lots of inspiration for future bowls.

Third, the idea. Listen, you do not have to cook everything from scratch. I am a HUGE fan of things like store-bought rotisserie chicken and canned beans. And I love how they can be dressed up in recipes like this one.

This meal will also leave you with lots of yummy leftovers for the week so we’ll talk about all the ways you can repurpose them.

Register!

Register for the class here.  I will send you an invoice and more information about the class including a grocery list, our recipes and answers to common questions. If you can’t make it live, the recording will be made available to all registrants after the class. Which reminds me, past classes are always still available recorded for purchase.

HOPE I SEE YOU THERE!

VIRTUAL COOKING CLASS SEPTEMBER 14

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I’m back at it again! Come cook with me next Wednesday, September 14 from 4-5:00pm ET! Cooks of all skill levels are welcome and our menu is vegetarian-friendly. $40 per Zoomer.

After an informal poll on Instagram indicated that you feel like “less is more,” I’m paring down my agenda. We will learn to make one main dish very well versus a complete meal with multiple dishes. Rest assured, I’ll always supply an easy recipe or two for sides that would compliment anything we make. I can’t help myself.

Next week’s menu:

Late Summer Turkey or Lentil Bolognese with Lemony Ricotta and Greens

About our menu:

It can be tricky to figure out what to cook (or what you feel like eating) at the cusp of a new season. Here in the northeast, temperatures are wildly unpredictable – peak summer weather one minute and total fall the next. And food media is all squash, pumpkin spice, soups and long braises but we’ve got long, long months ahead for that. I’m not ready.

This Late Summer Bolognese straddles the fence. It uses fresh cherry tomatoes which are truly at their peak right now and requires a much shorter cooking time than its winter cousin, traditional Bolognese. You can make it with any ground poultry or keep it vegetarian with lentils standing in for the meat. I can honestly say that I enjoy both renditions equally so if you’re looking for a new not-at-all-sad #MeatlessMonday meal, this could be it.

We’ll serve the pasta over a big swoosh of lemony ricotta and greens. I love how the pasta, creamy cheese and lightly dressed greens mingle together; in my opinion, the best bites have a little of everything. I’m also providing a very simple recipe for roasted broccoli, though we won’t be cooking it together today. If you have the time / inclination, I’d encourage you to make it to serve alongside. I don’t know why but a big plate of Bolognese without a side of broccoli just don’t feel complete to me:)

This menu is hearty and comforting but bright and vibrant enough that we don’t feel like we’re rushing ourselves into the shorter, cooler days to come. I can’t wait to cook it with you!

Register!

Register for the class here.  I will approve your registration, and send you an invoice and more information about the class including a grocery list, our recipes and answers to common questions. If you can’t make it live, the recording will be made available to all registrants after the class. Which reminds me, past classes are always still available recorded for purchase.

HOPE I SEE YOU THERE!

JULY 20 VIRTUAL COOKING CLASS

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Come cutlet with me next Wednesday, July 20 from 4-5:15pm ET! Cooks of all skill levels are welcome and our menu is vegetarian-friendly. $40 per Zoomer. Here is our menu:

Perfect Chicken (or Eggplant or Zucchini) Cutlets

Tomato and Crushed Olive Salad

Lemony Arugula with Shaved Parm

In my opinion, cutlets are a basic recipe everyone should have down pat. Well-executed, they are a meal that everyone loves no matter their age. Good ones are crackling crisp, moist and highly flavorful. The chicken cutlets and veg “cutlets” we’ll be making together are just that.

You can enjoy them in countless ways. Dipped in warm tomato sauce (or ketchup); slathered with marinara, showered with mozz and baked up as chicken or eggplant parm; served atop any green salad; or enjoyed as a fried chicken or veg sandwich in a soft bun with slaw and special sauce. Or you can eat them as we will, with a seasonal tomato salad.

The tomato and crushed olive salad is bright, fresh and acidic – three attributes that are needed to balance the richness of the breaded chicken (or veg). Any highly acidic salad pairs well – think an extra lemony arugula salad (which we’ll make last minute because I can’t help myself), a citrus and fennel salad, or mixed bitter greens with lemon-dijon vinaigrette and avocado.

Let’s be honest, cutlets are a labor of love. You slice, you pound (for chicken), you dredge, you cook….and then you’re left with….ONE thing? There is no way around the fact that you have to want to make your people happy when you embark on the project. Luckily, they freeze like a dream so you can make them once and enjoy them twice. We’ll be prepping a double batch so you’ll have the star of a second meal stored away in your freezer.

Register for the class here.  I will approve your registration, and send you an invoice and more information about the class including a grocery list, our recipes and answers to common questions. If you can’t make it live, the recording will be made available to all registrants after the class.

HOPE I SEE YOU THERE!