ATTENTION!  If you are afraid of cooking…or preparing food…or even cutting an onion then read on…THERE IS A SOLUTION!

Okay, so we’re not all born to be exceptional in the kitchen.  A common theme I hear when clients or friends complain about not being able to lose weight is the inability to do their own cooking.  For various reasons they’d rather eat out and avoid the possibilities of what could await them in their very own kitchen.  You’d think that the #1 reason for eating out would be convenience, but from my experience I’ve found that it actually has more to do with the fear of not knowing how to cook or where to start in the kitchen.  The thought of preparing dinner, cooking, or even slicing an onion might scare you too!  So how do you overcome your fear of cooking?

Let me digress a second while we’re on the topic of overcoming fears…My mom was a timid soul when she was young.  My grandparents knew this and thought the best way of getting her to overcome her fears was by actually engaging her in those fears.  For example, as a young girl my mom was afraid of dogs.  So naturally, my grandparents got her a dog!  They thought that if she had a dog of her own, she’d actually begin to like dogs and not be afraid of them anymore.  It was a great idea, but it didn’t work out as they had planned.  My mom was so afraid of the friendly new pet that her parents had to give the dog away because it wasn’t getting any love!   But my mom did learn from this technique.  Later, as a teen, she took flying lessons to overcome her fear of heights and it worked!!!  So there you have it!  Now you will learn exactly how to face your fears by getting a little dirty in the kitchen…but not in the conventional way.

So here is what you can do within the next week or month to enhance your cooking expertise- I charge you with taking a Knife Skills course!  CUAH?!!!! WHAT?!!  Yes, a Knife Skills course.  No, not a knives combat class, a Knife Skills course (as in using knife skills for cooking).  You can sign up for this kind of class at your local culinary school or attend classes with chefs in your area.  (It’s sounds a little quirky, but there are a handful of chefs that like to teach cooking-newbies to cook, slice and dice!)  Sounds like a weird starting point right?  Learning how to use your knives properly is the first step to getting comfortable in the kitchen.  Knowing how to hold a knife, sharpen a knife, cut veggies and fruit into different kinds of cuts is more important than you’ll ever know!  Knowing how to use and care for your knives sets you up for success in the kitchen.  Believe me!  In fact, it is the best way to get you more familiar with prepping food, the first step to cooking a great meal.  Yay!!!  You can pick up that knife, slice, and you’re more than halfway to bon appétit!

Skills you’ll learn from a Knife Skills Course

-        How to properly hold and use a chef’s knife

-        Basic Knife Cuts

-        Using the correct knife for the task at hand

-        Proper knife care

-        Keeping your knife sharp!

If you live in the LA area you can find a local knives course by visiting the links below!  I went to the Knife Skills Class at Sur la Table about a month ago with my boyfriend and it was fabulous.  It was a 3-hour class with Meagan (spelling?) and she was great!  I wish the class could have lasted for a few more hours so I could have learned more techniques.  We got to practice every new technique on a different type of food which was a lot of fun.  Plus, everything we cut was used to prepare a meal for the class of 5 people at the end of the course!

Knife Skills Classes in Los Angeles

• The New School of Cooking, Culver City, $75 for the Essential Knife Skills class
• Sur la Table, Los Angeles, $59 for the Essential Knife Skills class
• Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom, Los Angeles, $375 for the Basic Cooking Series, 4 classes (includes Knife Basics)
• Chicks with Knives Supper Club, Los Angeles, $125 for the Butchery class
• The Cooking Coach 101, (in your own home), $70 for the Knife Skills and Mother Sauces class

Have you taken a knife skills class and found it a helpful way to get more comfy in the kitchen?  Let mw know how it went and what you learned!  And if you’re looking for a similar course in your area, but can’t find anything then search online for Knife Skills tutorials.  There is so much information out there and no reason not to hone in on these skills.  It’s almost silly how easy cooking will become once you master the knife skills!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah/holiday!

be FIT. be HEALTHY. be EMPOWERED.

~ Lara